Admiral MultiCar survey reveals difficulties when parents teach children to drive

More than half of parents take their learner driver sons and daughters out for additional driving practice, however, according to new research from Admiral MultiCar, it makes both parents and teenagers nervous and often leads to arguments and the passing on of bad habits.

Admiral MultiCar and One Poll surveyed 1,705 parents and 373 teenage learner drivers for their views on what happens when they go out on the road together. Admiral found that while 52% of parents do give additional lessons, more than half of them (53%) said it made them nervous. It's not just the parents who get anxious, more than two in five teenagers (44%) said driving with their parent made them nervous too.

Despite many parents admitting they have picked up bad habits, the majority (53%) still think they would pass their driving test if they had to sit it today. The remaining 47% don't think they would pass.

Admiral has produced the Generation L video featuring Demi, a young lady who is currently learning to drive, and her dad Neil.

We see Neil taking Demi out for additional driving practice and the arguments that ensue. Both Demi and her dad then have to sit a mock driving test. The video shows the results and offer a chance to win some Top Shop gift vouchers.

It could be down to nervousness, or maybe the mix of over confident teenagers and over protective parents, but for many these lessons end in a row. 45% of the parents and 50% of the teenagers said practice driving sessions had ended in arguments and the thought of arguments put off many parents too. More than a quarter (26%) of parents who don't take their children out driving won't do it because they think it will cause too many arguments.

Sue Longthorn, Admiral managing director said, "As your teenager approaches 17, you have to make a decision whether you will take them out for additional practice. Done well there are clearly benefits. It can help them learn more quickly and hopefully spend less on driving lessons. However it is always going to be a minefield as personalities clash and this often results in arguments."

Arguments aren't the only negative consequence of parents teaching their sons and daughters to drive though. People who have been driving a long time naturally develop bad driving habits and can pass these on to the learner driver. 45% of the parents Admiral surveyed said they worried they pass on their bad driving habits, while 37% of the teenagers said they thought they had picked up bad habits from their parents.

The most common bad habit parents said they had was crossing their hands on the steering wheel (32%), followed by driving over the speed limit (24%) and not putting on the handbrake whilst stationary (24%).

Sue Longthorn continued: "Unfortunately as you gain driving experience bad habits start to appear. There are definitely benefits to giving additional lessons to your children, but it's important to notice your own bad habits and not to pass those on.

"It's also important to keep up to date with current driving advice. It's a good idea to let your son or daughter have some lessons with a qualified instructor before venturing out with them. Then you might want to speak with their instructor first to make sure you are helping and not hindering their driving."

About Admiral:
Admiral, (a trading name of EUI Ltd) launched in 1993, and is part of Admiral Group plc. It was set up to target those motorists who traditionally pay higher than average premiums, including those under-35, living in cities or driving hot hatches. It now offers its unique Admiral MultiCar policy for households with two or more cars.

Admiral writes its car insurance business to a consortium of insurers, these being:
- Admiral Insurance Company Ltd
- Admiral Insurance (Gibraltar) Limited
- Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) plc

The Admiral Group employs almost 5,000 people in the UK.

PR Contact:
Justin Beddows
Admiral
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