Some teenage drivers struggle to find their way around without a phone, according to John Bolen, owner of A Treasure Coast Driving School. Bolen said students often cannot describe how to reach a place they visit every day, even when it is only a few blocks from home.
In lessons, Bolen said, instructors sometimes pull a student over near home and ask for directions to a nearby high school. Many, he said, have spent most of their lives looking at a phone in the car rather than at the road and their surroundings.
Bolen warned that heavy reliance on GPS can leave young drivers lost if the phone dies or loses signal, and that screens can pull attention away from driving. His instructors now teach students to follow GPS voice prompts and check the screen, then practice driving without it so they can get to school or home on their own.
Bolen also urged parents to start early by keeping phones out of sight during car rides and talking with teens about driving before they earn a learner’s permit.
