Panoramic Rear View Mirror

I was out and about doing some errands last week when I spotted a peculiar thing in the car stopped ahead of me. Two teenage girls, one seated in the driver's seat and one in the passenger's seat were both gazing into a rear view mirror that stretched the length of the entire windshield. I had never seen a rear view mirror like that before so I was kind of intrigued. I figured there had to be a logical and safety-related reason to have such a mirror, even though the two girls were using it at that moment to simply check their hair, makeup, etc.

Shortly after that, I went along my way and ended up behind yet another set of teenagers with an identical rear view mirror. I had honestly never seen one of these before, so I was shocked to see two within only a few blocks of each other. I started wondering if this is some trend that I have been oblivious to, so I decided to snap a photo with my phone. The quality is obviously lacking, but you get the idea of what the mirror looks like, I hope.

According to Internet sites selling these mirrors, they supposedly improve driver safety and visibility by eliminating blind spots and giving the driver visibility of all-lanes. That sounds great, right? Not having a blind spot and being able to see much more around you would be great. But, I wonder at what price you get this for? Does the added space that mirror takes up in the windshield block your visibility in front of you? Does the mirror serve as more of a distraction than a help considering that you can look at yourself without having to adjust the mirror? (It obviously seemed to be quite a distraction to the two teenage girls I saw).

Although I've come across many positive reviews, I think I might have to give the mirror a try before making my own judgment about it. Have any of you tried this type of mirror out? What are your thoughts about it?

Learning to Drive In America: An Immigrant's Story

Every now and again it's good for me to crawl out from underneath the rock that I call my comfort zone and get to know people from other places. Not everyone learns to drive at 15 or 16. Today Julio C. tells us his story and challenges with learning to drive in the United States. Guest post by: Jeff Denenholz.

For Julio growing up in Central America, earning a college degree and starting a family prohibited him from owning a car and learning to drive until moving to Redmond, WA last November.  He realized immediately important differences between life in Latin America versus here.  “We never had a car for multiple reasons, so we had no license document at all.”

Not having a car has presented several challenges for Julio, mainly the lack of a driver’s license.  He quickly discovered what most of us already take for granted.  “We found that the driver’s license is usually the identification document for U.S. citizens, so it’s a must to have, even if you don’t plan to get a car immediately.”  

Thanks to a great job offer here, Julio is finally able to own a car and learn to drive. He says many friends and co-workers were surprised to learn this was his first time on the roads.  “Well, most people I talked with were quite impressed when I said that I had never had a car or driven before, at all. It seems like in the U.S. everybody gets a license and a car around 18 years old, or maybe before, but where I come from having a car while being so young can be quite a luxury that few parents are able to afford. Over there you usually get a car after getting your own job and working hard for a while. I was almost ready to get my car back there when we decided to move to another country.”

Julio was most concerned about learning to change lanes in the beginning.  “I was very afraid of making a mistake and crashing into another car by changing lanes. Also, parallel parking presented quite a difficult skill set to master.”

Carol Howie, professional driving instructor, tells me that many of her students like Julio never learned to drive due to lack of time or money.  For Julio, it was mainly credit card debt.  Carol doesn’t think there is a great difference between adults who were born here and those learning to drive after moving here from another country.  “They each are highly motivated for a job, for their family or to just get on with their life. We do have to deal with language differences sometimes, however. Then we draw lots of pictures at the side of the road.”

Julio agrees with Carol’s philosophy that the best way is to start with very simple tasks “baby steps” and build confidence along with the skills.  “Carol, a very patient lady, didn´t hesitate on giving me plenty of opportunities to practice and helped me go baby steps from the simplest things to know on the road to more challenging stuff like entering a highway.”

Sign Stealing: From Fun to Fatal

Book Review: Driver's Ed by Caroline Cooney

When the kids in Mr. Fielding's driver's ed class talk about stealing the Thickly Settled sign near the forest, he was barely aware of the conversation. He was so burnt out on living that he neglected to teach the only class where failure may result in death on the road. So when his students end up stealing a stop sign and a woman dies, he determines to teach better and find out who is responsible. The only problem is he doesn't know anyone's name and the students all look alike.

My favorite part about Driver's Ed was getting inside the minds of the two main teen characters. It was like taking a step back in time for me and remembering what it was like to have a crush and doing stupid things to get attention. It was interesting to follow the teens' thoughts and justifications as well as to experience their torment as they continually choose to hide the truth. While telling the truth won't bring someone back from the dead, it's the first step in making things better.

I think Driver's Ed is a great book for young adults that not only teaches you that the thrill of the moment may lead to something disastrous, but more importantly that the emotions that fill your soul afterward cause tremendous anguish.

Shocking Statistics

Let's all drive safely so we don't end up being one of these tragic statistics.


Statistics courtesy of NHTSA 2009.

Teach Your Teen: Be Still

I've heard it said that the uncluttered mind is free to think clearly in a crisis. I pretty much agree with that since it's exactly how it happened with me.

I've got a lot going on in my life. First and foremost, I'm a wife and mother. Second, I'm active in my community and church. And third, I'm heavily involved in our family business. The overlappage (don't worry it really is a word) of roles has a tendency to fill my mind with details. Tons of  them. Large and small. Insignificant and truly important. Sometimes, the clutter in my mind piles up and starts talking to me. It becomes one of those friends that chatters non-stop. On occasion, I like the extra company and crunch my breakfast apple as I mull things over on my commute. But other times, like that grey morning when the rain splattered my windshield, it needed to stop.

As I got on the highway, I got the distinct impression that this morning, of all mornings, I needed to have two hands on the wheel and a large space around my little car. These aren't necessarily out of character driving habits for me. But on cold, wet mornings, it is common to find one of my hands warming up under my leg while the other one steers.

I knew the voice. It doesn't come often, but when it does, it comes from deep within. There have been occasions when I've followed the prompting. And other times when it spoke to deaf ears. When I reflect back on various gut instincts I've had and pop them into the Smart-O-Meter, it's fairly safe to say that I've always been smarter and happier for following as opposed to ignoring my sixth sense.

I turned off the radio only to be left with the plunking of rain drops on the roof and rhythm of wipers working double time. My infant son and carpool buddy slept soundlessly in the back seat. The traffic pattern looked typical for a bleak Seattle morning. A little wet doesn't slow anyone down...until it turns into standing water on the freeway. Even so, traffic flowed at a steady pace. As I began to imagine what the voice meant, my driving instructor mind switched on and I began to methodically identify each potential hazard in my path. I knew what was happening in all directions around my vehicle.

There was a gentle incline to my path and a pack of cars clustered together in the close distance. I was driving in the high-occupancy-vehicle lane, which consistently has better space than any of the others. Occasional cars moved in and out of my comfort zone to the right. An SUV behind me in my lane was was several seconds back. All was well...until a pickup truck ahead swerved over two lanes.

He didn't even look. Cars could have been right next to him and he never would have known until he hit them. How could he have done something so rash? His truck could have flipped! A huge pile up could have ensued.

My eyes darted over to see what he'd been avoiding. My hasty judgement of him faded quickly as I watched another car out of control. My foot hit the brake. I checked my rear view mirror and put firmer pressure on the brake, coming to a stop. The SUV to my rear followed my lead having watched the whole scene play out over the top of my car. A monster truck behind her hastily made a lane change. He had no intention on getting stuck behind any sort of slow down. Dropping so much speed so quickly didn't make sense....Until he saw what we'd seen. He cut his speed fast and came to a stop next to me.

 It was then that the most unusual thing happened. It was like the Divine connected the three of us. Monster Truck, SUV and I found ourselves together, looking at the car in front of us that had hit a patch of standing water and spun around. It was facing the wrong direction. And the world seemed to stop. This driver was in danger and paralyzed with the realization that she was stuck. She didn't move as she contemplated her options.

Perhaps, she could drive in reverse to the next exit. Or maybe she could wait until traffic thinned out and try to turn around... all the while hoping and praying she could do so quickly enough to not get hit. Better yet, she could wait for a State Trooper to come save her. He would block a couple of lanes of traffic and she'd be able to get going the right way. Resigned to the fate of the last option, she moved her car to the shoulder.

Unified, Monster Truck, SUV and I went into action. While Monster Truck blocked the lane next to me and SUV had my back, I slowly drove up next to the spun out driver and rolled down my window. "Are you okay?" I asked. With deer-in-headlights wide eyes, a young girl nodded yes. She couldn't have been more than 20 and was visibly shaken. She needed direction and I told her what to do. "Will your car start?" She tried the engine. It started. "Good. Those two are blocking traffic for you. I'm going to back up and you need to turn around.  You have two lanes to do it. You're going to be okay." "Thanks," she whispered as I put my car into reverse.

I returned to my place beside Monster Truck and gave him a nod. He had been instrumental in this grand scheme. Doe Eyes turned around and rejoined traffic. We had been a success.

With a wave to SUV our connection dissipated and we were all moving again. No one else knew what had transpired. But we did. We were pulled together at the right place and at the right time. Listening to the still small voice warms my soul. We did a good thing.

You have stories to tell. Share them with the new drivers in your life. Teach your teen to be still and listen. The voice they hear when they most need it may come from within.