Posts Tagged ‘driving lessons’

Driving School Location Can Be Number One

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

When you are thinking of sending your teen or young adult for their first driving lessons, there are several important considerations when it comes to choosing your driving school. Convenience of location is perhaps one of the most important, besides reputation, years of experience and value. Simply put, driving school location importance is very high.

When learning to drive, it is important to remember that, most of the time, people drive the same or similar routes every day to and from school, work, shopping and home. In fact, more than seventy percent of all people are born, live and die within fifty miles of their place of birth. Many never even drive more than fifty miles from home. By enrolling in a driving course that is close to home and school, your teen will learn how to drive for the areas they know best.

People are creatures of habit, and as a result, will take the same way to and from work, the gym, school, shopping and home every day. A driving school will force your new driver to take routes that they are not familiar with, forcing them to become more aware of their surroundings. It will force them to observe that street sign for the playground at the end of the road. It will teach them to observe that reduced speed sign for the Hospital. They will also teach valuable lessons in collision avoidance.

Any school can teach driving basics such as maintaining the speed limit and staying in the correct lane when driving. Any school can instruct about the road signs and their meanings and what to do when an ambulance siren sounds behind them.

Successful driving lessons will teach your new driver how to see what another driver may be thinking by observing their wheels, signals and where they are in the road. They will also cover important items like dealing with road rage, as well as proper response to the sirens of an emergency vehicle.

A reliable driving school ensures that your new driver does not pick up on your or your partner’s poor driving habits that you might impart if you provide their driving lessons. Everyone has their own faults, and you want your new driver to develop the best driving habits possible.

Having a driving school that is close to home is a convenience for you. By finding a program that is close by, you save your own gas and wear and tear on your car. Driving schools have specially rigged cars that have dual brakes so that the instructor can take over stopping if need be. They will typically pick you up at the classroom location, which if being held in conjunction with the public school, can be quite convenient. This offers parents peace of mind while your student is in class and ensures that they are not off driving without the benefit of an experienced driver in the car.

The best part, though, of going with a local driving school is how it will help your new driver develop great driving habits and good coping tools for when driving conditions are not the best. This will build your new driver’s confidence behind the wheel, which will build your confidence in their driving ability.

Find out about the benefits and advantages of having the professional instructors of SWERVE Driving School work with you today! When you get all of the information on SWERVE Driver’s Ed, you will have all the techniques you need to drive safely on any road.

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Will Your Child’s Driving School Teach The Bubble?

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Every driver should know about “the Bubble?” It’s one of the simplest and most useful principles of defensive driving. The Bubble is simply the airspace that you maintain on all sides of your car by keeping other cars at a safe distance. It’s a good idea if you are planning to enroll yourself or a loved one in driving school to ask, “Does this here little old driving school teach the Bubble?” Of course only ask like that if you are a Southern Belle.

A member of a prestigious social club once arrived late for a meeting, distraught because someone had rear-ended her car once again and she couldn’t understand why this kept happening to her. Conversation with her sympathetic friends soon revealed to everyone but her that she had been tailgating. When the car ahead of her stopped abruptly she slammed on her brakes and stopped too.

The woman told her friends that since she did not hit the car in front of her she obviously had not been tailgating. Unfortunately the woman did not understand that her sudden stop which prevented her from hitting the car in front deprived the car behind of enough time to avoid hitting her. If she had only known, a bigger space in front of her could have saved her behind.

The ideal situation on a freeway is to be driving at a safe, comfortable, legal speed with the cars in front of you many car lengths ahead, no vehicles to ether side and none behind you.

Unfortunately, moments like this are rare as traffic behind you catches up and passes, eager to catch up with the cars ahead who are all slowing down for some known or unknown reason.

But, drivers who know and use the Bubble realize that there is more to it than just surrounding your car with open space whenever it’s easy to do so. Your Bubble may change size and shape sometimes but a good driver will always be alert and aware of where spaces are as well as where other vehicles are and what their drivers are doing.

If a car is coming up too fast behind you, where do you think he is planning to go? If a car in the right lane ahead of you is approaching the truck in front of it too quickly where is the driver going to go when he reaches the truck? If it looks like there is nowhere for him to go but in front of you perhaps you might slow your own speed a little to make sure that he has room to move over when he suddenly realizes what he is going to have to do.

Of course you don’t want to. You would much rather see the jerk get what’s coming to him. But, since that would necessarily involve your safety and that of others you demonstrate what an alert, well-trained driver you are and prevent a collision. You then have the satisfaction of thinking how fortunate the other driver was that he pulled that stunt in front of you and not someone with a death wish. And then you silently ask that other driver, “Why doesn’t your driving school teach the Bubble?”.

Get complete details on the benefits you will enjoy when you work with a reputable SWERVE Driving School today! When you work with the knowledgeable and experienced professional who teach SWERVE drivers ed, you will be able to drive safely more quickly!

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Learning To Drive Includes Parents As Well As Others

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

It isn’t completely uncommon for misguided parents to leave the task of driver’s education solely in the hands of high school driving instructors and the law enforcement agent administering the test. In reality learning to drive is a long and complicated task. It is one of the most important things that your teen will learn in their lifetime and safety is extremely important. For this reason drivers education includes parents and without them tends to be incomplete.

For starters parents need to always be vigilant of the way they drive, especially in front of their children. Though it might not always show, parents are the biggest role model in their children’s lives. Children not only remember but mock the way their parents drive. Parents who often drive without a seat belt or practice unsafe driving habits will have children that do the same. Careless driving is dangerous, do not pass this trait on your young.

Another way to help your teenager learn to be a good driver is to go out with them on several practice drivers. Never allow your child to go out on their own until you are certain that they are prepared. No one knows as well as a parent when their child is ready to drive. Insist that your child log plenty of practice hours with you in the passenger seat before cutting them lose. They will thank you when they have children of their own.

A great way to show your interest, help your child study, and get a gauge of what they know is to regularly quiz them on safety rules and procedures. This shows how important safety is in a non-confrontational way and lets your child know that you are on their side and want them to succeed. Getting a license is one of the most exciting things that occurs in a human lifetime. Be your kid’s cheerleader, they will appreciate it in more ways than one! Besides good grades in Driver’s Ed often equate to cheaper insurance costs.

Teaching basic vehicle maintenance is an important lesson in the driving process. Often parents do not think about oil changes and tune ups as a part of Driver’s Education but these are actually very important lesson. It is vital that before your teenager moves out or goes on a long trip that they know how to do routine maintenance on their vehicle. If you aren’t sure how to do these things yourself, now is a good time to learn.

Changing a tire is another important step in a premium driving education. This is generally covered in formal classes but often it is quickly ran through in front of a dozen teenagers who are passing notes and thinking about lunch. A one-on-one tire changing class in the driveway is the best way to make sure that your child is prepared for the open road.

Make sure that the young driver knows when to pull over. The first blow out or flat tire often comes as a surprise to a new driver. The same goes for running out of gas and engine trouble. Teach the importance of pulling over when something just doesn’t feel right. Obviously when possible it’s best to wait for a well lit area before pulling over, but continuing to drive on a low tire or with a failing engine can be extremely dangerous.

There are many factors that contribute to good driving. Parental involvement and a thorough understanding of the driving process will help to ensure that your child becomes a safe, talented driver with practice.

Get more details about the SWERVE Driving School training available to you today! When you learn about SWERVE Driver’s Ed, and the multitude of advantages and benefits available after you complete the program, you will be ready to drive in any type of traffic easily!

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Driving School Selection Criteria

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Historically, driver’s education in the U.S. has been poor. The only goal for most driving schools has been to get your teen a driver’s license with no concern about how they perform in the first critical year of their driving career. Fortunately, there are now beginning to emerge driving schools with the goal to create excellent drivers but finding them is still difficult. Considering over 20,000 teens die every year in car crashes and the costs of even a minor collision are large, choosing a driver training that can decrease the chances of your teen getting in a crash during the first critical year of their driving career is very important. This article can provide some guidance in selecting a driving school that can make a difference.

Engaging Program: In order for teens to learn anything, they need to be engaged. And its no different for driving lessons. They should be continually challenged as part of the educational process. Does the driving school communicate with the parents using feedback forms and their web site?

Professional Instructors: It’s critically important that the driving instructors are well trained. Ask whether the training exceeded minimum requirements. Make sure the instructors are properly trained for driving instruction as some schools use untrained police officers, who are good at strict law enforcement and not driver training.

A very important selection criteria for a driving school is convenience. Can the behind the wheel sessions be scheduled online 7×24? Some programs include access to a dedicated customer center that can be used to answer questions at any point along the teen’s training process.

Proven Results: Very few driving schools can demonstrate how well they’ve trained their students. Are there reliable statistics available that show the results of their driving lessons? Do they have a money back guarantee? Are they committed to making their students excellent drivers or simply just trying to get them a license?

Investment In Driver’s Education: Ask the driving school how much they invest in the development of their program. Do they have dedicated curriculum developers on staff working on driving lessons? Do they work with the research community to ensure their driver training programs are state of the art? Do they create innovative systems for scheduling and student progress?

Community Contribution: Top class driving schools will contribute to the community in a variety of ways. Ask what legislature, such as cell phone laws, the driving school directly sponsored for the betterment of teen driving. Ask what statewide programs, such as Washington’s Drive Nice Day program they have sponsored. Do they work with local public schools?

The bottom line: Its your teen’s life and well-being that is at risk during their first year of driving an automobile. Its important to understand that there is a large variance between driving schools in what they can provide for your teen. Proper selection of a driving school is critical. Its not your Grandfather’s driver training any more and you now have the ability to select a driving school that can really make a difference in your teen’s ability to survive and thrive throughout their driving experience.

About the Author: Joe Driverson is a member of SWERVE’s team whose goal is to “Change The Way People Drive”. Check out SWERVE Driving School for more information on SWERVE’s driver training programs and its innovative and challenging approach to driving lessons.

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