One L of a driving lesson

Almost a quarter of parents in Scotland say teaching their children to drive is more stressful than their family holiday - according to new research.

It is well known that parents will do most things for their kids, but teaching them to drive is another story - with nearly 40 per cent of parents saying they would rather organise a wedding or take the children on holiday rather than teach their children to drive. Seven per cent even say they found their divorce less stressful.

The survey of 1,000 parents who taught their children how to drive, found that four out of five (79 per cent) said they feared the consequences of putting their kids in the driving seat and almost half (44 per cent) said the fear of damaging their car was the worst part of the experience. This was closely followed by the fear of personal injury (43 per cent).

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Following the recent announcement that the Government will be making changes to the driving test, leading used car website NFDA Trusted Dealers carried decided to find out what parents think about teaching their kids to drive.

When asked about the biggest cause of frustration, more than one third (34.62 per cent) of parents in Scotland cited the fact their children refused to listen to their guidance. One in five parents in the UK (20 per cent) said the experience led to either teenage tantrums or moody motoring silences. Other frustrations include teaching the nuances of parallel parking and general speed awareness.

Comparing the experience to other stressful life encounters, one in four parents in the UK (29 per cent) said they would rather go to the dentist than get behind the wheel with their offspring in charge and one in five parents in the UK (22 per cent) said they would rather go for a job interview.

Neil Addley, managing director of NFDA Trusted Dealers, said: “A lot of our customers are parents who use our site to buy a car for their children. Following the survey results, we have developed a dedicated one-stop web page which will include advice for parents on buying a car for kids, as well as advice for parents to help with the stresses of teaching their children to drive.”

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