Backing Up Is Hard To Do!

Listen to the Oldies stations and you'll hear Neil Sedaka complain about this all the time. Oh, I'm sorry. He sings about breaking up. Well they're both difficult, but once you get the hang of backing up, you can scratch that off your worry list.

Actually, reversing is not tough, however reversing in a straight line often frustrates most beginners and their parents.

Why? Well maybe because the correct backing stance is uncomfortable, or the view out the back window seems weird, maybe the car is moving too fast, or perhaps someone believes that one has to steer in the opposite direction of where one really wants the car to go. The latter misconception thwarts most new drivers.

Follow these steps to ease the burden of backing:

1. Find a nice quiet intersection where the streets join at a 90 degree angle. Have your teen pull into the curb (about a foot or two away from the vertical portion). Make sure your vehicle is parallel to this curb as it's much easier to back up in a straight line if you're already set up for it by driving straight forward. You're going to have her back straight along the curb and stop just before the cross walk.

2. Have your teen pivot her upper body to the her right so she can look over her right shoulder and out the back window. The rear view mirror should not be used for this maneuver. She should grip the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position with her left hand. Make sure she doesn't succumb to the natural tendency to tilt the steering wheel to the left while in this stance. Initially she'll have to take extra care to separate left-hand movement from movement of her right shoulder and her head.

3. Reverses should be executed slowly. Speed should be controlled with the brake almost exclusively. Your teen should rarely have to use the accelerator for this. Her right foot should always be covering the brake.

4. Tell her to steer in the direction she wants the back end of the car to go. Make this even easier by eliminating all references to right or left. Instead she will now steer towards either the curb or the middle of the street. Steering corrections should be minuscule. The bigger the corrections, the harder it is to maintain steady course.

Just remember - have her keep her eye on the course, move slow and steer straight. She'll pass this event on the road test with flying colors.

Teaching Your Teen To Drive: Objective # 3 - Taking Turns

"Knowledge is gained by learning; trust by doubt; skill by practice; and love by love." ~ Thomas S. Szasz

How does a parent go about teaching a brand new, inexperienced driver how to make proper turns?

Here are the step by step instructions:

#1 - Get behind the wheel to show and explain the proper steps for turning corners. Tell your student when and where to start turning and how to straighten the front wheels for coming out of a turn. Have the kid watch your hands as well as the road.

For a left turn you might use the following script while you demonstrate:

Check your rear view mirror and signal your turn at least 100 feet (about two houses) before the intersection.

Slow down as you approach the intersection and position your car next to the center line as you get closer to the corner.

Look left for cross traffic, look right for cross traffic, look across the intersection for oncoming traffic, and look to your left a second time.

When it is safe to do so - drive to the point where your steering wheel is even with the left corner curb (that straight line of concrete to our left), look out the drivers side window, and begin steering into the lane just to the right of the yellow (center) line.

You should move your eyes towards the right (out the front windshield) as the car progresses into the turn.

Just before the front of the car is perfectly straight begin begin steering back to the right until the car is moving forward in a straight line.

By the way, you're going to have to take very slow turns if you're going to coordinate the words with the actions during the demonstration.

#2 - Find a good place to turn the car over to your new driver. If you can find an empty parking lot, mark out a 200' by 200' rectangle and mark the corners with orange safety cones (or sand filled bottles). If you can't find a parking lot, find a quiet neighborhood with straight streets and 90 degree intersections.

#3 - Review the lessons from Starting and Stopping. Afterwards have the student demonstrate the hand-over-hand technique while the selector lever is in park and engine idles. Then have the student start making left turns very slowly. You can coach by telling him where to start steering, when to hold the steering wheel in place, and when to start straightening. You should be ready to assist his steering with your left hand.

#4 - After making the first few turns begin emphasizing proper eye habits. Learning to visualize the proper turn path and "looking into and through the turn" are essential to making smooth and precise turns.

#5 - Practice right turns in the same manner. Remember to keep things slow.

#6 - If you've been working in a parking lot up to this point, move the lesson out into the streets. It's time to start practicing proper positioning and signalling in a quiet, low traffic area. Your job just became more complicated because now you have to watch the traffic in addition to coaching. Take an aspirin or two.

#7 - You can begin to gradually speed up the maneuvers. The timing of the steering and braking is closely tied to the speed of the car. The faster your student drives the more difficult the turns become.

#8 - Your teen should learn that the time to begin the straightening process is when the front wheels, not the hood, start to point down the street being turned into.

#9 - Progress to areas where you can take a variety of turns. Your teen should learn how to turn from the halt, while moving, when positioned on a hill top, when positioned at the base of a hill, at corners with both sharp and rounded curbs, and from narrow streets to wide streets.

Have fun. And remember this takes time.

See also:

Help! My Teens Are Taking Killer Turns!! Part I

Help! My Teens Are Taking Killer Turns!! Part II

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.

Teaching Your Teen To Drive: Objective #2 - Starting and Stopping

"Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand." ~ Chinese Proverb

Once you and your young driver have worked out a pre-driving routine, it's time to get the car moving. Right? Well, not quite. There are still a few key points you'll want to cover before you get rolling.

You should review some of the things he has learned in the classroom - for instance, the fact that one can start the car only if the gear shift selector lever is set on Park (P) or Neutral (N). The ability to start the car in Neutral comes in pretty handy should it ever stall in traffic.

You'll want to review all the warning lights, switches, knobs, and gauges on the dashboard. The windshield wiper switch, the headlight switch, and emergency flashers/warning lights should get special attention. When you need these three, you REALLY need them.

Before he ever inserts key into the ignition switch, remind him to let it go once he hears the sound of the engine. Otherwise you get the buzz-saw sound and your starter motor is one step closer to the junk yard.

Now we're ready to get moving.

Before letting your teen move the car for the first time take it to an off-street area, such as an empty or sparsely populated parking lot. If you can't find one that fits the bill, a straight stretch of level street (about 500 feet) in a quiet neighborhood will suffice.

Have your teen start the engine and shut it off a couple times before moving the car.

Have him drive in a straight line without using the accelerator. I've met so many kids that think the car can't move without help from the accelerator. I suppose old habits developed on the little "Bob the Builder" Jeep die hard. This is where he should learn that he doesn't have to hit the gas to obtain motion.

After he comes to this new understanding, you can have him cross the lot again (or drive down another straight stretch) with the gas pedal slightly depressed, going maybe 10-15 mph, so he can judge the relationship between pedal pressure and acceleration. Have him keep this up while changing the accelerator pressure until he's slowing down and speeding up smoothly.

Then you can teach him to control his speed with the brake. He can practice going forward and backward using only the brake pedal. Have him increase the speed incrementally and then work on slowing down from the higher speeds.

This is where emphasizing keeping that right heel on the floor will pay off. He has to pivot from the accelerator to the brake to do this properly.

You both might be a little nervous at the start of this session. Just stay calm and keep on practicing. Stop when either one of you begins to tire or loose patience.

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.

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.

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.