Parents who help their teens learn to drive have the opportunity to teach their teens to drive skillfully and safely while spending high quality time together. But parents take a vital further step in protecting their children when they also set and monitor rules.
By the time teens reach driving age, parents have plenty of experience in setting rules and in trying to get their children to follow them. Driving is different. The risk is greater and the rules have to be more specific.
Teenagers need more than driving skills to be safe in cars. They need to keep their eyes and mind focused on the road. Therefore, they must avoid all distractions. They also need to gain experience in a thoughtful, gradual way that exposes them to increasingly complex driving situations only after they have mastered the more basic challenges. For these reasons, they need supervision, rules, and monitoring to be sure they become safe drivers and passengers.
You may find a driving contract (also known as a parent/teen agreement) to be a helpful tool in reaching a formal understanding with your teen about how and when driving privileges will be earned based on gained experience and demonstrated responsibility. These tools are available from a variety of resources.
When it comes to driving you should demand very high safety standards from your teen. There is simply too much at stake.