Tips – Page 2 – thedriversedlady

Train Safety

I went to a great presentation this weekend from an Amtrak Police Officer, (who knew, right?) There are a few things you should know about how stay safe around train tracks. According to their website, there were 2205 grade crossing incidents, with 828 trespassing casualties in 2018. Never assume that tracks are not in use just because you have never seen a train there. Trains can come at any time of day or night. They travel very fast and often very quietly. They will try to alert you to their presence, but they cannot stop quickly or easily, and they cannot swerve around you.

There are only active warning such as flashing lights and arms that come down at about 1 out of 3 places that tracks go across roads, and much too often, people ignore them and either go around them or try to beat them. It is our job as drivers and pedestrians to avoid trains.

If you see or hear a train coming, you must stop at least 15 feet and no more then 50 feet away from the nearest track for good sight distance. Look both ways at each track, and be sure to check each direction if there is more than one track.

If you are stuck on the tracks, and you do not see a train, find the blue sign with the phone number and location number on it. This number will connect you directly with the operators for your area and oncoming trains can be notified and stopped withing minutes. If you see or hear a train coming, get everyone out and run in a 45 degree angle towards the train so that when the debris from the collision is scattered, you will not be in it’s path.

http://stayoffthetracks.org/index.html

Please Brush the Snow Off Your Car

It is so important to completely brush the snow and ice off of your car. I know it’s cold, and you don’t want to, and you’re running late. It is not enough to just clear off a little 6 inch circle in front of your face and say, “Sweet, good to go.”

Maybe start the car first?

Visibility is key. You need to be able to use your mirrors, do a proper head check, and use your peripheral vision. You need to clean off all of your windows. It is also illegal to drive with your license plate obscured, and you can get pulled over for that.

Get the car started, turn on the defroster, (often this works best of you also turn on your air conditioner even with hot air to help remove the moisture from the vehicle interior,) rear defroster, and the heater.

Give a good swipe to the snow and ice built up in front of those headlights and tail-lights too. Two inches of snow will make your headlights completely ineffective, and if people don’t see those brake lights you are asking to get rear-ended.

I know the worst seems to be getting up to the roof of those giant SUV’s and mom-vans. You HAVE to. Once your car warms up, the bottom layer of that snow will melt, and one quick stop at a stop sign will bring that whole blanket of snow down over your whole windshield, and likely your wipers will not be string enough to clear that quickly. The bigger issue is that all of that snow and ice will fly off and possibly hit the car behind you. Flying snow has been known to go right through the windshield of other vehicles, as happened in NH this winter.

https://www.wmur.com/article/worker-recovering-after-ice-flies-off-box-truck-smashes-through-windshield/26116653

“Jessica’s Law” requires drivers to remove all snow or ice from their vehicles prior to travel on New Hampshire roads.

Failure to comply with this law is punishable under NH RSA 265:79-b (Negligent Driving) and subject to a penalty fine of $250.00-$500.00 for a first offense with increased penalties for subsequent offenses up to and including loss of license.https://www.lebanonnh.gov/1236/Jessicas-Law

A mother’s love

A friend just posted a link to this blog and I have to share.

https://carriecariello.com/2019/01/07/it-could-be-my-son/?fbclid=IwAR1l9PPaAaXpbGBSk-7rK92yop1X38C_WMMeNO0Y3EHLGn4LdovQcP3GIsA

I’m moved to tears. As a mother, as a driver’s ed teacher, I cannot say how often I feel this exact same way about both my kiddo and each of my students.

The time of most danger is in the first year that new drivers have their licenses. It takes 5 years experience for a new driver to become average. I use that statistic a lot because it has such weight for me. Not five weeks, or months, five years. There is no way to get through those first five years other than to just get out there and keep driving. So we hold our breath as parents and teacher, and have faith. We trust that we have given them as much information as possible to help them make good choices with statistics, stories, movies, classroom instruction, and best practices demonstrated and tried. We trust that they have a good head on their shoulders to help them creative problem-solve. We trust they have quick reflexes that will help them. We trust that the pedestrians and drivers around them will make good choices that keep them out of harms way. We trust that they will have luck on their side and be able to learn from their mistakes, that are bound to happen, and make it through. Those of us who pray, pray.

Do everything you can to help them. Be a good role model, and show them how you can drive safely. Put the phone down, slow down, and don’t complain too much about people around you who make mistakes, it just makes them paranoid. Be a support, and point out what you are doing when, and why even before they can drive, so they can start to learn even before they have the stress of maneuvering a vehicle. Check up on them and let them know you are doing so. Hold them accountable for transgressions, so they understand the real consequences for mistakes.

Be kind, patient and courteous as a driver. Stay safe, and help these new drivers stay safe as well.

Can I do more than the required driving hours with you?

I recently encountered an inquiry for post-driver’s ed training for a new driver. The student had completed driver training (not with me,) and they and the parents felt that they were still nervous and could use some more help. Another parent responded that they had a similar issue with their own kiddo. This parent said that they had just done it. They had gone out on difficult weather, night and day conditions, and just kept driving, and driving, and driving. I could not have given better advice.

I have done this for some students, extra hours. But it’s expensive and I don’t have a lot of extra time beyond what I give to my regularly scheduled kiddos. The answer is always to just drive more. There is no substitute for experience. It takes a new driver 5 years of driving to get to be an average driver. Average! Who wants to be average, don’t we all like to think we are above average?

Every kid is different, and we do not all learn at the same rate. Driving is in incredibly complex task as it involves rules, spacial ability, reading social cues, hand-eye coordination, and quick problem solving. We do not all excel at all of these things.

Now, I know that for some parents who are super nervous, that can make things worse. Your nerves transfer to your new driver, which makes them more nervous, which makes things worse. None of us drive better when we are nervous. Try to either hide the nerves, or find someone calmer who can drive with your kiddo. As they calm down, and start to improve, you will be less scared, and in turn, so will they, and then they will drive better. It’s only a vicious cycle if you let it be. It can also be a positive cycle. Hang in there.

If you really need to ask for more help, please do so. There are times when you will really need more driving hours with a professional such as a kiddo with special needs. If there is a particular skill that your student is struggling with, please ask for help with that. Your driving instructor should be able to tell you exactly how they explain a particular skill set, so you can use those same words at home. Parents can often ride along for a driving hour to see how the instructor is explaining things, so you can duplicate their level of calm and clear communication.

It really is better to do this while your kiddo is still in class though, rather than wait until class is over. You should be practicing enough that you are seeing what your kiddo is struggling with, and asking for help when your teacher can intervene. There should be open communication and feedback from both sides.

This is all generic advice, having not spoken with the original parent, or met this student. I try very hard to take each student as I find them and help them the best way I know how. I’m glad that this parent is looking for more help rather than just saying, “My kid is 16, and everyone else is getting a license, and they took the class, so off you go into the world!” It’s important to know your kiddo and do everything you can to help them be safe and comfortable out there on the road. I still think the answer is likely, do more driving.

Observation Hours

I don’t know about everywhere, but here in my state we require all of our students to spend six hours sitting in the back seat of the driver’s ed car observing each other. I’ve had a lot of inquiries regarding why this is. Kids say, “I’ve spent the last sixteen years sitting in the back seat of cars watching other people drive. Why do I have to sit in the backseat of yours?” My quick answer has always been, “I don’t know. The state makes and us, and so we shall.”

It’s part of what we call a graduated licensing program, which has as many steps as possible between you being a non-driver, to a fully privileged licensed driver. The idea is that the more exposure you get to instruction, the more you can learn. Parents have said to me, “I’m not sure I feel safe having my kid in the car with a new driver.” Well, I’m right here to keep us safe, and if I can do it for your kid when it’s their turn behind the wheel, hopefully I can do it for all of the kids. It’s truly in my best interest to keep the drivers ed car in one piece as well as all of my students and myself for that matter. I’m going to to do my best.

It’s kind of a sneaky good idea though. In this age of screens in the back of every mom-van, phones in the hand of every kiddo starting younger and younger, having students actually look up and pay attention is really necessary. So many students are scared silly that they will not know how to get anywhere because they have never watched their parents drive. They are really shocked when I tell them that in our state until you turn 18, you cannot use GPS either unless it’s programmed into your actual car. No use of hand held devices AT ALL.

Having never watched people drive, they have less of a sense of right-of-way, and the common courtesies of driving. All that seems to penetrate that screen coma are the curses, honks, and feeling of road rage that permeates the car when parents are stressed and in a hurry. That’s what they are taking away, not the thank-you waves, careful inching out to see at a difficult intersection, or thoughtful blinker usage. Those things are quiet and so they don’t notice them.

Observation hours let them see what they did wrong on that same route, or what they can feel good about. It helps them see that we all make the same mistakes, and that we are all in this together. If something crazy happens, there is more than one student to learn from that one incident. We also have a lot of fun. Having some kids in the car means we can make new friends, have meaningful conversations, inside jokes, and positive encouragement.

Observation activities give direction to the hours, so there is meaningful learning going on. The activities should be simple so that kids who get car-sick or have night driving observation hours don’t have to read or write very much. It’s a fight sometimes to keep the observing kids engaged and not on their phones, doing other homework, or falling asleep. I try to have them be part of the experience as much as possible. Some of my students just muddle through them and cannot wait to get them over with. Some of my students would rather be in my car than some other places they might be stuck or have friends in the class and wind up doing several more than the allotted 6. Sometimes they just come along hoping we can squeeze in a drive-through during a driving hour, (which I firmly believe is a driving skill that is intimidating to new drivers and so I will do this if the driver wants to and it fits with time and our lesson plan.)

All in all, I’ve become more of a fan of the observation hours. I think parents should give thought to having kids be more and more engaged any time they are not the driver. Insist they put down the screens and observe. I know, then you have think about what you are modeling for them, but I hope you’re doing that anyways.

I hope you can take some time to really observe the world around you. Make fun of people driving badly, have a street sign BINGO game, play road trip games. Stop and smell the exhaust around us, and admire the pretty lights. Be safe!

Flashing headlights

Yesterday I was driving with students in a rural area. It was a really windy day with lots of leaves blowing around. First, one car flashed high-beams at us, and having just talked about this in class the day before, we went through our mental checklist of possible motives.

Were our headlights on? Yup

High beams? Nope

Were we at an intersection where they were telling us to go? Nope

Did we know them? Nope

Is there a police officer ahead? Why tell the driver’s ed car who is clearly going the speed limit? (You should never do this, by the way, you may be telling a bad guy where the police are.)

We give up, maybe it was a mistake or there is something ahead we need to worry about. We kept going, and a second car flashed at us. Now we’re really curious. One more bend in the road revealed the mystery.

We saw a huge tree had come down across the road in the wind. We slowed way down trying to see if we could squeeze by on the right. As we did so, a car coming towards us just went around coming all the way over onto our side to do so. Now, this was wrong. If the hazard on the road is on your side, it is your problem, so he should have waited for us to go. After he passed, we very carefully went through the ends of the branches pushing us onto the shoulder, but we managed to get by.

Practice makes perfect

Dropping a kiddo off at school this morning, I was so very pleased to see several cars in front of me doing the same. Parents were getting out of the passenger sides of the cars and switching sides, having let their kiddos do the driving in to school. I love that! You know school is going to be one of the places that they will drive most, so have them practice it. There are a million reasons not to, including, but not limited to:

“We’re running late!”

“You’re tired this morning'”

“I’m just not in the mood”

“It’s cold and I don’t want to switch when we get there”

“We’ll hold people up”

Do it anyway. If you’re going to expect them to drive to school once they get that license, teach them to leave plenty of time in the morning to get there. Teach them to be sure to get a good night’s sleep so they are ready, (I know, easier said than done.) Good job parents, making it happen. Even if it’s ten minutes, every ten minutes helps. It really does add up, and then you’ll know they can do it when you send them out that first time on their own.

Road Rage Moments – Are you the police?

So this past weekend I went with friends to see Ed Sheeran, (insert teenage girl scream here!) It was a great show. On the way home there was predictably a LOT of traffic. In an attempt to get everyone out of the stadium they had opened up extra lanes of traffic using cones and orange barrels. This means people were driving on the wrong side of the road, which feels really strange if you’ve never tried it. It’s really well marked and it makes sense, but it still feels weird. My friend was driving, and it was late at night, (for us.)

We were driving in the right lane, and reached a spot where there was a big orange diamond shaped sign that said, “Traffic permitted in break-down lane from this point.” My friend looked at me and said, “Should we?” I shrugged and said,”Why not? The sign says it’s OK.” So we moved over into the break-down lane and drove slowly. The lane is just wide enough to allow travel, but it’s clearly not intended for that use. We passed a few cars, and one lady was not happy with us, yelling out her window. Again, we talked about it and decided since the sign said we could be in this lane, we would keep on goin’. There were a few other cars using the break-down lane also, but not many.

A little further down the road we we came up to a big ol’ black dually pickup truck with a vanity plate I’ll not reveal. It was hard to tell if he was just big and having a hard time staying in his lane or if he was trying to block traffic in our “lane.” As the car in front of us tried to squeeze by the big truck abruptly swerved right at him. Horns were honked, and the car in front of us tried once more to pass the big truck. Once again the big truck made it really difficult for the car to pass, but he snuck by. My friend decided not to tangle with the big truck so we were able to pull in behind him thanks to the kindness of the car behind him. We then watched as he purposefully swerved towards and almost hit at least five cars who tried to pass him on the right.

Now I understand that the truck driver thought that the people travelling in the break-down lane were trying to pull a fast one and do something illegal and annoying by not following the same rules everyone else does, especially late at night and in really heavy traffic. He was understandably annoyed, and after the concert possibly had a few adult beverages. However, there was in fact a sign permitting the use of that lane, which the truck driver had apparently not seen. We wouldn’t have been in that lane if we thought it was not allowed. The real problem was his response to the situation.

It is not your job to police the roads. You can be annoyed that people are driving badly. You can yell at them from the safety of your car. But, he almost caused several accidents trying to make his point. So at the end of they day, (or really long night in this case,) who was really the problem on the road? I think it was the truck driver. I hate it too when people think that rules don’t apply to them and they try to sneak through life with shortcuts. That does not make it OK to almost cause more accidents trying to get a point across. It says right in the drivers manual that the first responsibility of a driver is to avoid accidents regardless of who has right-of-way. The best thing we can do is make sure everyone gets where they are going safely. I understand frustration, but you can be right, or you can be dead right. Please make safe choices. This is much better than trying to teach someone else a lesson. Let them learn on their own. Be responsible for your own good choices, and get home in one piece.

School’s back in session

Now that everyone around here is back to school, I thought it would be a good time to talk about school bus safety. Nothing can be more important than keeping our kids safe. Bus drivers have so much responsibility keeping to their routes, navigating traffic, staying on time, and keeping track of all of the many students on board. Let’s not be one more thing they have to worry about.

We all know what a school bus looks like – big and yellow. It says “School Bus,” in big letters on the side. This should make it easy to notice. If you see a bus, look for clues that it will soon be stopping. The bus driver will put on yellow flashing lights to signify that the bus is slowing down and preparing to pick up or drop off students. When they are ready to actually stop, the lights will switch to flashing red lights, and often a stop sign will swing out of the side of the bus and perhaps an arm will swing out from the front of the bus. The side “Stop” sign is designed to be one more warning to oncoming drivers, and the arm on the front makes it so the kiddos have to walk out and around making it easier for the bus driver to see them , keeping them out of their blind spot.

If you see a bus with red lights flashing and you are behind them, you must stop 25 feet behind them. That way the bus driver can still see you through their rear-view mirror. If you stop too close, you are in another blind spot. If you are on a multiple-lane road, all cars must still stop the same 25 feet back.

If you are coming towards a bus with red lights flashing, you must also stop the same 25 feet away from the bus to give students room to cross in front of the bus if need be. This can be tricky since you may not know exactly where the bus will finally stop. If you see them slowing down, you should too, and make every reasonable effort to stop. If the bus winds up going past you, you may continue. The only exception will be if you are on the opposite side of a divided road, such as a guard rail or median. Then you do not need to stop. Check out this video of a close call this week from an oncoming vehicle that did not stop.

You should stay stopped until the bus driver turns off the red flashing lights and starts to move or signals you to proceed.

A quick word for the students waiting for the bus. Please stay back from the road while waiting. Your bus driver knows your stop, and will look for you. You do not want to be too close to oncoming cars who might get too close to you. Be safe!

Now, everyone asks me why there are not seat belts in school buses, and I have to say, no one has ever given me a good reason on that one. I’ll have to do some more research and get back to you. Have a great school year, everyone!

One way

This week the strange thing we saw the most, believe it or not, was people driving straight at us on one way streets.

I know this leaves me thinking, how is that possible? There are always signs telling you that a street is one way. There are pavement markings to reinforce the idea. You should always have a yellow line on your left and a white line on your right. If this is not true, you are going the wrong way. The biggest clue should be if you make a turn and there are cars driving straight towards you.

I can make excuses for these folks. It might be that they were simply following directions from their magic phones that mislead them. It could be that they were lost and confused, and not thinking clearly enough to recognize the signs. It could be that they thought that one way meant any one way that they chose as opposed to that specific way designated by “the man.”

In any case, once headed the wrong way, it was not easy to right themselves, no pun intended. They had to make a quick turn in each case onto a nearby street, in one case I’m pretty sure it was also a one way street the wrong way, but once they were committed to process, I guess they chose to see it through. In another case, pedestrians in the crosswalk waved madly at them and got them to realize their error and turn onto another road. It’s very hard to watch this happened, because there is no way to help them really.

If you find yourself in this position, you really want to find a way out as soon as possible. Stop, turn around, turn onto a close street and get yourself pointed in the right direction. We all make mistakes so stay safe, watch for signs, be aware of your surroundings, and use your pavement markings. Good luck, friends!