I’ve blogged previously about the joys of traveling with kids – mostly road trips with me at the wheel and my kids as passengers on the adventure. And my daughter has contributed her own travel story to this site. But a new element was added this year as she turned 15, (cue scary music) got her learner’s permit and was upgraded from travelling passenger to driver.

A road trip wasn’t Lindsey’s first fantasy-driving-scenario, of course. More like the local mall. And I knew it would be a while before this single parent truly got a ‘break’ on car trips. We started locally with the first tentative drives around the neighborhood, complete with the traditional sudden stops and jackrabbit starts as I repeatedly stepped on the imaginary passenger-side brake and flinched away from looming mailboxes. Short trips around town provided the thrill of close encounters in parking lots and the challenge of getting the 10-year-old brother to refrain from commentary.

I think Lindsey found local highway driving easier in some ways, after she got used to higher speeds and passing cars. (She was much more likely to be passed than to pass – fine with me). So, on a recent road trip from central Florida to Atlanta a couple months after getting her permit, she took the wheel for a time on I-75.

She handled merging into 70-mph traffic and being surrounded by semis with some tension, sensibly requested that I handle the necessary radio station change and liked the easy-on, easy-off aspect of rest areas.  She relinquished the wheel before Atlanta’s traffic, that’s definitely the advanced class. But it was a milestone in what I hope is a lifetime of memorable travel experience via the open road.  Or at least less zoning out in the backseat with headphones on during our trips.

‘I knew this day was coming’ as they say in that Suburu ad.  But a lot had to happen before I had a backup on the road.  Figuring out permit requirements, testing, insurance and --most important-- how to talk about the responsibility and safety issues involved with the driving privilege can be challenging.  And next year the picture changes again when she gets her license.

For me, AAA’s just-launched website for teen drivers and their families is a valuable and time-saving resource – and given the risks of teen driving, possibly a life-saving one. TeenDriving.AAA.com helps parents and teens by providing specific information based on where they live and where they are in the learning process – from preparing to drive (pre-permit) through the learner’s permit and solo driving. There’s information about each state’s driver licensing systems, selecting a driving school, addressing common risks associated with teen drivers and parent/teen driving agreements. The site also offers an online version of AAA’s Dare to Prepare workshop and Teaching Your Teens to Drive coaching program, both of which assist families that are or soon will be learning to drive.

Oh, The Places You’ll Go was a Dr. Seuss book I often read to my kids (seems like last week). See as much as you can, guys.  Just get there safely.