Produced by Donald Asa and www.truksafeamerica.com,
TrukSafe America, Inc.
Teen Driving Tips 2
One of the recommended efforts for new drivers is to keep a log book, notebook,
or a diary if your will. Explaining this way; a pilot has a log book, a truck
driver has a log book. These books are literally diaries of where they've
been, what equipment they've been operating, and how much time. These are
professionals who want to demonstrate that they have knowledge and understanding
of their job and can show where they've been at any given time geographically.
Suppose, if you're a teen driver and that you want to show your parents that you
really are a thinking driver; you can show them your log of what you've done safely
and successfully. It takes very little effort to record your driving history.
The record may be very valuable and certainly you're carrying proof of your experiences.
This also gives you a sense of well-being. One's sense of well-being, both
mental and physical is important whether you're an adult child or a teen.
And, both require knowledge, which requires effort.
Recording your experiences and travels demonstrates an effort on your part to improve,
and improving also involves learning from experience, learning by listening to the
professionals, and certainly by practice.
Practice at anything brings higher skill levels, more awareness, and quicker responses
to problems both mental and physical.
It's simple to analyze. Hit 1000 golf balls a day every day for weeks and
you can sure hit a ball with a lot more skill and intelligence than a person who
hits 100 balls, 4 times a month. You've improved by practice, both physically
and mentally (You know you can hit the ball well.)
It's the same with any practice. Throw a football at a target hundreds of
times, pretty soon you'll have pinpoint accuracy; feels good to know you can hit
the target.
Developing good habits while driving gives you the same confidence and skills, knowing
you're doing it right and knowing you're obeying the laws takes lots of pressure
off your mental psyche. You don't have to worry whether or not you're breaking
the law; you know you're correct. Sometimes you can be right and still wrong.
Developing bad habits may not be breaking the law, but puts you in the dumb and
dumber category.
Examples:
- Doing 35 in a 35 –not breaking the law, but talking on your cell or texting.
- Driving 65 in a 65 with cruise control on and closing up to within 50 feet of
traffic, listening to your passengers as they point out scenery (and looking).
- Putting on lipstick.
- Checking your face in the rear view.
- Attempting a curve without knowing your stopping distance. Trying a curve
without knowing the visual range for the speed you're traveling.
- Out-driving your headlights. Remember: only 250 feet on dim, 500 on bright
- Smart drivers concentrate on their driving. It's much smarter to concentrate
on what you're doing; in this case driving. Imagine someone using a band-saw
and talking to someone or watching television while pushing the wood through the
saw. Nickname could be "stubby". Car driver's nickname could
be "tombstone".
- Don't turn against a red light, because you can, but only because it's the right
and practical thing to do, and you have the time.
- Someone's coming from your right or left who is going to cross your path and is
running about the same speed. Put your foot on the brake, even if you think
you have the right of way.
- There is no reward for going over the speed limit.
- There's no reward for competition with other drivers for space.
- There are no awards for beating someone to the next intersection.
- There is, however, lots of cost for tickets received.
- One of which is (could be) personal freedom. Or, lack of a car.
- Remember how long you waited to get a vehicle or to gain the confidence of someone
to let you drive. Then to risk losing it by taking a chance!
- There is no excuse for stupidity. Like, taking on your cell while driving
(and it's being recorded by the phone company for billing purposes).
- Or, texting messages instead of focusing on driving. What message is worth
risking lives for?
- Always being observant is an educational necessity, an every day you'll learn
new things about driving.
- Every day you'll learn lots of things about what not to do by watching the
D & D categories.
- Slower generally means more time to analyze options.
- Slower means less energy to stop.
- Slower means safer negotiating turns.
- Slower means more time for other drivers to observe you.
- Fix mirrors (adjust) and make all other adjustments before starting or moving
your vehicle.
- Remember, the word "YOUR" –if you're moving it, it's your responsibility.
- Everything you do or listen to or that changes your focus can hurt your ability
to control.
- Keep your eyes high. Look down the road ¼ mile (3 blocks ahead if
you can.)
- Always leave yourself a place to go.
- Most of the time relaxing your throttle foot, and or stepping on the brake gives
the needed room and certainly more options.
- All decisions are the driver's.
- Back seat drivers can talk, but the driver pays.
- Honk! Someone backing might not see you coming.
- Honk! When backing. The cost is zero. Saving a pedestrian from injury
is monumental.
- Take the time, all the time, to do nothing, until you know it's safe to make the
move.
- The vehicle, car, is your ticket to personal freedom. Don't let someone
or something punch your ticket.
- EGO, big factor. Big, Big! Most people want to be seen. Smart
people go about their business of living without worrying if they're seen or not.
Just get the job done.
- Ads, pump up desires, and play to egos. Focus on yourself and learning what's
the smart thing to do; which is –learn as much as you possibly can about your
equipment, how to control it, how to survive.
- Chrome or fancy equipment doesn't buy knowledge. Knowledge buys safety.
- Keep focused on what the car is for. ‘Transportation" "convenience"
"freedom" and any misuse is expensive. Imagine what's going out
the tail pipe when you hear an attention getter rapping a throttle –money,
money, money.
- And, money is important –especially to teen drivers. The cost of operation
you'll learn quickly enough comes out of your own pocket. Unnecessary trips
will be the most expensive of all. Carrying your friends for their errands
is a common way to get rid of money.
- Take the time to understand the money. Chart (logbook) the expenses, cost
of vehicle depreciation, maintenance, fuel, mileage, insurance, upkeep, and parking.
Develop a cost-per-mile of operation so that you'll have some idea of what it costs
to operate per mile. An example: A car that gets 20 mpg, and it costs $30
for 10 gallons which = .15 cents per mile. Just for gas. Then add operational
costs of $3.00 a day for insurance, $1.00 per day for maintenance, another $3.00
per day for depreciation, $.30 cents per day for tire wear, and $.40 cents a day
for licensing. So, now you're getting a feel for money. Just to drive
200 miles in a week will cost about $90.00 per week for a car in the $10,000 range
of value.
- Knowing about the economics of a vehicle operation makes you more aware, therefore
a smarter driver.
- Tire footprints –what are they with 20 pounds of tire pressure? Your
machine may have a footprint equal to 20" per tire, thus have a better grip
than a tire pressure of 16". However, costs more to run. Think
about it. You soften the tires to run on the beach, giving you a wider (bigger
footprint), but on hard pavement you need to pump them up so you have less drag.
- Different driving problems, different decisions and related cost differences.
Soft tires –more drag, more cost. So, you as a driver need that awareness
and need to know how and when to adjust.
- It pays off big time to be able to talk to the parents that you know what you're
talking about when it comes to costs and your automobile.
- It's wonderful to be liked by your buddies. It's even more wonderful if
they pay their fair share.
- To be able with assured knowledge to express the operational cost of your vehicle
demonstrates responsibility.
- To be able to discuss operational information is demonstrating skill such as stopping
distances per miles per hour, turning radiuses, and related problems. Such
as, friction coefficients.
- Showing your family that you're a thinking, knowledgeable driver who understands
economics and indeed understands and plans –rather than a reaction type driver
–will get you into and driving a car much quicker than being the dumb and
dumber type who waits for or develops a problem and then starts thinking.
- Remember, the vehicles are tools that can get you where you're going safely only
if driven by drivers who know what they are doing. Seek knowledge, accumulate
intelligence, and you'll survive. So will your passengers and fellow commuters.
- It's easy to get a vehicle in motion. It's difficult to provide the answers
to the costs of that motion. Smart drivers know and evaluate the costs.
D & D's don't and are therefore more likely
to be non-thinking drivers; thus more likely to cause an accident.
- You can be the teacher as well as the student by having the knowledge. More
knowledge means you're more likely to be in control and less likely to have an accident.
- Remember to keep a log. It's important to be able to discuss your driving
with your parents. Smart drivers, for example, know how long it takes them
to get from Point A to Point B, and it's important to let them know in your discussion
that you've listened to all these tips.
These tips come to you from truck drivers, and modern truck drivers, as well as
from the "Old Boys Committee" whose members have been driving for some
180 combined years. The one thing they all have in common is that they started
driving in their teen years, and they all started driving trucks in order to make
money. And, now 60 years later they can still drive trucks, however they "drive"
companies. The key to survival over all those years and without accidents
or tickets was to listen and learn, following the advice of other old-timers.
They certainly have gained valuable information during that time, and now
pass some of it onto you.