Lessons in Driving

Douglas Wingert

The worse phone call I ever had to make was to my parents telling them I was in a car accident. I was pulling out of a parking lot and I assumed that car coming with their signal on was pulling into the lot. Instead of turning, this car went straight with the intent of turning at the next light. Although there was damage to both cars, luckily no one was hurt. I learned a valuable lesson – Never assume.

I had taken driver’s education at a private training facility and by state law I was required to drive at least 50 hours before I could take my road test at the Department of Motor Vehicles. This training was invaluable to me as the instructor gave me immediate feedback on my driving skills. He was an impartial teacher who provided constructive criticism that I did not take it as an insult because I realized he was trying to make me a better driver and prepare me to be out on the road on my own. This training provided me the confidence to be behind the wheel by myself for the first time.

Practice was key to my success as a new driver and it was two years before I had that accident. But I also model my driving after my parents. My family has been fortunate to have been able to travel all around the United States and my parents never look at their phones while driving and although we have hands free access to the phone in the car, they do not even answer their phones. My mom told us about a friend of hers who was killed in a car accident at the age of 26 because she was distracted by just talking on the phone. Additionally, my parents model excellent driving habits by following the speed limit, slowing down when it is raining, and pulling forward into a parking spot when possible so they don’t have to back up since that is more dangerous.

After my accident I was required to take a driver’s safety course. This course was different from the original course I had taken to pass my drivers exam at the Department of Motor Vehicles. It focused specifically on tips to make me a safer driver stressing tactics such as making sure pedestrians acknowledge they see me before continuing into a cross walk or pulling out of a parking space; being aware that there are four ways to look (right, left, forward, and rear), not just forward; and keeping my eyes moving every 10 seconds to all my mirrors. If these things were mentioned in my original driver’s education course, they certainly were not stressed.

I believe a driver’s education course is invaluable, especially for a new driver. I strongly believe every prospective driver, regardless of age, should have to take a safety course. With the changing technology in cars, insurance companies should require these safety courses to be taken to renew an insurance policy.