the beginning. Having pre-license driving experience was invaluable when I went through Driver’s Education. Instructors immediately sensed I had “done this before.” While the other kids were learning techniques, I was simply getting more behind-the-wheel time.
My belief is that kids gain valuable confidence with supervised, pre-license driving whether that driving is on a tractor, dirt bike, car, truck or off-road vehicle.
Having confidence is not the same as being cocky. Confidence with finesse requires humility. You won’t be perfect just because you are confident but you have a better chance of staying alive because you are aware.
As instructors at Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving remind drivers, there are only four tire patches connecting you to the road. Four patches approximately 6”x7” isn’t much. Confidence not only requires humility, it also requires you to be present in the moment with all your senses (ok – you can leave taste at home). Use your senses so those four little patches have a better chance of providing the most appropriate response.
Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth. - Erma Bombeck
Here are my top pre-license stories beyond the standard parking lot and back--road excursions:
•I backed my father’s mid-life-crisis-mobile (flame-orange Camaro™) into the corner of the house while he was watching. It looked so easy when he backed down the driveway!
•A family vacation took us to Alaska. It was then that my parents “insisted” I drive two miles on the Alaska Highway so I could say I had driven it. They didn’t have to twist my arm.
•Dad let me drive a friend’s Jaguar XKE™ around the block when the car was stored at our house.
•My family took a two-car vacation with my aunt and uncle in the other car. Dad pulled over and told me to drive (broad daylight, interstate highway, moderate traffic). I efficiently accelerated, signaled, merged and obtained the posted speed limit (70 mph). Aunt and Uncle are nowhere in sight. Dad said to catch them. Fine - 90 mph feels a lot like 70 in a 4-barrel, gas guzzling Lincoln™. “Dad, how fast should I go?” The theory of relativity was never my forte. “Fast enough to catch them.” In retrospect I guess my fear was trivial compared to my mom and sister who didn’t know whether to curse Dad or pray. I caught up.
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These practice events built my driving confidence because they were supervised and represented a variety of driving situations. Oh, and maybe because I was still young enough to actually listen to my parents!
What I learned from…
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These are special tips to help improve safety regardless of what you drive.
Driver’s Education
•Look for feet and bike wheels under parked cars since the car itself may obscure seeing a child.
•Keep your wheels straight while waiting in a left-turn lane to save you from being pushed into on-coming traffic should you be rear-ended.
My Father
•Don’t let cruise control control you (see chapter “Speeding”).
•Listen to, and obey, your inner-voice. It saved him from a head-on collision.
Getting my Pilot’s License
•You are the pilot in command and, therefore, make the final safety decision.
•Constantly look for a place to land (an escape route).
High Performance Driving Course
•Look as far ahead as you possibly can.
•Steer around a problem instead of braking into it.
Motorcycle Safety Class
•Brake straight whenever possible to reduce the distance and the wear on tires and to increase stability.
•Accurate tire pressure is important for fuel efficiency, tire wear and safe handling.
Driving a 5th-wheel RV
•Plan far enough in advance to pass so there is enough room to move into the left lane. Otherwise you may have to slow down so much that it is no longer safe for you to pass.
•Have someone that knows what they are doing back it up!
Better than habit
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A driving style that incorporates a high level of awareness makes the driver “better than habit.” Backing out of your garage without looking behind you, because no one ever parks behind your car, is a habit.
An experience my brother-in-law and I share illustrates this very scenario, and I thank him for the lesson! During a visit to his house, he told me not to park “there.” I decided to park “there” anyway because I didn’t want to take a garage space away from my niece. It should have been no surprise to either of us that the next morning he backed out of the garage directly into my car. We become familiar with places and forget to look for the unexpected.
Some may argue habit is necessary to operate reflexes at peak performance. I don’t believe that. I did a single, 360-degree spin in snow; then I instinctively put my car in neutral which stopped the spin immediately. There was nothing habit about that. It was a first-time experience.
To be better than habit you:
•Think constantly about your situation ~ plan ahead ~ anticipate.
•Don’t fixate on the vehicle in front of you or aimlessly sit behind it.
•Look to where you want to be instead of right in front of you.
•Be one with your vehicle (see chapter: Name Your Vehicle).
•Drive as if you’re following yourself!
A fun read is Tom Vanderbilt’s book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us). He discusses habit and many other stories about our lives on the pavement.
Drive carefully! Remember, it's not only a car that can be recalled by its maker.
– Anonymous
Curve appeal
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I live in Kansas and have to take advantage of a good curve anytime I find one. Curves, however, demand extra respect and attention to secure the navigation process. In the world of business processes, Six Sigma and Lean Experts understand the phrase, lean the process. It means find a way to get something done with less and not diminish benefits or quality. I lean a curve by changing lanes to create a straight path. I only use this strategy when I actually want to change lanes; otherwise, I enjoy driving
