Hey Kids : The Secret to Making Your Parents More Mellow on Training Drives

"Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends." Shirley MacLaine

"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper." ~ Robert Frost

Does it make you nervous when Mom's right foot presses on that imaginary brake pedal on the passenger side of the car?

Maybe you're tired of hearing your parents scream: "STOP! BRAKE!! BRAKE HARDER!!!"

Well I have the secret that will turn your folks from terrified onlookers to friendly partners. In fact I have several secrets. Here check them out:

Secret #1 - When your parents start acting jittery, it's probably because you're closing in on traffic to your front way too rapidly. Try this little experiment. Next time you're approaching an intersection where traffic is backed up, make note of how quickly those little cars in the distance start getting bigger and bigger in your windshield. The faster they grow the more shrilly your parents will scream.

Secret #2 - If you tried the experiment mentioned above you'll see what I mean. Wasn't that fun? Only problem is those old kill joys won't let you drive for another week now. Bummer. You're going to have to find a way to calm the folks down. That means approaching other vehicles and objects on the road more slowly. You gotta learn to be more gentle with your parents and the brake. They can only take so much punishment.

Secret#3 - If you haven't already, learn to use your right heel as a pivot point. Plant it on the floor board between the brake and the gas pedal (aka the accelerator). The ball of your foot should be able to reach either one of these pedals easily. I know it seems awkward and unnatural to some of you, but you have to master this because it makes it easier and faster for you to swing over to the brake when you need it. If you have to pick up your entire right foot all the time it makes you tired and less likely to have your foot on (or even near) the brake at critical times.

Secret #4 - When you see a situation ahead that appears to call for a slow down but you are uncertain, take your foot off the gas pedal and pivot it so that it hovers over (or even rests on)the brake pedal. Your classroom instructor may have told you about this trick. It's called covering the brake.

Covering the brake will save you valuable time and space if you end up needing to slow down or stop. Remember - merely lightening up on the accelerator is not good enough. When you're trying to figure things out, your automatic reaction must be to immediately pivot to and cover that brake. At 40 mph this will give you an additional 40 feet of braking distance since you've saved the time needed to move your foot over from the gas to the brake.

Secret # 5 - The car is not going to come to a screeching and immediate halt the very second you put any pressure on it. That only happens in cartoons. After you've decided to stop in a non-emergency situation immediately apply enough pressure on the brake so that you can feel the brake pedal push back. That's right. Get rid of all the slack. You should be able to feel a slight slowdown.

As you get closer to the point where you must be stopped - press harder. The closer you get, the slower your car has got be going. Focus your eyes on where you want the car to stop.

Secret #6 - If there's a vehicle in front of you, plan your stop so that you'll be far enough behind it to see its back tires touching the ground. I'll say it again. Focus your eyes on where you want the car to be stopped.

If you learn and actually use the secrets above, your stops will be much smoother and safer - and your parents will be less tempted to raise their voices.

Bonus Secret - Don't accelerate towards red lights.