The Best Gifts For New Drivers

Getting your driver’s license is an exciting accomplishment—and if you know someone who recently passed this milestone, you may be wondering what to get them.

Here are some great ideas for the driver in your life that can help them hit the road with confidence, from practical gifts that keep them safe to fun presents that show off their driving personality.

The Best Tools To Get A New Driver

There are lots of new car gift ideas that make sure new drivers have a safe, enjoyable experience on the road. This includes gift baskets and toolkits that help drivers stay safe, protect their car, and keep their vehicle clean.

Roadside Emergency Kit

Accidents happen, which makes a roadside emergency kit an invaluable item for any driver, especially a new one. It’s a first aid kit for your car, helping drivers avoid unfortunate (yet common) situations like flat tires, dead batteries, empty tanks, and more. Most roadside kits come in a duffel bag and can be easily stored in a trunk.

Most roadside emergency kits include items like:

• 
  
• Battery chargers
• Tire inflators
• Tire patch kits
• Road flares or reflectors
• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Emergency blankets
• Tire pressure gauge

While a roadside emergency kit doesn’t replace getting help during an accident, it can help new drivers handle minor trouble (saving them time and money). You may want to also spend a bit of time teaching your new driver how to use everything in this all-in-one kit or sharing some YouTube videos with them.

First Aid Kit

Having a first aid kit in their car is another absolute must for any driver, especially new ones. First aid kits provide essential items that you may need in case of an accident or medical emergency, allowing the driver to quickly help themselves or another individual while waiting for medical assistance.

Make sure your first aid kit includes things like adhesive bandages, antiseptic wipes, gauze pads, and paid relievers.

Car Cleaning Kit

Help them hold onto that new car smell as long as possible with a car cleaning kit, which keeps their car fresh and clean. You may be able to buy these kits outright or make them yourself using various cleaning products, including:

• Air freshener
• Car carpet cleaner
• Glass wipes
• Handheld vacuum cleaner
• Wheel cleaner
• Car wax

Bonus: A Membership For Roadside Assistance

Don’t leave new drivers stranded by getting them a roadside assistance membership, helping them take care of incidents like dead battery or flat tire with the press of a button (if it doesn’t come as an add-on in their car financing or car insurance)..

With the addition of global position systems and better communication tools, drivers can quickly get help when stuck in an unfamiliar place. Popular memberships like AAA offer 24-hour roadside assistance, including jumpstarting, tire replacement, fuel delivery, emergency unlocking, and more.  

The Best Tech To Get A New Driver

Gift ideas for first-time drivers go beyond what’s in their trunk. To help them make the transition onto the road as smooth and safe as possible, consider buying them helpful and useful tech that’ll make getting around easier and keep their eyes on the road.

Car Phone Holder (Phone Mount)

Not only is checking your phone while driving difficult, it’s dangerous. Many drivers use their phones while they drive to make phone calls or navigate, and having a car phone holder or phone mount minimizes the amount of time they are looking at their phone and taking their hands off the wheel.

Holders don’t have to be clunky or look outdated. There are plenty of sleek magnetic phone mounts that fit on the front of the dash that allow you to easily attach (and detach) your phone without playing around with the fit.

GPS System

Make sure your driver gets where they need to go with a navigation system. Most new cars have built-in navigation systems, but if your driver is driving an older car that doesn’t have GPS, buying a mounted GPS device may be safer than having them rely on the map app on their phone.

Bluetooth Key Tracker

There’s nothing worse than losing your car keys — but you can make sure it doesn’t happen with a Bluetooth key tracker. Bluetooth tracking devices can help drivers to stay organized and find their keys quickly and easily and fit right onto a car keychain.

Security Tools

There are plenty of affordable, useful tools to keep your driver safe and help them drive safely. Dashboard cameras are a great safety measure that suction onto your windshield and can easily charge in your car’s cigarette holder.

These cameras will typically run in the background, allowing you to check on your vehicle on your smartphone at any time or anywhere. This allows you to see if your car has been bumped or vandalized while you were away.

Other tech and services to think about include:

• Backup cameras
• Daytime running lights
• Adaptive lights
• Lane-departure warnings
• Motion-sensing mirror
• Anti-theft devices

While these other features can reduce accidents (and even bring down your insurance costs), they are typically more expensive and difficult to install.

We Hope This Helps Your Shopping

Gift ideas for new drivers don’t have to be boring. For the exterior of their car, consider bumper stickers or license plate frames, which come in lots of different colors and styles and add some personality to a car. For car interiors, you could get rear view mirror frames or other decorations to hang off a car’s rear view mirror (but make sure it doesn’t get too distracting).

Other fun driving accessories that can create a better driving experience for your friends or family  include keychains, travel mugs, trunk organizers, license holders, or a gift card.

Getting a driver’s license comes with plenty of responsibility, but also lots of freedom. Finding the perfect gift for your new driver is about keeping both fun and safety in mind—and many of these practical and affordable gifts can help your new driver enjoy their ride.