There are two potentially dangerous activities that people do in this world, for which they are poorly educated. The first one is parenting.
We are terribly under-educated when it comes to parenting. Schools in the early education years are forbidden to touch the subject. The vast majority of people who are parents have never taken a course or read books or intentionally made an effort to learn what a "good" parent does and knows, certainly before becoming parents themselves. Until they become parents, they haven't the vaguest idea of how other parents function except for what they learned from their own parents or parents of their friends.
Most people haven't gained parenting knowledge available to them through education and from the experience of trained and knowledgeable people who have done research, written books and who do give courses on the subject. Certainly, men only learn to be fathers from their own fathers, often without any awareness of the impact of their fathering on their children. Sadly, mothering is often learned the same way.
The other huge area of human endeavor where education is sorely lacking is pre-licensed driving.
Learning to drive by watching how parents drive is less than fruitful unless the parents are aware safe drivers who intentionally educate their children to become safe drivers. The few skills and limited knowledge taught in the usual Drivers Ed courses, has proven to be insufficient if judged by statistics of young-driver crashes. We in the United States, do an enormous amount of driving and yet, again, the only way that people learn is through experience, which is a hell of a way to learn!
Learning to drive by driving for many years is a costly and dangerous way to learn how to become a good driver. There are so many skills and so much knowledge needed to become a good and safe driver that to learn by driving on the road is the least effective way to gain the skills and knowledge. Driving is also not the best way to gain the temperament need to be a safe driver. Experience, though a great teacher, is the most dangerous way to learn to become a safe driver.
A Drivers License is simply the right to drive on the roads. NOTHING MORE!
Uncle PACKSman
Quick tip: Consciously decide to BE a safe driver.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
WHAT KIND OF DRIVER ARE YOU?
DRIVE SMART – DRIVE SAFE - DRIVE WITH PACKS
PACKS = PATIENCE, AWARENESS, COURTESY, KNOWLEDGE, SKILL
Just as there is enormous variety in people as people, your nature as a driver grows out of your nature as a person. Your investment of time, effort, and thought into your nature as a driver makes an enormous difference in the kind of driver you are or will become.
Many drivers are oblivious to learning about driving no matter how many years they have held their drivers license and no matter how important driving a car is to their way of life. Such drivers are comfortable that they know everything they should know about driving having passed the drivers exam to obtain a license. This is comparable to calling yourself a cook having learned to boil an egg.
So I have created a mini-exam, less to test your knowledge than to test your awareness of the kind of driver you are. As with all knowledge-based skills, there are levels of proficiency. Proficient means adept, skillful, knowledgeable. Give yourself a rating from one to five for each question. If you do not know the answer or have never thought of the question, rate yourself a “One” in proficiency on that question. If you do these things sometimes and understand the question partially, rate yourself from “Two” to “Four” for those. If you have asked yourself these questions and know the answers to them and function correctly in the area of that question, give yourself a “Five” in driver proficiency for those questions.
Are your windows and mirrors clean before you start driving?
Are all systems in proper operating condition?
Are the mirrors, seat, and steering column adjusted if you share the vehicle?
Do you check behind and around the vehicle before getting in?
Do you check your gas level?
Do you use three mirrors plus turn around before and during backing up?
Do you turn on the lights of your car after starting the engine?
Do you always use your signal lights before turning and lane changes?
Do you look over your left shoulder when making a change to the left lane?
Do you always drive on the right when possible?
Do you drive at a steady rate of speed?
Do you know exactly where you are going when you start out?
Do you know the best route?
Do you know the street names and the location of your destination on the street?
Do you know the parking possibilities at the location you are going to?
Do you know how much time is needed to reach your destination?
Do you always have that much time available to you when you start?
Do you never go through red lights?
Do you always come to a full stop at stop signs?
Do you always come to a full stop before making a right turn on red?
Do you constantly scan your mirrors and know what vehicles are around you?
Do you pass on the left whenever possible?
Is your physical condition always okay when you drive?
Is your mental condition always okay when you drive?
Are the seat belts for yourself and others always fastened before setting out?
Do you put loose packages in the back of your vehicle.
Do you keep your low beam on at all times when driving during the day?
Do you slow down before or when you are passing?
Do you slow down before or when you are passing in the rain?
Do you drive with the speed of traffic in rush hour or when there is heavy traffic?
Do you always enable other vehicles to pass you?
Do you always enable other vehicles to enter your lane of traffic?
Do you merge at the speed of traffic?
Do you always merge timely into the correct lane to make a turn?
Do you move to the left of your lane to enable other vehicles to make a right turn on red?
Do you concentrate on driving when driving?
Do you change your driving habits to fit road conditions?
Do you always use your signal lights when stopped in a left or right turn lane?
Do you obey the Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?
When you answer these thirty-eight questions, you will get some idea of what your present driving habits are and then you'll have some idea of what you have to do and learn to improve your safety when driving. If you score seventy or below, you need immediate remedial driver education. If you score above one-hundred-fifty, you are probably a proficient driver.
It makes sense to determine what your driving skills are and to some extent what your knowledge and what your driving abilities are. By looking at the way you drive at this time, and then after reading these columns and consciously making an effort to change your particular unsafe driving practices, this blog will have proven to be of value.
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: Buckled seat belts are made of gold. Unbuckled seat belts are made of lead.
PACKS = PATIENCE, AWARENESS, COURTESY, KNOWLEDGE, SKILL
Just as there is enormous variety in people as people, your nature as a driver grows out of your nature as a person. Your investment of time, effort, and thought into your nature as a driver makes an enormous difference in the kind of driver you are or will become.
Many drivers are oblivious to learning about driving no matter how many years they have held their drivers license and no matter how important driving a car is to their way of life. Such drivers are comfortable that they know everything they should know about driving having passed the drivers exam to obtain a license. This is comparable to calling yourself a cook having learned to boil an egg.
So I have created a mini-exam, less to test your knowledge than to test your awareness of the kind of driver you are. As with all knowledge-based skills, there are levels of proficiency. Proficient means adept, skillful, knowledgeable. Give yourself a rating from one to five for each question. If you do not know the answer or have never thought of the question, rate yourself a “One” in proficiency on that question. If you do these things sometimes and understand the question partially, rate yourself from “Two” to “Four” for those. If you have asked yourself these questions and know the answers to them and function correctly in the area of that question, give yourself a “Five” in driver proficiency for those questions.
Are your windows and mirrors clean before you start driving?
Are all systems in proper operating condition?
Are the mirrors, seat, and steering column adjusted if you share the vehicle?
Do you check behind and around the vehicle before getting in?
Do you check your gas level?
Do you use three mirrors plus turn around before and during backing up?
Do you turn on the lights of your car after starting the engine?
Do you always use your signal lights before turning and lane changes?
Do you look over your left shoulder when making a change to the left lane?
Do you always drive on the right when possible?
Do you drive at a steady rate of speed?
Do you know exactly where you are going when you start out?
Do you know the best route?
Do you know the street names and the location of your destination on the street?
Do you know the parking possibilities at the location you are going to?
Do you know how much time is needed to reach your destination?
Do you always have that much time available to you when you start?
Do you never go through red lights?
Do you always come to a full stop at stop signs?
Do you always come to a full stop before making a right turn on red?
Do you constantly scan your mirrors and know what vehicles are around you?
Do you pass on the left whenever possible?
Is your physical condition always okay when you drive?
Is your mental condition always okay when you drive?
Are the seat belts for yourself and others always fastened before setting out?
Do you put loose packages in the back of your vehicle.
Do you keep your low beam on at all times when driving during the day?
Do you slow down before or when you are passing?
Do you slow down before or when you are passing in the rain?
Do you drive with the speed of traffic in rush hour or when there is heavy traffic?
Do you always enable other vehicles to pass you?
Do you always enable other vehicles to enter your lane of traffic?
Do you merge at the speed of traffic?
Do you always merge timely into the correct lane to make a turn?
Do you move to the left of your lane to enable other vehicles to make a right turn on red?
Do you concentrate on driving when driving?
Do you change your driving habits to fit road conditions?
Do you always use your signal lights when stopped in a left or right turn lane?
Do you obey the Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?
When you answer these thirty-eight questions, you will get some idea of what your present driving habits are and then you'll have some idea of what you have to do and learn to improve your safety when driving. If you score seventy or below, you need immediate remedial driver education. If you score above one-hundred-fifty, you are probably a proficient driver.
It makes sense to determine what your driving skills are and to some extent what your knowledge and what your driving abilities are. By looking at the way you drive at this time, and then after reading these columns and consciously making an effort to change your particular unsafe driving practices, this blog will have proven to be of value.
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: Buckled seat belts are made of gold. Unbuckled seat belts are made of lead.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
WHO? ME? AGGRESSIVE DRIVER?
DRIVE SMART - DRIVE SAFE DRIVE WITH PACKS
PACKS =Patience-Awareness-Courtesy-Knowledge-Skill
Safe drivers learn to understand and respond to road dangers when an aggressive driver is in their vicinity. Safe drivers also look in the mirror and see an aggressive driver or just an occasional “get even” driver. Is one of those you? ”Who, me?” "Maybe once in a while when some guy cuts me off. Or maybe once in a while when someone is pushy and tries to get me to move out of his way so he can go speeding by. Nah! I’m not an aggressive driver. Do I close the gap when someone signals that he wants to get into my lane? Never! Hah! Well, maybe sometimes." The inability on the part of many drivers to allow a car to get into the line of traffic ahead of them, is AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. Safe drivers put themselves in danger by inappropriate responses to other drivers’ takeover of road space.
Webster’s definition of aggression is, “hostile, injurious, or destructive behavior or outlook, esp. when caused by frustration.”
Both the safe driver and the aggressive driver have to know that aggressive driving is a crash waiting to happen. Aggressive drivers, though they may not be looking for trouble, learn soon enough that trouble will find them. Simply, when you drive aggressively, you are not a safe driver.
This brings me to point out that we are not always the same nor do we always act in the same manner. When a normally placid person who works in a job situation that causes him frustration leaves his place of work and gets behind the wheel of his car, he finds himself in total control of his universe. That normally placid person may become a very aggressive driver who needs to work out the frustrations that were generated during his work day. He becomes an aggressive driver. A a person may be angry at some happening or a fight with someone and they vent their anger on the road. There are many reasons for aggressive driving – none of them good reasons !
Safe drivers must learn which driving behaviors of others upset them and make them angry and lead them to drive in an unsafe and aggressive manner. So the safe driver, being an aware driver, not only recognizes the behavior of the aggressive driver, but also recognizes his own internal aggressive responses to what that driver is doing. He overcomes those natural responses and habituates himself to not mimic the behavior of aggressive drivers. The safe driver will choose to remain safe on the road. The need for the safe driver is not to understand the psychology of the aggressive driver but rather to understand his own psychology, to understand the pulls on his driving behavior that are roused by the aggressive driver and by the actions of other drivers on the road.
Are you listening to me! Have I put you to sleep with this lecture? Wake up and live!
Safe drivers teach themselves the habits of patience, awareness, courtesy, knowledge, and skill; driving by not responding to the aggressive driver's behavior, by not trying to show the aggressive driver how to drive correctly, by not engaging in the games of an aggressive driver, by not trying to teach an aggressive driver the speed limit by getting in front of him and slowing down.
By mimicking an aggressive driver's behavior on the road, safe drivers are exposing themselves to highly dangerous situations created by aggressive drivers. For example, seeing the excessive speed of an aggressive driver, you, the safe driver, may lose good judgment and decide to keep up with her. An aggressive driver weaving in and out of traffic seems to be inviting safe drivers to follow him. If you do, you too are inviting a crash. When you are being tailgated, do you slow down, inviting the tailgater to drive even closer to your rear bumper. Is it an emotional response? It certainly isn’t a brainy response.
So, the rule is, when usually safe drivers become aggressive, they are increasing the danger for themselves and for others and they cease to be safe drivers.
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: When you are being tailgated, turn on your emergency flashers and maintain speed.
.
PACKS =Patience-Awareness-Courtesy-Knowledge-Skill
Safe drivers learn to understand and respond to road dangers when an aggressive driver is in their vicinity. Safe drivers also look in the mirror and see an aggressive driver or just an occasional “get even” driver. Is one of those you? ”Who, me?” "Maybe once in a while when some guy cuts me off. Or maybe once in a while when someone is pushy and tries to get me to move out of his way so he can go speeding by. Nah! I’m not an aggressive driver. Do I close the gap when someone signals that he wants to get into my lane? Never! Hah! Well, maybe sometimes." The inability on the part of many drivers to allow a car to get into the line of traffic ahead of them, is AGGRESSIVE DRIVING. Safe drivers put themselves in danger by inappropriate responses to other drivers’ takeover of road space.
Webster’s definition of aggression is, “hostile, injurious, or destructive behavior or outlook, esp. when caused by frustration.”
Both the safe driver and the aggressive driver have to know that aggressive driving is a crash waiting to happen. Aggressive drivers, though they may not be looking for trouble, learn soon enough that trouble will find them. Simply, when you drive aggressively, you are not a safe driver.
This brings me to point out that we are not always the same nor do we always act in the same manner. When a normally placid person who works in a job situation that causes him frustration leaves his place of work and gets behind the wheel of his car, he finds himself in total control of his universe. That normally placid person may become a very aggressive driver who needs to work out the frustrations that were generated during his work day. He becomes an aggressive driver. A a person may be angry at some happening or a fight with someone and they vent their anger on the road. There are many reasons for aggressive driving – none of them good reasons !
Safe drivers must learn which driving behaviors of others upset them and make them angry and lead them to drive in an unsafe and aggressive manner. So the safe driver, being an aware driver, not only recognizes the behavior of the aggressive driver, but also recognizes his own internal aggressive responses to what that driver is doing. He overcomes those natural responses and habituates himself to not mimic the behavior of aggressive drivers. The safe driver will choose to remain safe on the road. The need for the safe driver is not to understand the psychology of the aggressive driver but rather to understand his own psychology, to understand the pulls on his driving behavior that are roused by the aggressive driver and by the actions of other drivers on the road.
Are you listening to me! Have I put you to sleep with this lecture? Wake up and live!
Safe drivers teach themselves the habits of patience, awareness, courtesy, knowledge, and skill; driving by not responding to the aggressive driver's behavior, by not trying to show the aggressive driver how to drive correctly, by not engaging in the games of an aggressive driver, by not trying to teach an aggressive driver the speed limit by getting in front of him and slowing down.
By mimicking an aggressive driver's behavior on the road, safe drivers are exposing themselves to highly dangerous situations created by aggressive drivers. For example, seeing the excessive speed of an aggressive driver, you, the safe driver, may lose good judgment and decide to keep up with her. An aggressive driver weaving in and out of traffic seems to be inviting safe drivers to follow him. If you do, you too are inviting a crash. When you are being tailgated, do you slow down, inviting the tailgater to drive even closer to your rear bumper. Is it an emotional response? It certainly isn’t a brainy response.
So, the rule is, when usually safe drivers become aggressive, they are increasing the danger for themselves and for others and they cease to be safe drivers.
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: When you are being tailgated, turn on your emergency flashers and maintain speed.
.
Friday, April 4, 2008
CRASHES = PROFITS
Hello Dear Readers:
I have added a political safe driving blog to supplement this educational blog. I cannot post its full name here but if you substitute http://www.packsman/ for drive smart=drive safe, you will get there.
Try it. Give me feedback if you will.
Thanks,
UnclePACKSman
I have added a political safe driving blog to supplement this educational blog. I cannot post its full name here but if you substitute http://www.packsman/ for drive smart=drive safe, you will get there.
Try it. Give me feedback if you will.
Thanks,
UnclePACKSman
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
ANTICIPATION - A DRIVER'S ROAD SMARTS
DRIVE SMART - DRIVE SAFE DRIVE WITH PACKS
PACKS =Patience-Awareness-Courtesy-Knowledge-Skill
Does your head swivel when you drive? Do you have roving eyes? Do you look at your mirrors in a set routine? How about looking out your side windows with regularity? If you answered “Yes” to all those questions, you are a race car driver. Or maybe a professional driver. Hey ladies and gentlemen, learn to answer “Yes” to all those questions and you and your cars won’t get messed up. You will see what’s going on around you and you will be able to ANTICIPATE danger. Get it?
Driver anticipation provides safety on the roads. Webster’s says that anticipation means, “Visualization of a future event or state; a prior action that takes into account or forestalls a later action.” Wow! If drivers could visualize a crash coming long enough before it happens, they would be prepared to take some action to forestall it or prevent it. Wouldn’t that be great. Let’s work on beefing up our “anticipation” skills.
Visualizing or looking ahead means not looking only at the vehicle directly ahead of you, it means looking at several vehicles ahead of you. It means getting whatever information you can from the vehicles ahead of you, from the stop lights and signal lights of all the vehicles that are ahead of the vehicle ahead of you. The sooner you learn the intentions of the drivers ahead of you, the more able you are to anticipate what might happen and safely prepare your response. Looking ahead also means seeing what the drivers ahead of you see, like a traffic blockage or flashing emergency vehicle lights, and you can move to a faster lane more before traffic piles up.
Many rear-end crashes occur when a driver sees a danger ahead and slams his foot on the brakes .When that driver sees a dog in the road that you can’t see and reacts suddenly, driver in vehicle #2 may react in time to his brake -lights but the driver in vehicle #3 doesn't have enough time to react. Not seeing or using the first car’s brake-lights chops fractional seconds off the available reaction time of each driver in line to respond to the situation. If driver #3 saw car #1 brake-lights go on, that would provide a time margin equal to that of driver #2. You can best do that by keeping slightly to the left or right of the car ahead of you. Make him your dance partner and follow his moves.
For whatever reason, most drivers prefer driving in a cluster. It’s called “synchronicity.” I’ll write more about that in a future column. But for now, be aware that synchronicity adds to the dangers of driving at any time. Looking ahead of the vehicle directly in front of you becomes even more important when you are driving in heavy traffic at high speeds. You need more warning and more lead time because of the speed and the domino effect of an event occurring in the cluster ahead of you. By seeing the signal lights and brake-lights of the cars ahead of you, you can often determine what actions you must take in response to those signals. The earlier you respond, the earlier the vehicles behind you will also respond and the safer your rear end will be.
Anticipation requires awareness and awareness requires knowledge. If you do not know that standing barrels are less likely to roll off the back of a truck than barrels stacked lying down, you cannot anticipate or weigh the possibilities of an accident happening. For the record, never drive close behind a truck with barrels or any round objects stacked sideways lying down. And, if you are unaware of illegal road racing taking place around you, you will not anticipate the high level of danger road races bring to the normal driving public and move to safety. More knowledge about potential road dangers leads to greater awareness and greater anticipation. (See the partial list in the “Rules” article below.)
One way to prepare for dangerous road situations is always to have an “out.” Here are some example “outs” that a safe, aware, anticipatory driver thinks of as she is driving. Think about where you can steer your vehicle if the car in front of you stopped suddenly. Is there room to the right of you or are there vehicles there? Is there a flat shoulder on your left or right? Is there room between the car ahead in your lane and the vehicles to the right or left of that car for you to squeeze in if you can’t stop in time? Or can you slam sideways into the vehicle to your right or left rather than into the car ahead of you? Sideswiping, even against trucks or buses, is substantially more safe than head-on or rear end collisions.
Since the introduction of smoked glass in car windows, a significant measure of anticipation safety has been lost. It is impossible to see through smoked glass rear windows. Often, you could get information about the intentions of the driver ahead of you by looking at his head motions. When he looks at his rear-view mirror or the side-view mirrors, that movement of his head may be an indicator of intent to change lanes or make turns. With smoked glass windows, it is impossible to see what the driver ahead of you sees directly in front of him. Other anticipation information you might get from vehicles ahead of the car in front of you is also lost.
Do you value privacy over safety? If you were writing the laws, would you prohibit smoked glass rear windows? I would. One day, hopefully soon, smoked rear windows will be outlawed.
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: Properly inflated tires for the time of year give you the highest level of traction for a quick stop. "FALL - LOWER" "SPRING - HIGHER"
PACKS =Patience-Awareness-Courtesy-Knowledge-Skill
Does your head swivel when you drive? Do you have roving eyes? Do you look at your mirrors in a set routine? How about looking out your side windows with regularity? If you answered “Yes” to all those questions, you are a race car driver. Or maybe a professional driver. Hey ladies and gentlemen, learn to answer “Yes” to all those questions and you and your cars won’t get messed up. You will see what’s going on around you and you will be able to ANTICIPATE danger. Get it?
Driver anticipation provides safety on the roads. Webster’s says that anticipation means, “Visualization of a future event or state; a prior action that takes into account or forestalls a later action.” Wow! If drivers could visualize a crash coming long enough before it happens, they would be prepared to take some action to forestall it or prevent it. Wouldn’t that be great. Let’s work on beefing up our “anticipation” skills.
Visualizing or looking ahead means not looking only at the vehicle directly ahead of you, it means looking at several vehicles ahead of you. It means getting whatever information you can from the vehicles ahead of you, from the stop lights and signal lights of all the vehicles that are ahead of the vehicle ahead of you. The sooner you learn the intentions of the drivers ahead of you, the more able you are to anticipate what might happen and safely prepare your response. Looking ahead also means seeing what the drivers ahead of you see, like a traffic blockage or flashing emergency vehicle lights, and you can move to a faster lane more before traffic piles up.
Many rear-end crashes occur when a driver sees a danger ahead and slams his foot on the brakes .When that driver sees a dog in the road that you can’t see and reacts suddenly, driver in vehicle #2 may react in time to his brake -lights but the driver in vehicle #3 doesn't have enough time to react. Not seeing or using the first car’s brake-lights chops fractional seconds off the available reaction time of each driver in line to respond to the situation. If driver #3 saw car #1 brake-lights go on, that would provide a time margin equal to that of driver #2. You can best do that by keeping slightly to the left or right of the car ahead of you. Make him your dance partner and follow his moves.
For whatever reason, most drivers prefer driving in a cluster. It’s called “synchronicity.” I’ll write more about that in a future column. But for now, be aware that synchronicity adds to the dangers of driving at any time. Looking ahead of the vehicle directly in front of you becomes even more important when you are driving in heavy traffic at high speeds. You need more warning and more lead time because of the speed and the domino effect of an event occurring in the cluster ahead of you. By seeing the signal lights and brake-lights of the cars ahead of you, you can often determine what actions you must take in response to those signals. The earlier you respond, the earlier the vehicles behind you will also respond and the safer your rear end will be.
Anticipation requires awareness and awareness requires knowledge. If you do not know that standing barrels are less likely to roll off the back of a truck than barrels stacked lying down, you cannot anticipate or weigh the possibilities of an accident happening. For the record, never drive close behind a truck with barrels or any round objects stacked sideways lying down. And, if you are unaware of illegal road racing taking place around you, you will not anticipate the high level of danger road races bring to the normal driving public and move to safety. More knowledge about potential road dangers leads to greater awareness and greater anticipation. (See the partial list in the “Rules” article below.)
One way to prepare for dangerous road situations is always to have an “out.” Here are some example “outs” that a safe, aware, anticipatory driver thinks of as she is driving. Think about where you can steer your vehicle if the car in front of you stopped suddenly. Is there room to the right of you or are there vehicles there? Is there a flat shoulder on your left or right? Is there room between the car ahead in your lane and the vehicles to the right or left of that car for you to squeeze in if you can’t stop in time? Or can you slam sideways into the vehicle to your right or left rather than into the car ahead of you? Sideswiping, even against trucks or buses, is substantially more safe than head-on or rear end collisions.
Since the introduction of smoked glass in car windows, a significant measure of anticipation safety has been lost. It is impossible to see through smoked glass rear windows. Often, you could get information about the intentions of the driver ahead of you by looking at his head motions. When he looks at his rear-view mirror or the side-view mirrors, that movement of his head may be an indicator of intent to change lanes or make turns. With smoked glass windows, it is impossible to see what the driver ahead of you sees directly in front of him. Other anticipation information you might get from vehicles ahead of the car in front of you is also lost.
Do you value privacy over safety? If you were writing the laws, would you prohibit smoked glass rear windows? I would. One day, hopefully soon, smoked rear windows will be outlawed.
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: Properly inflated tires for the time of year give you the highest level of traction for a quick stop. "FALL - LOWER" "SPRING - HIGHER"
Monday, March 31, 2008
DID YOU KNOW SUZY?
LIKE, YOU KNOW – GET OFF MY BACK – I’VE GOT MY LICENSE
When I was born, my parents owned two cars and a pick-up truck with a camper top. Like, I have two older brothers. I was the only girl. I grew up watching my parents drive. Then, like, you know, when my brothers got their licenses, my father bought them cars and they drove me to school and to my friends homes or to like other places until I got my own license and I could drive myself to where I had to go.
Getting my license was easy because I knew everything I had to know when I took my test. Like, you know, it was really, really, easy. And I finally got my independence. And I was an excellent driver from the very beginning - better than most of the other stupid drivers out there, you know. My Mom and Dad bought me a pretty nice blue used car that wasn’t so old that anyone at school laughed at me, like, you know. It was a Mazda. It did need a new set of tires, was all. Really.
It was raining and pretty windy. My windshield wipers must have been too dry or worn to clear the windshield enough to see well. All my windows and the side-view mirrors were wet from the rain and I couldn’t see anything, for real. I was going over to Pete’s house. A bunch of us were getting together to do our math homework together. I was late because my teacher asked me to stay to go over a paper I had written for English. She didn’t like my “construction.” Construct her!
It was about three-thirty after school and traffic was moving pretty fast. The road was covered with leaves. I had to make a left on Davis to get to Pete’s house and I was stopped behind an old lady’s car, a big old Cadillac, waiting for traffic to clear to make the turn. Finally, finally, she started to turn and I saw I had plenty of time to turn with her. The only problem was she turned too slow and the driver coming opposite had a choice of hitting her car or mine, I think. I guess he chose mine because it was smaller. He was in his right lane at first and then moved to the left lane where I was. He probably hit his brakes but that didn’t do any good because of the slippery road and the wet leaves. I saw him coming and slammed on my brakes. That put me in position for an almost head-on collision. No air bag, and seat belts are against my constitutional rights. I didn’t get to Pete’s house. I got to Saint Peter’s gates. Like, you know.
Good night, Suzy,
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: ALWAYS remain stopped until the car ahead of you clears your safe road entry, and THEN look in both directions for traffic BEFORE moving.
When I was born, my parents owned two cars and a pick-up truck with a camper top. Like, I have two older brothers. I was the only girl. I grew up watching my parents drive. Then, like, you know, when my brothers got their licenses, my father bought them cars and they drove me to school and to my friends homes or to like other places until I got my own license and I could drive myself to where I had to go.
Getting my license was easy because I knew everything I had to know when I took my test. Like, you know, it was really, really, easy. And I finally got my independence. And I was an excellent driver from the very beginning - better than most of the other stupid drivers out there, you know. My Mom and Dad bought me a pretty nice blue used car that wasn’t so old that anyone at school laughed at me, like, you know. It was a Mazda. It did need a new set of tires, was all. Really.
It was raining and pretty windy. My windshield wipers must have been too dry or worn to clear the windshield enough to see well. All my windows and the side-view mirrors were wet from the rain and I couldn’t see anything, for real. I was going over to Pete’s house. A bunch of us were getting together to do our math homework together. I was late because my teacher asked me to stay to go over a paper I had written for English. She didn’t like my “construction.” Construct her!
It was about three-thirty after school and traffic was moving pretty fast. The road was covered with leaves. I had to make a left on Davis to get to Pete’s house and I was stopped behind an old lady’s car, a big old Cadillac, waiting for traffic to clear to make the turn. Finally, finally, she started to turn and I saw I had plenty of time to turn with her. The only problem was she turned too slow and the driver coming opposite had a choice of hitting her car or mine, I think. I guess he chose mine because it was smaller. He was in his right lane at first and then moved to the left lane where I was. He probably hit his brakes but that didn’t do any good because of the slippery road and the wet leaves. I saw him coming and slammed on my brakes. That put me in position for an almost head-on collision. No air bag, and seat belts are against my constitutional rights. I didn’t get to Pete’s house. I got to Saint Peter’s gates. Like, you know.
Good night, Suzy,
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: ALWAYS remain stopped until the car ahead of you clears your safe road entry, and THEN look in both directions for traffic BEFORE moving.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
CONSCIOUS CONSTANT PRACTICE = SKILL
DRIVE SMART – DRIVE SAFE DRIVE WITH PACKS
PACKS = Patience, Awareness, Courtesy, Knowledge, Skill
Have you thought of what being a skilled driver means? Do you consciously want to become a skilled driver?
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being unskilled and 10 being a highly trained skilled driving specialist, where do you place yourself? Are you a 10? Or would you call yourself average in driving skills, like a 5, or above average, like an 8? Can you be a skilled driver at the age of 17, or at the age of 80? Are patience and courtesy necessary attributes for you to be a skilled driver? How much knowledge do you need to be a skilled driver? How much practice do you need to be a skilled driver? And finally, is a skilled driver necessarily a safe driver?
Are you surprised that some people are more skillful than others in every field of activity? You name it, and any activity you pick has famous performers in their fields. And they all consciously and constantly practice to improve their skills. However, believe it or not, most people with drivers licenses consider themselves highly skilled drivers even without consciously and constantly practicing.
Skill generally comes from practice and from the knowledge that experience can provide. Apprenticeships for trades, internships for doctors and surgeons, simulator-trainers for pilots, all train people to gain skills through hands-on, relatively danger-free, practice environments. “Practice makes perfect.” Dangerous situations and events that occur while driving provide the skills that most drivers acquire. It’s a hell of a way to learn, especially because most drivers do not consciously and constantly pay attention to driving. How often are you eating in your car or how often is your radio on, or you’re talking on the cell phone or to the passenger in your vehicle? How often are you thinking about something other than driving while you are driving?
What must you learn or be to become a skilled driver? What personal qualities must you possess to be a skilled driver? You must learn to concentrate on driving consciously and constantly! And you must drive with PACKS!
Getting a drivers license at sixteen implies maturity or ripening to the point of being able to operate a vehicle. The license does not assure that skill, knowledge, and awareness, are immediately present in the young new driver. Sadly, and all too often, young new drivers believe they possess those qualities – after all, they did pass the drivers test! Crash, injury, and death statistics prove otherwise. Our driver education systems in the United States force new drivers to learn by actual driving experience – a poor method for teaching an inherently dangerous set of skills. What do you think about that? If the incidence of collisions by newly licensed drivers is any measure of danger, then the roads are a highly dangerous environment for new drivers to learn driving skills.
Our Drivers Ed systems generally teach vehicle operation and our States systems test for the ability to operate a vehicle. That is not “skill.” In some states, even that minimal education is poorly funded and poorly administered and often the testing of that minimal ability is perfunctory and superficial. Rarely does an instructor have the time or even the training to educate young drivers in safe driving fundamentals. Testers wince more than they applaud when they are out on the road with young license aspirants. If a system was intentionally devised to guarantee some minimum number of vehicle crashes per year, our United States patchwork-quilt system of driver education and testing could well serve as a model to assure the continued mayhem on our highways!
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, and not much else!
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: Look to the right road shoulder when oncoming high beams begin to blind you at night.
PACKS = Patience, Awareness, Courtesy, Knowledge, Skill
Have you thought of what being a skilled driver means? Do you consciously want to become a skilled driver?
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being unskilled and 10 being a highly trained skilled driving specialist, where do you place yourself? Are you a 10? Or would you call yourself average in driving skills, like a 5, or above average, like an 8? Can you be a skilled driver at the age of 17, or at the age of 80? Are patience and courtesy necessary attributes for you to be a skilled driver? How much knowledge do you need to be a skilled driver? How much practice do you need to be a skilled driver? And finally, is a skilled driver necessarily a safe driver?
Are you surprised that some people are more skillful than others in every field of activity? You name it, and any activity you pick has famous performers in their fields. And they all consciously and constantly practice to improve their skills. However, believe it or not, most people with drivers licenses consider themselves highly skilled drivers even without consciously and constantly practicing.
Skill generally comes from practice and from the knowledge that experience can provide. Apprenticeships for trades, internships for doctors and surgeons, simulator-trainers for pilots, all train people to gain skills through hands-on, relatively danger-free, practice environments. “Practice makes perfect.” Dangerous situations and events that occur while driving provide the skills that most drivers acquire. It’s a hell of a way to learn, especially because most drivers do not consciously and constantly pay attention to driving. How often are you eating in your car or how often is your radio on, or you’re talking on the cell phone or to the passenger in your vehicle? How often are you thinking about something other than driving while you are driving?
What must you learn or be to become a skilled driver? What personal qualities must you possess to be a skilled driver? You must learn to concentrate on driving consciously and constantly! And you must drive with PACKS!
Getting a drivers license at sixteen implies maturity or ripening to the point of being able to operate a vehicle. The license does not assure that skill, knowledge, and awareness, are immediately present in the young new driver. Sadly, and all too often, young new drivers believe they possess those qualities – after all, they did pass the drivers test! Crash, injury, and death statistics prove otherwise. Our driver education systems in the United States force new drivers to learn by actual driving experience – a poor method for teaching an inherently dangerous set of skills. What do you think about that? If the incidence of collisions by newly licensed drivers is any measure of danger, then the roads are a highly dangerous environment for new drivers to learn driving skills.
Our Drivers Ed systems generally teach vehicle operation and our States systems test for the ability to operate a vehicle. That is not “skill.” In some states, even that minimal education is poorly funded and poorly administered and often the testing of that minimal ability is perfunctory and superficial. Rarely does an instructor have the time or even the training to educate young drivers in safe driving fundamentals. Testers wince more than they applaud when they are out on the road with young license aspirants. If a system was intentionally devised to guarantee some minimum number of vehicle crashes per year, our United States patchwork-quilt system of driver education and testing could well serve as a model to assure the continued mayhem on our highways!
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT, and not much else!
Uncle PACKSman
Quick Tip: Look to the right road shoulder when oncoming high beams begin to blind you at night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)