The Instructor's Brake

I hate using my instructor's brake.

I hate it because when I was 15 years old my driving instructor absolutely loved to use his. He used his brake the same way a dog-handler uses a choke chain. I'd be driving along and out of the blue the car wouldn't respond to me anymore. When that happened I'd think I was not pressing on the gas pedal correctly, so I'd press harder and rev the engine a bit more than Mr. Nuccio liked. Then he'd get upset. Then I would get even more upset.

Thus I use my instructor brake only to keep my students from hitting things when it appears that they are on a collision course. I use it quite a bit, but never as gratuitously as my instructor did back in 1971.

Yesterday afternoon was rather warm - over 80 degrees. You know how you get kind of sluggish and dopey when the temperatures jump, especially when you're acclimated to 65 degrees.

The higher temps just put Devlyn, my first student, into a torpor. Well not exactly a torpor, but she wasn't really at her best. She was slow in spotting a few dangerous situations and slow to react once she recognized them.

I ended up using my brake about 4 times in 90 minutes with her behind the wheel. That's not something I usually do even with the worst of my drivers. With Devlyn this was even more extraordinary because up until yesterday she was always on the ball.

"What's wrong with you today kiddo? I'm helping you out a bit too much."

"I'm sorry. I'm just so tired. This heat is killing me."

"That makes sense. Did you know when you're tired you tend to look down and to the right? You need to force yourself to look through the upper half of that windshield. Pick up on those cars stopped up ahead so you can slow down softly and I don't have to do your braking for you."

"OK. I'm sorry."

"Don't sweat it. Now you know why "Aim High In Steering" is so important. And you know how it feels to drive when your tired. Now you know what you have to do to compensate. You've learned some important lessons today."

Really a good session. I'm glad I could point these things out while she was training with a safety net.

Yep, a safety net beats a choke chain any day.

Drivers Aren't The Only Ones Who Are Tuned Out

Yesterday afternoon I posted my account of a spaced out driving student. Last night Chicago's ABC7 ran a feature on distracted pedestrians. Coincidence? Or are we just both impressed by a problem of epic proportions?

ABC7 noted in its report Tuned Out, that 4500 people were struck by vehicles in Chicago last year. Police say there is no telling how many of them were using iPods, Blackberrys or cell phones at the time -- but safety experts warn that too many people are "tuned out" on bustling crosswalks.

In just one afternoon, ABC7 saw hundreds of people who were "tuned out" at intersections with PDAs, mp3's and cell phones. ABC7 found one woman ignoring a "don't walk" sign as she crossed Michigan Avenue on her cell phone.

Two people listening to headphones at intersections recently died in New York City, so one New York state lawmaker is proposing a law to fine pedestrians $100 for crossing streets while on a cell phone, PDA or mp3.

Personally, I don't think we need any more laws limiting our freedoms. If people want to walk around in a daze that's their prerogative. Don't pass any laws banning electronic devices or fining the users. Let the law of natural selection take over.

However, I would propose legislation that would absolve drivers of any fault should they strike pedestrians who committed unsafe actions while engrossed in the operation of electronic devices.

#1 Driver Error

Recently, I've been working with an eighteen year old student. Here in Illinois she is considered an adult and therefore no longer needs to take formal instruction to qualify for a driver's license.

Nevertheless, she hired me to instruct her as she had already failed the state's road test twice and wanted to figure out what she was doing wrong.

I asked her why she had not passed the road tests, and she explained that a car approaching from the right had nearly smashed into her and the examiner as she was attempting a left turn to leave the test station parking lot.

"Did you see that car coming?"

"No, I looked that way once. Nothing was there so I moved out, and then all of the sudden it came around the corner and nearly nailed us!"

"Oh. Why did you fail the second time?"

"I forgot to check my blind spot before making a lane change."

So we immediately went to work on observing intersections, using proper head and eye movements when taking turns, and of course lane changing drills so she would get in the habit of looking into those blind spots.

We also went over the road test events so she could execute all maneuvers with confidence when the time came. I worked with her once a week for four weeks. During those sessions she never had any problem in physically maneuvering the car.

However, she had a tendency to "zone out" after conquering whatever we had set out to accomplish for the day. Whenever the stress or novelty of the situation disappeared, the mental errors would manifest themselves in various ways. She would try to pull away from the curb without checking her left mirror or blind spot. She would have run through several stop signs had I not intervened.

"What's the problem? Tired?"

"No I'm just spacing out. I do that alot. How do I fix that?"

I did not have a ready answer for her outside of telling her to just stay focused. How do you give advice on how to pay constant attention to dangerous circumstances? You think that it would come naturally. You'd think the survival instinct would kick in and that she'd just do it.

Evidently not. Spacing out is the #1 One Driver Error these days. Everybody seems to be doing it.

Why can't people concentrate anymore?

Random Musings Of A Driving Instructor

"Patience is passion tamed." ~ Lyman Abbott

Every now and then I get compliments such as:

"You must be a very brave to take people you don't even know out on these roads and teach them to drive. That's so dangerous. I'd never do that!"

"How can you be so calm? You just steered him back on course and told him how to do it right - just like nothing ever happened! He almost killed us!"

"You're so patient."

I won't deceive you with any false modesty. Here's the deal. I'm not that brave. I just manage the situation to reduce risks, stay alert and take whatever action is necessary to survive. Plus I have that instructor's brake pedal on my side of the cockpit.

Yes, I am blessed with an extra bit of patience, but I'm not a saint. There are a few things that push my patience to the limits. The two big things that get to me are:

1. Impatient drivers who lay down on their horns at my students who are taking turns too slowly, thus upsetting my students' concentration and performance.
2. Teenagers who single out the driving school car for gratuitous and dangerous harassment.

The impatient drivers offend my sense of fairness and compassion. Seemingly they've never had difficulty learning anything new and feel no one else should have that problem either. Instead of helping the new guy or at least cutting him some slack, they get angry and pressure him.

There's not really too much I can do to stop that behavior, so I just suck it up and help the kid drive on safely. If you've ever seen the mini-series Lonesome Dove you may recall what Woodrow Call did to the cavalry scout who hit Newt with the riding crop.

That's what I'd like to do. And I'd finish up with Woodrow's answer to the funny looks from the ladies who passed by afterwards:

"I can't abide rudeness in a man."

As for the the newly licensed drivers who want to haze my students by tailgating us, then racing around to our front to cut us off with only inches to spare, they're threatening our lives and that really bothers me. Fortunately for them (and me) I don't carry a Winchester Model 97. I'd use all 5 rounds if I had one handy. Instead I just have my fledglings pull over to the curb and then the game is no longer any fun for the harasser.

If the troublemakers don't clear out before I can get their plate number, a call to the cops is the next step.

So you can see I'm no saint. I just keep a lid on my emotions and get the job done.

By the way - I scored a 22 on this Driving Personality Quiz. That means I'm one cool, calm, and collected guy even if I do curse under my breath and tap the horn to get inattentive drivers to move when the light turns green. How did you do?

What's Your Driving Personality?

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may we are never able to fully know ourselves as we are, especially the evil side of us" ~ Mohandas Gandhi

How does your personality shine through when you get behind the wheel? Are you the Dudley Do-Right of the the roadway who strictly obeys every rule in the book? Or did they base the movie Anger Management on your driving record?

Here's a nifty 60 question test to help you find your spot on the spectrum. Parents, this might help you see yourself through your teen's eyes. Remember, he's learning every little thing from you. You might want to see what you've been teaching him all these years.

Music and Driving

"Music is the shorthand of emotion" ~ Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Some parents think that driving with the car radio on is a distraction and most teens swear that they can't drive without it.

I've found that the answer depends on several variables. First we have to look at the teen's temperament and capability. What kind of person is this new driver? Is he easily distractable? If so the radio/CD player is not appropriate. Does your new driver have superb powers of concentration? Then a musical background (and I emphasize background) might help keep driver and parent calm during training drives. Having the sound system in operation certainly reflects a more realistic driving scenario.

The driving school at which I instruct actually encourages the use of the radio exactly because it is more realistic. Whenever we're reviewing "old" material or practicing maneuvers that the student feels confident executing, I'll have the music playing at a medium to low volume. When we start work on something new or find ourselves driving in a high pressure situation the music gets switched off so we can both concentrate.

The other thing you have to consider is the type of music being played. I found an interesting article that relates musical beats per minute to the driver's emotional state and performance.

In 2002 Warren Brodsky, an Israeli researcher, said drivers who listen to fast music in their cars may have more than twice as many accidents as those listening to slower tracks.

He put a group of 28 students through their paces on a driving simulator. Each student drove round the virtual streets of Chicago while listening to different pieces of music, or none at all. The students had an average of seven years' driving experience.

Brodsky chose music with a variety of styles, ranging from laid-back George Benson ballads to the ultra-fast numbers beloved of clubbers. The tempo ranged from a slow 60 beats per minute up to a fast and furious 120 beats per minute or more. All the music was played relatively loudly to maximize its effect.

As the tempo increased, Brodsky found drivers took more risks, such as jumping red lights, and had more accidents. When listening to up-tempo pieces, they were twice as likely to jump a red light as those who were not listening to music. And drivers had more than twice as many accidents when they were listening to fast tempos as when they listened to slow or medium-paced numbers.

I concur with Brodsky's findings. I have seen students begin to drive faster when the musical tempo increased and I have seen them slow when we switched to a more mellow tune. Parents might consider using music as a remote control for leadfooted teens.

Anyway, the decision to listen to music should be based on the individuals involved. If you decide to enjoy the tunes consider volume and tempo.

Is Your Teen Ready To Begin Driver's Training?

"Experience teaches only the teachable" ~ Vernon Law

Did you ever hear the story about the man who was so eager for his son to begin Driver's Ed that he rushed over to the driving school before classes were scheduled to start?

"You really didn't need to do that," said the school administrator. "Your son could have given that to the instructor on the first day."

"I couldn't trust my son with that check," the father answered.

I wonder what made dad think that his son would be anymore trustworthy behind the wheel of a two thousand pound guided missle. Just because parents have tossed more than 180 calendar pages into the trash since their youngster was born does not automatically mean the kid is ready to drive.

You've got to consider three things before putting your teen on the cold, cruel road.

1. Is your teen able to control the vehicle?

• Does he/she have sufficient size and strength to operate the controls?
• Good vision?
• Good reflexes?
• Good coordination?
• The ability to process information quickly, weigh risks, and arrive at good split second conclusions?

2. Is your teen willing to learn? Can he memorize traffic laws and then apply that knowledge to real life conditions while operating the car?

3. Is your teen emotionally mature? Can she handle setbacks while remaining cooperative with you, the instructor, and other drivers?

If your child is not ready, it's better to wait before beginning driver training. Although your teens may interpet such delay as punishment you are giving them time to mature and develop to the point where they can drive right.

You're not doing them (or the world) any favors by letting them drive too soon. I'm sure you don't want to kill your teen with 'kindness'.

Let The Other Guy Merge

"We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it" ~ Winston Churchill

We did some expressway driving yesterday. Alfonso had driven on limited access highways with his parents on several occasions already so he was highly confident going there with me.

He did a pretty competent job too. He merged in well. He executed all lane changes smoothly. He was comfortable with the high speeds. He kept the Malibu centered in his lane - even in curves. He appeared to have a good handle on this kind of driving. He and his parents had put a lot of good work into this.

Just one flaw. When driving in the right lane near merge areas, he didn't want to adjust his speed to help the entering traffic come onto the roadway. On the contrary, he charged into them like he was Vince Papale (from the movie, Invincible) on kick-off coverage - ignoring my commands to slow down.

"Ease off, Boyo!"

I finally intervened by applying the instructor brakes from my side of the car.

"What are you trying to do to this white van?!"

The van lumbers onto the expressway just a foot or two in front of us.

"He's supposed to yield to us!" exclaims Alfonso.

"You need to lighten up and let these people merge in. And you're supposed to drive safely. What was he supposed to do? Jam on his brakes and be rear-ended? Drive onto the shoulder? Or crash into us?"

How I despise youthful arrogance.

Anyway, Alfonso got sucked into that cry-baby blame game I mentioned a few posts ago.

People, Parents, Teens, Fellow Drivers! Lend me your ear! We need to shuck this "it's the other guy's fault" mentality. If you see a problem developing, you are the one responsible for taking action to avoid collision. Don't depend on the other drivers. They just might not come through for you. Take ownership of the situation.

Do it...and you go home to your loved ones.

Do it not...and your loved ones go to your funeral.

Teaching Your Teen To Drive: Tip # 2 - Start Easy and Keep a Steady Pace

"Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard duty" ~ Albert Einstein

I know a lot of parents who throw their rookie driver onto the busiest road in town just minutes after the kid obtains her learner's permit. This might be a good approach if she has already had some "bootleg" experience on grandpa's pickup truck on a private farm road. It may not even be a bad idea if the kid has grown up driving ATVs, snowmobiles, and dirt bikes.

But, if she has had no experience with motor vehicles outside of being a passenger then this old "sink or swim" approach might just backfire. You'll make her fearful. It's difficult to teach people when they are afraid. After all, the Army doesn't put troops in combat before they've at least gone through basic training. A lighter approach is definitely in order.

Starting out in a quiet neighborhood and getting familiar with the car where she is not under heavy fire will make every one's life easier. Remember when she was a baby? She had to crawl before she could walk and she had to walk before she could run.

Once your teen can drive in a straight line and stay in the correct lane when taking turns, you can venture forth to the grocery store, school, the movies, where ever. Just not before she's ready.

It's crucial that she gets as much "wheel time" as possible. As often as possible. Repeated 15-20 minute trips spread over the week are much more effective than 3 hour marathon sessions conducted only once in a while.

Repeated exposure to the actual driving experience is key to understanding how things work on the cold, cruel road.

I'm Not Going Too Fast!! I'm Right At The Limit!

"In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed" ~ Charles Darwin

Young Alfonso is driving 50 mph, the posted speed limit on this stretch of Rte 59. We're closing in fast on the Dodge Ram to our front.

"Time to start slowing down, kiddo." I say matter of factly.

"Why, I'm right at the speed limit!" he complains.

"Yeah, but the guy in front of us isn't and we're not playing tag. Do you think we can make this Malibu jump over him?"

"Oh!" says Alfonso as he brakes gently - just 4 seconds behind the Ram. Not a bad interval, but not as good as the 12 second gap we had once enjoyed.

I suppose most people just expect things to unfold exactly according to their plans and forget that sometimes we have to adapt to less than ideal conditions.

The guys who designed the roads posted those speed limits for ideal conditions. Ideal usually meaning dry straight aways with maximum traction, perfect visibility, and little or no traffic.

When was the last time you drove under ideal conditions? Yeah, just what I thought.

That means that you are not going to be driving the posted speed limit in traffic jams, blizzards, monsoons, or fog banks. It also means you're going to reduce your speed (that's fancy talk for slow down) before you drive into a curve.

Basically you have to remember the STV formula. If you're driving in tight areas and space is at a premium - slow down. If the road is slick and you don't have much traction - slow down. If the rain is coming down in sheets and your visibility to the front is a mere fifty feet - slow down. The posted speed limit no longer applies.

Adapt to the situation and prevail.

Teaching Your Teen To Drive: Tip # 1 - Keep Your Cool

"When anger rises, think of the consequences" ~ Confucious

The 1st rule of the Teach To Drive Club is -

DON'T YELL AT YOUR KID.

The 2nd Rule of the Teach To Drive Club is -

DON'T YELL AT YOUR KID. *

At least not while they're behind the wheel. Wait until you get home. Then you can vent all you want.

Really, I'm not joking. How do you feel when someone bawls you out? Do you remain focused on the task at hand? Or do you withdraw into the recesses of your mind - feeling defensive, angry, resentful, and hurt?

Same thing with your teen. High emotion will really screw up his driving performance, reduce his attention span, and become yet another one of many existing distractions.

Yeah, I know. It's really tough not to rant when the kids do something stupid and scare the devil out of you. Just remember that if you get over-excited, the danger increases for the both of you.

There are a few things you can do to help reduce your terror, such as:

• Use the vanity mirror on the passenger side as a rear view mirror for you...or buy a cheap suction cup from an auto-parts store.
• Paste a STUDENT DRIVER sign in the rear window or on the bumper. Maybe your fellow motorists will show mercy.
• If you have an emergency hand brake in the center console it will stop the car and should override the gas pedal. But go easy on it. A sharp yank could send your car into a spin.
• In addition to the hand brake (or if your emergency brake is a pedal), you can negate your young driver's heavy foot by pushing the gear selector lever from drive to neutral.

These techniques will give you more control over the situation when your teen is behind the wheel. You can slow or stop the action at will. Then you can deal with your child more calmly.

Remember, don't yell at the kid in the car. Driving and emotion are a bad mix.

* If you missed the subtle humor here go to Blockbuster and check out The Fight Club.

Either Drive Safely or Play "The Blame Game"

"When two quarrel, both are to blame" ~ Dutch Proverb

"Mr. Sweeney, that tailgater riding our rear is really getting on my nerves! Is it OK with you if I stomp on the brake real hard and then let up on it real fast? I want to scare him off!"

"No!! You know better than that! Just relax and make sure you don't have to make any sudden stops. You don't want to be involved in a rear end collision. Believe you me!"

"Hee, Hee! Just kidding! But even if he hit us, wouldn't it be his fault?"

"Yes, Caitlin, it would be, but wouldn't you just rather get home on time?"

Just about everyday my students and I are threatened by careless or aggressive drivers. After we yield right of way to them or take evasive action, the kids pepper me with questions or comments such as:

"That wasn't fair!"

"If we had crashed, wouldn't it have been their fault?"

"Who would get the ticket?"

"Why did we have to yield to that jerk? We had the right of way!"

I'll answer with a quick analysis of what the other guy should have done if we lived in a perfect world where everyone drove by the book.

Then I ask them if they would rather be alive or right.

Word combinations like "right and wrong", "guilty or not guilty", "liable or exempt" are used in nice, comfortable offices by lawyers and insurance adjusters to sort things out after the crash.

Drivers on the cold, cruel road ought to be more concerned with phrases like "safe or dangerous" and "dead or alive".

Drivers(at least good drivers) are more concerned with avoiding crashes rather than figuring out who the bad guy is.

Good drivers yield to those who are mistaken because we'd rather go home a few seconds later than waste hours on things such as:

1. bandaging wounds
2. talking to police officers*
3. filling out accident reports (don't you already have enough homework?)
4. waiting for repairs on a busted up vehicle
5. lying in bed waiting for bones to mend
6. talking to insurance people*
7. talking to lawyers and judges*

Don't play the Blame Game. It's a game that you will lose whether you're right or wrong.

Instead compensate for the other driver's mistakes. Slow down when that knucklehead races out in front of your vehicle with only inches to spare. He shouldn't have done it, but give him some room anyway. You won't regret it.

*Not that there is anything wrong with talking to these great folks, but wouldn't you rather do so under better circumstances? Like at a ball game or a picnic?