All drivers, not just recently licensed teen drivers, share a number of challenges on our roadways. Here are a few examples:
Deer
Deer are a huge driving challenge, and not just in the Middle Atlantic region. In fact, deer are responsible for a whopping 1.5 million car crashes per year. The first rule of thumb to remember is that deer are most active in the dusk and dawn hours, so be particularly diligent on your way to school or home in the evening.
Here are some tips for improving your driver awareness for deer. The first from the Kentucky Farm Bureau.
CREDIT: Kentucky Farm Bureau, Safe Driving During Deer Season
A little closer to home, deer season driving report from Connecticut’s WTNH-TV
CREDIT: WTNH, Safe Driving at the Height of Deer Season
Parallel Parking
Parallel Parking is an ongoing challenge for drivers, both for less experienced drivers and those with many miles of experience.
Parallel parking is guaranteed to be met with groans and sweating – Steve Cebulka, former Driver Ed teacher from William Penn High School in New Castle, DE, made this video which provided a simplified version the process – he calls it “A Day at the Beach.”
CREDIT: SmartDrive Foundation/Steve Sebulka – A Day at the Beach
Parking Lots
Speaking of parking, parking lots are a fact of life – at school, going to the mall and the movies. Here is a student created video with some parking lot “Do’s and Dont’s” submitted for their driver education class.
CREDIT: Brynn, Kaitlyn, & Olivia, How To Drive in a Parking Lot
A couple of more tips for parking lot safety from 1000 Awesome Things (this is #879)
The Parking Lot Pull Through – by Neil Pasricha
Backing out of a parking spot is no fun.
You’re turning side to side, checking mirrors, moving real slowly, trying to size up how far away your car is from the next one. It’s an awkward three, four, five-point turn, as you twist your spine up, scrape your tires up, dent someone’s fender up, and narrowly avoid hitting a baby in a stroller up.
It’s a risky, twisty game of Lot Danger.
So take no chances and go for that beautiful Parking Lot Pull Through (PLPT), a classic parking move that lets you drive right in and drive right out. The trick to pulling it off is finding a double-empty parking spot, entering it, and then driving up into the second spot.
And it’s great, because you get two smirky, satisfied smiles for the price of one. When you nail that PLPT, you’re loving it. And when you return to your car and drive right out, you’re loving it again. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s two AWESOMES for the price of one.
