Teach Your Teen: Where To Start

The Look
So, your teen just got their learner's permit and they are so excited to finally be able to drive. For real this time and not just sitting in your lap as a child or backing out of the garage. You on the other hand are experiencing some trepidation and possibly are even breathing into a paper bag. I mean, your life is on the line. You've already had this conversation. So what's next?

Three Great Practice Areas
Finding the right practice area keeps your nerves calm and anxiety in check. Choose a place where there aren't too many cars are things to hit. Good practice areas act as a protection. Students learning to drive need to be shielded somewhat from the consequences of missing a stop sign and other common mistakes. Three recommendations:

1. A quiet neighborhood.
2. A large parking lot that doesn't have too many cars in it (a church on a weekday).
3. A cemetery (they have lots of little roads and you have no worries about hitting anyone since most occupants are already dead).

Each area should have very few cars or people, straight stretches of road and several intersections. The goal is to make these first sessions as comfortable as possible for both the parent and driver. Basic skills need to be perfected before moving into busier traffic situations.

First Train Your Eyes
When I first started playing basketball, I looked at the ball each time I dribbled. I got to be pretty good at it, but in games I'd dribble myself into a corner and then look up to see who was open for a pass. Most drivers start out by trying to do the same thing in the driver's seat. They look just over the hood and then wonder why they can't drive in a straight line. Or perhaps, they missed seeing a stop sign or even worse, a pedestrian. The first training item must be the driver's eyes. Just like I never made a basket by looking at my hand dribbling, a driver will never make it down the road without a collision if they are looking right over the fender. Teach your teen to raise their eyes. They must see what is 100 feet in front of the car. Vision should then be expanded to a block ahead and then several blocks ahead. Training eyes to see potential hazards well in advance improves the odds that good decisions will be made when problems arise. In addition, looking well ahead or aiming high will cure lane weaving problems, wide turns, cutting turns, parking difficulties, timing issues and more. It's pretty much the cure-all for lousy driving.

Smooth Starts and Stops
Vision cannot be improved without addressing basic driving tasks. On a straight stretch of road, new drivers can practice smooth starts and stops. Knowing how a car behaves with varying degrees of pressure on the gas and brake must be experimented with to be perfected. To stop smoothly, direct your teen to press down on the brake gently and steadily until it's about 85-90% depressed. Then lift up 5% (creating a slight hesitation) and press the brake down to the floor. It will feel smooth and keep the jolt to a minimum. When starting, hesitate when moving your foot from the brake to the gas. Let the vehicle idle a moment before gently pressing the gas. This will prevent any sudden change in movement and you won't feel so queasy.

Turning
The art of turning includes two basic parts. Hand positioning and speed. When steering, your hands should be in a balanced position (at 9 and 3 o'clock) with the thumbs up for optimal control. Whether you choose hand-over-hand or push/pull turning techniques is up to you. The wheel rotates about 3/4 of a turn to go around a 90 degree corner. Be careful to resist putting extra spin in the wheel. It will require increased effort to recover and drive straight in your new path of travel. For speed, slow down about halfway into a turn and then accelerate out. Steady pressure on the gas will help the wheel glide back to its straight position.

Skill Mastery
Keep practicing in your practice area until driving straight, stops, starts and turns are mastered. Having confidence in your teens abilities to perform basic maneuvers will help you keep you at ease when you progress to busier driving.

Trouble Shooting
If you are unsure of a good practice area near your home, call your local driving school and ask them where they practice with their students. Drive your teen to that area and then practice the basics above.

Traffic Safety Tips for Trick-or-Treating

Traffic safety on Halloween hits especially close to home for me. A couple of years ago, my niece and some of her friends were hit by a passing car while trick-or-treating. Luckily, everybody is okay now, but there were quite a few injuries, some of which were very serious.

Trick-or-treating is fun, but can be dangerous if we don't take the proper precautions. This is especially the case here in Washington where many neighborhoods don't have sidewalks.

The CDC has come up with this list of safety tips for trick-or-treaters.

While, they're all important, I'd like to focus on the one relevant to traffic safety:

* Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.

*Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help you see and others see you.

*Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.

*Only walk on sidewalks whenever possible, or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!!

Drivers' Ed Is Dead

I was hooked at first sight!  "Drivers' Ed Is Dead" by Pat Delgado immediately piqued my curiosity when I happened upon it while on Amazon one afternoon. I had to buy it. 

It's a short and fun read about two boys who signed up to take driver's ed in high school but the class was cancelled and replaced by a business course. For them, what started out as a class project ended up as a real life business when they opened their own driving school.

My review: I enjoyed this tale on a few different levels.
1. Teenage boys learning how to be responsible always nets a positive review.
2. Building interpersonal relationships with those in different generations brings blessings to all involved.
3. Imagining a teen teaching another teen how to drive makes me chuckle. Out loud.

My only complaint may not be an issue for you. As a driving instructor and school owner, I find it hard to believe that Ms. Delgado, a school teacher, doesn't address any State regulations regarding driving schools. Specifically, licensed instructors and an approved curriculum as well as school records. They only had to get a business license. What makes it better is that with their grand opening money, they had to account for their expenses before taking home any money. And that's a good business practice that many failed businesses never learn.

I did have one more problem. The target audience for the book is teenage boys yet the graphics on the cover and inside illustrations would appeal to my grandmother.

Traffic Law Myth Busted

Did you know that it's against the law to eat a lollipop or paint polka dots on the American flag in Washington? Oh, and you can forget about buying any more meat on Sunday. Supposedly, anyway.

We've all heard rumours about these types of "crazy laws" that are still somehow on "the books." While I think these laws are comical, ridiculous, and entertaining to hear about, I find myself wondering if they're really still in existence, or if they ever were.

I recently saw this ridiculous Washington law cited all over the internet:

All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle.

Really? So, we're all supposed to be driving 2 miles per hour everywhere? Yikes.

Well, if this law happens to actually still be in existence, it's obviously not enforced. I don't recall ever being pulled over for not having a man carrying a red flag in front of me. But, as far as I can tell, it's not still in existence. Not one of the internet sources citing this supposed law cites a corresponding RCW (Revised Code of Washington) to support it.

RCW Title 46 deals with Motor Vehicles. Only one law (RCW 46.37.440) mentions flags and lanterns, but is there any mention of any man preceding any vehicle? Nope. This particular law only says that flags and lanterns must be carried in trucks in case of emergencies.

You can sleep easy now. I'm fairly certain that you won't be pulled over for not having a man fifty feet in front of you with a red flag/lantern. Phew.

Teach Your Teen: You Have Control

I like driving with teens. I like teaching them a skill and working on it for a bit and seeing them improve. It's amazing what an hour of concentrated practice can do.

My friend Diane expressed concern not too many months back about her daughter learning to drive. It's the worst part of having a teen. We're in different stages of life. Her children are in their teens and 20s. Mine are young (the oldest is almost 8). I asked her if she'd like to trade kids with me. Just for a few days. A week, tops. She's got a good memory, though, and didn't want to step back into the world of potty training and coloring on the walls.

One thing that I've only done on a couple occasions, is to ride with a new driver without my passenger-side foot brake. With it, I'm calm and assured. Without it, I get really nervous. Teens are notorious for doing random and unexpected maneuvers while driving. Gas/brake confusion is really distressing. Turning left in front of on-coming cars or lane changing into another vehicle are just as bad. And as I remember these situations, I begin to understand Diane's less than enthusiastic attitude about teen drivers. Aside from about 6-8 formal driving lessons, parents provide most of the practice time with their new drivers. And that can be terrifying.

Before driving with your teen, have the following conversation:

• You: When I say stop, you stop. Do not ask questions. Just do it. We'll talk about the why when it's safe. 
• Teen: Okay (Or something in the affirmative. If the response is less than 100% obedience, your teen may lack the maturity to learn to drive right now. A little time and a lot of walking usually cure this.)

Do not fear. You have a lot of control when your son or daughter is driving. Or at least more than you realize. In addition to this initial warning, you may want to discuss the following so that your child knows what to expect out of you.

• You will be calm and give instructions well in advance.
• You will be sitting in a ready position to take control of the vehicle if necessary.
• The steering wheel is not sacred ground. You may be guiding it if there needs to be a minor course adjustment.
• If there are gas/brake issues, they may feel you grab their knee to lift their foot off the gas or brake.
• In an emergency, you may pull up on the parking brake. 
• In an emergency, you may shift into neutral.
• In an emergency, you may turn off the car.

Use this list of controls wisely and in moderation. You can avoid most of them by not putting your child in a driving situation beyond their abilities. Excessive stimulation from the radio, traffic, siblings in the car or new places usually translates into potential danger. You can do this. The more effort you put into practicing specific skills with your child, the better driver they will become.