young drivers

DS

Fenderbender
Every weekend the newspaper has some tragic story about young drivers, and all too often,fatal accidents.As most of us have learned from working for ups,99.9% of the time accidents can be avoided if you know what to look for.The problem is that young people seem to think they know pretty much everything and the first real driving lesson for them will unfortunately be thier first collision.
Think back to your first accident,I bet you learned not to do whatever you were doing fast.
Mine involved me making a left turn in a 1964 rambler american with a 3 on the tree standard transmission.I had just put it in 2nd gear (1st gear was like a p500)and there was this cadillac coming right through a stale yellow light.Totalled my car.
I make sure it's clear before I go now.
Maybe a drivers test should consist of a state of the art simulation that would involve actual situations that one would experience when driving.
Surely the technology is available to ensure that a candidate would be able to pass the simulation before they even qualify for a road test.
 

Sammie

Well-Known Member
Every weekend the newspaper has some tragic story about young drivers, and all too often,fatal accidents.As most of us have learned from working for ups,99.9% of the time accidents can be avoided if you know what to look for.The problem is that young people seem to think they know pretty much everything and the first real driving lesson for them will unfortunately be thier first collision.
Think back to your first accident,I bet you learned not to do whatever you were doing fast.
Mine involved me making a left turn in a 1964 rambler american with a 3 on the tree standard transmission.I had just put it in 2nd gear (1st gear was like a p500)and there was this cadillac coming right through a stale yellow light.Totalled my car.
I make sure it's clear before I go now.
Maybe a drivers test should consist of a state of the art simulation that would involve actual situations that one would experience when driving.
Surely the technology is available to ensure that a candidate would be able to pass the simulation before they even qualify for a road test.

DS,

You're right on the money again, for the 889th time...

We lost two teens in my city just two nights ago and I'm continuously reading about this issue in the metro Denver area alone. And I can't begin to tell you how many children from my kid's high school we've lost in the last 2-3 years.

I'm sorry, but morals have changed since we grew up. Now, with the drugs, the cell phones, the I Pods, the sound systems in the cars that shake the foundation of my house, the ton of friends that they have
in tow and the bravado they must prove, driving at the age of 16 or 17 these days is a huge mistake. I have no problem with permits, where a youth is accompanied by an adult, though. In fact, at the rate he's going, my 16 year old will probably hang onto his permit until he's about 37.

Kids now don't receive the "training" we went thru and by God they should. It was mandatory in my high school to watch a film called Death on the Highway; a "Highway Safety Film". It was police footage of crashes and the resulting body dismemberment, burning wreckage, and battered corpses. It was designed to scare the youth of the day into being better drivers and it scared the hell out of us. Our group lost our lunches when we watched it but we had to come back and view it again.

We have a simulater in high school where we reinacted driving situations. (Canada may have been different...) We also had auto mechanics, wood shop, and home ec classes in those neanderthal days, but conveniently, those were all disposed of because kids certainly don't need to be taught the basics of how to live productive lives once they're on their own...:confused:1


We also had driving instructors in school who took us out and about to teach us and they were all like General Norman Schwarzkopf. We were instructed, we were screamed at, and we learned. Enough said. Bring them back.

And bring the films back. Better to shock a child than attend his funeral...

But wait, we don't raise our voices at our children any more, or give them a swat, or compromise their self esteem in any way, let alone traumatize them. What was I thinking???
 
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RockyRogue

Agent of Change
DS,

You're right on the money again, for the 889th time...

We lost two teens in my city just two nights ago and I'm continuously reading about this issue in the metro Denver area alone. And I can't begin to tell you how many children from my kid's high school we've lost in the last 2-3 years.

Sammie, I hadn't heard about those two deaths. I'll have to look in the Denver Post to find out what happened. I remember a couple from late last year, just a couple weeks apart, too.

My high school class lost two people that I can remember. One was a two-car collision, similar to DS' story, if my memory serves. The accident happened at night, of course. Somebody wasn't paying attention--forget which party now--and the car my classmate was in flipped two or three times (she wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was ejected. I BELIEVE the car rolled over her). Fifty feet south of the intersection, the speed limit goes to 55 (open space preservation).

The other was a drug overdose. I knew the guy from a class but we didn't travel in the same "social circles" (what a cliche). Unfortunately, I forget what he OD'd on. THEN, about two months after his death, his girlfriend at the time tried to kill HERSELF by swallowing a bottle of Flintstone's Vitamins!!! She was a friend, albeit a strange relationship. The other two deaths were people I'd known only in passing. She disappeared for about 2 months for treatment. Mutual friends told me what had happened.

The vehicular incident made me think about some stuff, particularly seatbelt safety. I remember thinking to myself after watching some kind of "Seatbelt Safety" Video in Driver's Ed that EVERY passenger in my car would buckle or exit the vehicle. I got my license and told my folks the same day, "I'm not driving kids that don't buckle their belts." My folks nodded. A couple months later, I agreed to drop kids off at the pool. One of my passengers steadfastly refused to fasten a belt. I put the car in park, released my belt, PULLED the punk out of the van, brought him inside kicking and screaming and deposited him in front of our mother. She was aghast. I told her, "He refused to fasten his belt." She claimed it was no excuse to haul him in like that. She turned to tell him to go back out and put his belt on. I told her, "Don't bother. He's not getting into a vehicle I'm driving. I'm not driving him anywhere the rest of the Summer, either." She wasn't pleased. She threatened me with my license and my insurance. I pulled her keys from my pocket, dropped them on the table and answered, "I'M the one that get's the ticket. NOT HIM AND CERTAINLY NOT YOU!! I'm NOT getting screamed at for passenger safety and/or irresponsibility! Cancel my insurance. I'm not driving if this is how its gonna be." She told my brother, "Guess what? He's right. You stay here." He was ENRAGED! Dad comes home, my brother tells him what happened and I get screamed at. I calmly answered, "I'm not driving kids around that won't be safe. Just like a captain, my passengers' safety is MY responsibility. I'll surrender my license, keys and insurance NOW if you won't back me up." Dad was quiet for a moment, thinking. He admitted, "Good point. If you're stopped for one of my kids not being buckled, I'll pay the ticket. I won't hold you accountable for the insurance increase, either. It's not your fault my kids don't buckle." Our folks had a heart-to-heart that night about belts. I saw our mother throw the SAME kid out of the van a week later for not buckling! The refusal to buckle changed in a hurry!

Another new driver story...two weeks later, I was driving a sedan full of kids--four passengers and myself--home when the kids decided it'd be cool to "rattle" the driver. They were pinging the top of the car. Annoying and a distraction I didn't need in heavy traffic. I made the oldest one causing trouble walk about a mile home. Our folks were appalled. I threw my keys on the table, quite upset and said, "New rule. I only drive four people around in my car--driver and three passengers--two people in front, two in back. I'm also not driving X and Y around. They caused a safety hazard today." I told our folks the entire story and Dad's face turned LIVID. He grabbed his keys, stormed out of the house, picked up the kid I'd dropped off and screamed him deaf. No more problems. He came home and gestured me into a room. He said, "If you EVER have another problem with a passenger being unsafe, you pull that car over and CALL me. Its possible you'll leave a passenger at a McDonalds for me or your mother to come pick up. I need to get on this before there's an accident caused by a passenger generated distraction. Driving distractions are bad enough. New drivers need all their attention focused on the road, not the passenger compartment."

I saw somewhere, at some point, that passenger distractions are the cause of a "large" percentage of new driver accidents. My family--knock on wood--hasn't had a collision caused by passenger distraction. -Rocky
 
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dillweed

Well-Known Member
Maybe it would be a good idea for these young driving students to learn the 5 seeing habits and 10 point commentary AND prove that they can apply them before getting a license.
 

Sammie

Well-Known Member
Sammie, I hadn't heard about those two deaths. I'll have to look in the Denver Post to find out what happened. I remember a couple from late last year, just a couple weeks apart, too.
-Rocky

Rocky,

Here's the article from Sunday's paper.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6838303

Four 17 year olds in a car that more than likely blew past a stop sign only to be broadsided by a 40 foot delivery truck.

The father of one of the deceased girls heard a car crash a block away that sounded like an explosion just moments after his daughter left the house. What a heartbreaker.

And to quote DS,

"young people seem to think they know pretty much everything and the first real driving lesson for them will unfortunately be thier first collision."
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
Cell phones. Cell phones KILL young drivers. There is NO WAY a young driver should be talking while driving. Most experienced drivers can't even do it safely.

There was a recent story of a 17 year old boy talking on a cell, who died in an accident. He was talking to his dad. The last thing dad heard was the crash. Dad was a cell phone salesman....
 

DS

Fenderbender
Maybe it would be a good idea for these young driving students to learn the 5 seeing habits and 10 point commentary AND prove that they can apply them before getting a license.
Man, thats what I think too.It would be a HUGE popularity boost for UPS to offer classes to kids that want to learn saftey as a free community service.Maybe they could get a rake off on insurance if they complete the course successfully.Who would I submit this suggestion to?I know my center manager would just nod and agree and it would stop there.
Its a win win situation,ups gets kudos for being a caring corporate citizen,and some kids will live long enough to finish school.
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
Driving the 4 hours from Vegas this morning, I noticed the vast majority of drivers on their cell phones.....you can tell who they are by all the drifting outside their lane and the "jerk backs". I hate it !!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know the exact laws here, but something like kids can't drive with other kids in the car for the very first part of their license permit. I think it's a good idea.......They probably need the cell phone for an emergency, but put it in the glove box or back seat. I hate the little devil devices myself and refuse to own one. :mad:

If I need a phone, 99% of the other drivers have one.
 

satellitedriver

Moderator
This is going to be morbid.
Do not read further if you are easily upset.

I was asked at a PCM to give a safety tip.
I said "always wear you seatbelt", and then told this story.
Two weeks ago a friend was driving down the Gulf Freeway(I-45) in his new Cadillac with his fiance close by his side. An older woman had gotten confused and drove up the off ramp onto the freeway(in the wrong direction) and when he topped an overpassed they collided head on.
He was wearing his seatbelt, his fiance was not.
She was thrown threw the windshield, he was unharmed.
He got out of the car and ran to her body lying on the road.
He told me he knew she was about to die and wanted to kiss her goodbye, but he could not.
Her lips were cut off when she went through the windshield.
From that time on, I always check that everyone is wearing their seatbelt.
That was 21 years ago, yet I am crying as I type this.
She was such a lovely girl.
PAX
 

jds4lunch

What the hell is YOUPS??
Dillweed, I was about to say the exact same thing. Being a "young" driver myself (I'm 23) I'll be the first to admit that we are in a high risk group. I wish I had training similar to the training that I recieved when I started at UPS, heck just working for big brown has made me a better driver in my everyday life. I'm not sure about the rest of you out there, but I definatly use the same driving tactics when I'm driving outside of work, that I would normally use if I was out on the street delivering. Between working at UPS and driving from city to city reffing hockey at night, draving alone probably makes up over 60% of my day and that's alot of opportunity every day to get into an accedent.

I can't count the number of stupid things I see people do out on the road everyday, and I do agree that kids that first get their licence aren't experienced enough to be driving on thier own right away. My parents are pretty old school, and I wasn't allowed to drive without supervision until I was almost 18 and when we had some spare time on a sunday afternoon my dad would take me out and practise my driving. As for the comment about the police video of accedents, in my province then only show that at the classes that you have to take to get your licence back if you get a DUI.
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
When we lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho, teens were allowed to get their driver's licenses at age 14. I know it was because of all the farming and farm vehicles and such. Our daughter, who was a very responsible 14 yr. old got her license and it was very helpful having her drive the siblings to events & activities.

When our son turned 14, I was so glad we were transferred to Utah, because there was no way in hell we would have allowed him to get his license. At the time I could just tell him the State of Utah says you have to be 16.....I wasn't the "bad guy". Whew!:wink:
 
B

brown savage

Guest
Help me!!!

I "need" copies of the five seeing habits and ten point commentary that the instructors give out in cover driver/new driver training school......i.e. the "detailed" sheets...e.g. how do you do it, what does it do for you etc. Please help!!....I should be going to school shortly and I want to know the info. frontwards and backwards before I go as the instructor here in Atlanta is an absolute maniac and insists that we recite them word for word. If anyone has or can get them please email me!!!!!!! In need ya!!!!
 
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