Learning to drive can be both thrilling and downright terrifying. You’re excited about the freedom of having a driver’s license, but you know the roads can be dangerous. This is why driving practice is helpful in your driver’s education. It lets you get comfortable in the driver’s seat.
In fact, the more you practice driving, the better your chances of staying safe. One study found that teen drivers who engaged in more regular, frequent practice sessions had a 39% lower risk of getting in a crash the year after getting their license.
If you’re taking a course from an online driving school (whether for teen drivers or adult drivers), you may not have access to a designated practice driving course. But you can still find safe environments to practice driving. Start easy in places with zero traffic, and as your confidence grows, you’ll feel comfortable moving up to busier areas.
Here are the seven best places to practice driving.
1. Big Empty Parking Lots
For your very first time behind the wheel, there’s no better place to practice driving than a big empty parking lot. You’ll be able to get a feel for driving with minimal risk of hitting anything.
Stadiums, college campuses, and industrial parks are all excellent options; you just need to time your practice session for times when the parking lots will be empty. Even in cities that use parking garages rather than lots, the top levels of above-ground garages are often empty.
Take advantage of this time to practice basic driving techniques like accelerating, braking, turning, and parking.
2. In-Use Parking Lots
Once you’ve mastered the empty parking lot, it’s time to upgrade to parking lots in use. This will give you practice watching for pedestrians and other vehicles. And because of the low speeds in parking lots, there’s still very little risk. This is a great opportunity to perfect your parking skills.
3. Suburban Streets
Time to get into the real world! Suburban streets are an excellent place to practice driving because you get to experience real-world driving conditions with the safety of comparatively little traffic and wide streets.
Here you can practice following posted speed limits, using intersections, and changing lanes.
3. Rural Highways
Rural highways are a good introduction to driving at higher speeds. Like the suburbs, rural highways offer comparatively little traffic, so you get the benefit of learning to share the road without being overwhelmed by other vehicles.
Rural highways are a good place to practice maintaining higher speeds, passing slower vehicles, and driving at night (when you can practice using your high-beam lights).
5. Small Towns
The “downtown” areas of small towns offer a solid introduction to some real traffic. These areas can get quite busy, but with speed limits of around 30 mph, you’ll have some time to react to the traffic around you. And, unlike large cities, the pace of life in small towns is typically slower, so other drivers may be a little more patient with you.
Small towns give you a chance to get the complete day-to-day driving experience in a comparatively low-risk environment.
6. City Streets
If you live in a city, you need to get comfortable driving around your city. City driving can be stressful because of the amount of traffic, the pedestrians and bicyclists, the narrow streets, and lots of one-way streets to navigate. So invest some time in practicing your driving in the city while you have an experienced driver in the passenger’s seat.
Even if you don’t live in a big city, it’s worth taking a practice drive through the nearest city. Many drivers in rural communities put off driving in cities, and with each passing year, the idea of driving in a big city becomes more daunting. Tackle city driving early so you can get over that mental hurdle.
7. The Freeway or Interstate
The freeway or interstate may not be your first choice on a list of places to practice driving, but it should still make your list. Just like with city streets, interstates or freeways are a good practice spot because you’ll very likely need to drive there at some point.
Practicing driving on the freeway or interstate with a supervising adult gives you a chance to get familiar with how traffic flows on these thoroughfares before you go out on your own.
Quick Tips for a Safe Practice Driving Session
Use these safety tips to protect yourself and your vehicle during your practice sessions:
Complete a safety check before starting the vehicle. Are the tires properly inflated? Are the mirrors properly positioned? Is everyone wearing seatbelts?
Start slow. Give yourself time to get a feel for the vehicle. Pay attention to how responsive the steering is when you turn the wheel and how quickly (or slowly) the car decelerates when you brake.
Use those turn signals. Even if you’re driving around an empty parking lot, get in the habit of using your turn signals.
Maintain a safe following distance. As a driver, you always want to stay a safe distance back from the vehicle in front of you. This is even more important when you’re practicing because your reaction time probably isn’t as fast as it will be once you have more experience.
Listen to your supervising adult. They have years of driving experience you can benefit from.
Taking the time to practice driving will make you a safer driver once you hit the open road with your new driver's license!
Enroll in your online driver's ed course today and enjoy your driving practice!
Updated 7/11/24