driving safety class Archives - Comedy Defensive Driving®

Teens and Seat Belts

Daun Thompson — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 17:11:02 +0000

I was under the impression that the majority of people that don’t wear seat belts are the elderly. Since wearing a seat belt (or what they used to call a “safety belt”) became a law in 1986, the elderly have spent most of their lives not being required to wear a seat belt, so perhaps they never really caught on or got comfortable with it. My elderly parents would drive from Illinois to Texas sans-belt (that’s French for “no belt”). My Mother says that wearing the seat belt would wrinkle her outfit. But going through the windshield would surely put a few wrinkles in her outfit and her head, etc. It seems that teen boys have adopted this attitude about not wearing seat belts. My position as a Defensive Driving Instructor does not require that I lecture or “mother” teens about wearing a seat belt. And it seems that teen girls do typically wear seat belts. So, what’s the deal with teens and seat belts?

One would think that the hefty fine alone would encourage compliance with the seat belt law. And not only the fine but since not wearing a seat belt is a moving violation, one would have the option of possibly reducing the price of the ticket and taking a defensive driving course to have the ticket dismissed. Or, if not, the points will be applied to your driving record and your insurance will increase. That would certainly modify my behavior. According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death among teenagers. And, in Texas, teen drivers have the highest incidence of unbuckled fatalities. Statistics show that in 2015, 293 teen drivers and passengers (age 15-20) died. Of those fatalities, 115 of them (39%) were not wearing seat belts.

The law in this state requires everyone in the vehicle to wear a seat belt, one seat belt for each passenger and driver in the vehicle. No more sitting on laps or sharing seat belts (i.e. no more clown car action). “Who” gets the ticket for not wearing a seatbelt in Texas, depends on their age. If anyone under 17 (under age) is not wearing a seat belt, the driver will get the citation. Anyone 17 or older (of age) will receive the citation. Although I did have an unfortunate 16 year old girl in my class who had received a citation for speeding through a 20mph school zone, and had also received two seat belt citations because her 16 year old friends were not wearing their seat belts. Although she was under 17, she still got their citations. The officer could have also cited her for having more than one non-family member under 21 in the car with her. So it could have been worse. Still, I bet her parents were not pleased. My parents would have killed me and started all over again, creating new, cheaper offspring.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

Teens and Seat Belts – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Deicing Your Windshield

Daun Thompson — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 15:03:32 +0000

The winter chill is in the air! Even in Texas, we’ve had freezing temperatures. So, make sure you have the proper tools to help with deicing your windshield. Just yesterday, I saw a road rage incident where one driver cut off another driver. The person who was cut off retaliated by throwing an entire strawberry milkshake at the offender’s windshield. It immediately froze, they turned on their windshield wipers, smearing the pink goo evenly like a thick frosting on both sides of the windshield. They had to pull off the road to avoid the inevitable crash. Happy holidays and peace to all, right?

I am so very thankful that we don’t typically have bad weather here in Texas where we have to deice our windshields that often. When I grew up in the Midwest, we had windshield scrapers, deicing fluid and Jack Daniels. The Jack Daniels was, of course, for your personal, internal antifreeze. And helped to keep the chill off while you were sitting in your car, waiting for your windshield to defrost. Using your windshield wipers with ice encrusted on it, will surely tear up the rubber on your wiper blades. Wiper fluid may freeze and cause even more problems. But you can purchase deicing fluid at any of your retail stores or auto supply stores and keep a bottle of it in your car. They also make a convenient aerosol spray that you can purchase for under three dollars for deicing your windshield, but remember that aerosol sprays make a negative impact on the environment. A scraper helps as well. Plus, you can surely use the exercise. Scraping ice off a windshield is great for the pecs.

Also, don’t forget to get your car winterized so it’s not a big surprise when you try to crank it up and it won’t start. Although, having to jog home in the cold is also another good excuse to work off a few of those holiday pounds.

Until next week….

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist / Ice Princess

Deicing Your Windshield – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Driving In Traffic and Passing

Daun Thompson — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:55:54 +0000

Drivers Education 101 says, when driving in traffic and passing other vehicles, always do so on the left…unless you’re in England, in which case you probably would be taking a cab home anyway, or the Tube since you’ve drank yourself silly. And don’t forget to signal before changing lanes to pass that other vehicle, for heaven’s sake! You don’t need someone merging in at the same time because they couldn’t read your mind and you certainly don’t need a ticket either.

And, just so you know, the left lane is for passing only, not passing out. You’re just supposed to pass other cars in that lane, it’s not just a lane to hang out in. You can get a ticket for impeding traffic if you do, as it ranks right on up there at the top of the road rage list. And you can also get a ticket for speeding in the passing lane. How ironic that most people refer to it as the fast lane.

If you are on a two-lane road, check the dotted line. Make sure you have a dotted lane line on your side of the road. This means it’s safe for you to pass. Also, look for a “Pass With Care” sign. Solid yellow lines indicate that passing is not allowed. In this case, look for a “Do Not Pass” sign. And, when passing other vehicles in daylight, it is safe to return to the right lane or to your own lane, if a two-lane road, when you can see their two front tires in your rear view mirror. At night, it’s when you see their full headlights in your rear view mirror.

Always check your blind spots before changing lanes to begin passing other vehicles. Not everyone uses their signals, you know. And, in many states, when approaching a car on a two-lane road, and that car is turning left, if the shoulder is paved, you may pass them on the right shoulder. But only if the shoulder is paved.

Until next week……..

Daun Thompson
Comedienne / Writer / Artist
Passing other vehicles

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Tips for Highway Driving

Daun Thompson — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:19:37 +0000

Isn’t it nice to have someone out there who cares about you? Who, you ask? Well, there are emergency medical techs, firemen, police and me…just to name a few. And, because I care so much about you, I am going to give you a few tips on how to avoid getting a citation or a hand gesture while driving on the highway.
First, lets touch on the H.O.V. lane. H.O.V. stands for High Occupancy Vehicle. Most states require two or more occupants in the car. You the driver, and the second passenger can be a child in a car seat or booster seat. The H.O.V. lane’s purpose is to carpool, primarily. It’s all about fuel conservation, emissions, pollution. So, getting on the H.O.V. by yourself is certainly not putting anyone’s life in danger. But crossing over the double solid line to enter or exit the H.O.V., rather than entering or exiting where indicated is quite dangerous. And, at least in Texas, if you do the combination of the two, the fine is running around $600.00. Which you pay the full amount. That’s a lot of money to flush down the toilet, so don’t even think about doing it. Got it?
Another is driving too slow in the left passing lane. That’s why they call it the Passing Lane or Fast Lane. It’s not for those doing 45mph. My sister says anyone driving too slow in the left lane should be humanely euthanized. I sadly agree. But, even if you’re doing 75 in a 60, passing other cars, someone will inevitably come flying up on your tail, honking their horn and flashing their headlights at you. That’s code for you to “get the *#*# out of the way.” In that case, just get over. Let them pass you. If they want to do 130mph, let them. They’re probably running from the law anyway. Or they will be soon. Then you can get back over and pass all of those other cars. Don’t let someone push you to make you go faster so you’re the one who gets the ticket.
On the other hand, if it’s rush hour traffic and the flow is barely at a crawl, you’re lucky to be “stuck” in that lane because it’s the only lane moving. And, if you’re stuck in the right lane (the slow lane) and traffic is barely at a crawl, it would be nice to let one car, per car enter the freeway. Let that traffic feed onto the freeway from the ramp as to keep the flow of traffic flowing. They call it the “zipper.” Most people will let one car, per car merge in. Then, there are those selfish people who won’t let anyone in because they think it’s going to put them out. And, of course, then there are those good Samaritans who think they’re doing their good deed for the day by letting in half a dozen cars at one time. While the guy behind them is counting how many bullets he needs to put in the chamber of his gun because he’s not so happy. So, they just made 6 people happy, feeding in off the ramp, but there are hundreds of people behind them that aren’t so happy with them. One car, per car is plenty…trust me on this one.
And, last pointer for the day, don’t forget to signal before changing lanes. Police are writing citations for not signaling. Even on the freeway before changing lanes. And, it’s usually an add-on, like a pack of gum at the checkout counter. Usually, you get a ticket for speeding or impeding traffic for driving too slow, or whatnot, and they add the not-signaling or illegal lane change to your citation to give it some “substance.”

Until next week…I’ll keep the pointers coming.

Daun Thompson

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EVERYONE’S POSITION ON DRIVING

Lisa — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:20:31 +0000

What you’re comfortable with when driving may be a far cry from how you should be positioned in your driver seat to avoid the utmost damage to your body. Or, for some of us, just driving through those fast food joints is doing enough damage to that temple of ours. We could be our own air bags. Give the temple a little more respect, eh?

I see people driving low and cool who can’t even see over the steering wheel, nor the mirrors. Bolts rattling loose from that heavy base. You can’t even see the driver because his seat is so far back that he is now driving from the back seat of the car. A feat I’ve only seen on Scooby Doo. Rought-Ro! At least he’s protected from that drive-by shooting. Hidden behind that panel of metal between the front and back seat. Smart call. Now go get a job! You know, that’s one unmotivated individual when you’re too lazy to even get out of the car to shoot someone.

I also see little people, like me. Sitting so close to the steering wheel that they could easily be their own hood ornament. And people so large that they feel uncomfortable in their seat belt and simply refuse to wear the thing. We all want to be comfortable when we’re driving. But when it comes to comfort v.s. possible injury, which do you choose? Most people choose the comfort. Why can’t you have both?

Ready to determine whether you are positioned correctly behind the wheel? Try these tricks out. With your back against the seat and head against the headrest, make sure your seat is positioned so you can see well over the dash, both side mirrors and rear view mirror. Move your seat forward close enough where your feet reach the pedals, but far enough where your legs are outstretched when your foot reaches the brake pedal. And your knee slightly bent when reaching the gas pedal.

To position yourself far enough away from the steering wheel for the air bag to do its magic but not do its magic on your face, try this trick. When sitting upright and comfortably, flop your wrists over the top of the steering wheel. If they dangle there, with your back resting against the seat, great. If not, adjust. Your hands should also be at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock. This, also due not only to the way the airbag deploys, but also due to the ease of a sudden steering maneuver in a scary situation. And, when the cop says “Put your hands where I can see ’em”…there you go. They’re already there.

So, what’s your position? Good or evil?

Until next week…drive safe.

Daun Thompson

(Daun Thompson is a comedienne, writer and artist residing in Dallas, Texas)

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Defensive Driving or Mind, Body and Soul.

Lisa — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 17:18:45 +0000

Have you ever thought how everything is govern by basic laws? All living things, the elements, nature, from the atom to the grand universe, everything is under the laws of the universe. The Golden Rule “”Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”” “you reap what you sow” and never drink with a guy who only has one arm. I have no idea where that comes from but it sounds like a good idea. If something is out of “wack” then nothing falls into place. The same applies to your vehicle’s tire alignment, if your alignment is out of “wack” then your steering will be off too and the life of your tires will be cut short.

Have you ever heard of the MIND, BODY and SOUL connection? Everything is in threes, when it comes to your tire’s alignment there is the CAMBER, CASTER and TOE. If you’re not a mechanic do not attempt to do the alignment yourself or you could lose a toe and a finger.

The CAMBER is how vertical your tire is in relation to the road. Kinda like your MIND is how vertical you are to the world around you. The is also “Negitive CAMBER” and “Positive CAMBER,” just like sometimes your MIND is in a positive state and sometimes negitive. Positive CAMBER means the tires angle out, negitive means they angle in towards the car. Sometimes your mind is just mello, like yellow if you’ve been a smokin’ somthin’ greeeen!

The Toe is how the tires ride. TOE-in means the tires point to the inside of the car, if you where looking at the car straight on. TOE-out means the opposite. Just like your BODY and how you walk, some people walk with their feet-in, I call those people “pigeon-toed.” Some people walk with their feet out, I call those people drunk.

The CASTER is the angle the wheels pivot on and it’s measured in degrees. Just like the SOUL, brother! Your SOUL is the CASTER of you! Your SOUL is the angle your being pivots on through time and space.

Get your tire alignment done when you purchase new tires and meditate before you start your new day, both can make all the difference in the world.

Join me again next week and until then…

Take care and be safe-
Danny Keaton

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