Border Banter with Benoit-Leipert: Learning to drive is no joke

My daughter recently got her Alberta learner’s permit. It was an exciting day! She wrote the test at the nearest registry agency to our house, which is in Dewberry.

I told her if she passed, I’d let her drive home to Clandonald. On the highway. Taking both our lives into her hands, quite literally. Not to mention anyone else in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I forgot how much learning it actually takes to become a confident, yet cautious driver.

I’ve had my driver’s license since the day I turned 16. As a farm girl, it was the key that unlocked my social life. And as Jenaya so often reminds me—I am old, so I’ve been driving for about 23 years.

Most of the kilometres I’ve logged in the past 15 years or so are thanks to Jenaya and her four brothers.

All three of her older brothers are now fairly experienced drivers, and Jenaya and Noah look up to them big-time.

They had a good teacher. My husband has had his class 1 license for many years, and he’s WAY less of a stress-case than I am.

They’ve all done well on the road, even though it was hard to let go at first.

We were so excited for them when they got their driver’s licenses, but that nagging anxiety in my mom brain was pretty intense at first.

the registry office I noticed she had a tenand-two death-grip on the wheel. She nervously drove down main street Dewberry and I decided she should do some more “village” and “hamlet” driving before heading out on the highway.

I decided to practise defensive parenting that day!

I didn’t want to discourage her, but truthfully she looked quite relieved as she put it in park so that we could switch seats. I adjusted my seat back to the point where I wasn’t breaking teeth on my knees, and we hit the highway.

That day she drove to our house from the edge of our hamlet. I breathed a silent sigh of relief when she put it in park.

Since then she has been driving at least a couple times a week, and I see improvement each time. I think her biggest enemy is her nerves, and it probably makes things worse when I grip the grab handle above the passenger door. I’m slowly learning too, learning how to mask my anxiety. I think it’s time she went out for a cruise with her dad!

2017

I always encouraged them to drive defensively, as they never know what they might encounter out there. Wildlife, drunk drivers, RCMP. Their vehicle insurance is expensive enough without any tickets!

As Jenaya and I left