Topeka driving instructor says 'anxiety' becoming more common for teen drivers

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Learning to drive today looks different than it did 30 years ago when Bill Kennedy started his driving school in Topeka.

Over the last few years, Kennedy said he's noticed much more aggression from drivers in the area.

"I would almost call it angry driving," Kennedy said. "When you have a student driver sign on the back, you just hope they're patient enough to allow the student to learn how to drive properly."

Unfortunately, he told 27 News a lot of drivers aren't as patient anymore.

Brooke McKinley is a mother to four teen drivers, soon to be five-years-old. She said the worry that comes with letting your kids take the driver's seat never really goes away.

"My dad always told me when I was growing up and driving," McKinley said, "'I'm not worried about you, I'm worried about the other person.' And that's so true! I tell my kids that all the time now."

Kennedy said more than ever, new drivers are more apprehensive about getting behind the wheel at all.

"The anxiety level is much higher at this point," he said.

McKinley said two of her kids were eager to start driving, but the other two preferred the passenger seat.

"My husband and I agreed," she said, "we're just going to kind of let them learn and grow and decide when they were ready. We didn't push it, we waited until they were ready."

Kennedy said a lot of the anxiety for first-time drivers stems from less exposure and more distractions.

It used to be you'd get in the car, watch your mom or dad drive, see what the other drivers do. What they do right, what they do wrong. You know where the brake is, you know where the accelerator is. Turn the wheel to the left, you're going left. Now you get a lot of younger kids that just stay on that phone. They have no idea what's going on outside the car, they don't see what their parents are doing, so when they come to class it's just brand new.

Bill Kennedy on anxiety for new drivers

He said confidence in the driver's seat starts with paying attention as a passenger.

"It would be important," he said, "if parents would just say put the phone down let's watch what's going on. Students who do that when they're younger are able to adapt a lot easier."

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