Excellence in Driving
The Complete Guide
for Learning How to Drive!
By Bob Nimmo
Copyright 2011 by Bob Nimmo
Smashwords Edition
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, the please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - For Parents Only (Sort Of!)
Chapter 3 - Insurance…You Mean I Need Insurance?
Chapter 4 - Getting to Know Your Car
Chapter 5 - I Wouldn’t Steer You Wrong
Chapter 6 - Stop & Go – The Gas and Brake Pedals
Chapter 7 - Too Sexy for Your Seat Belt – NOT!
Chapter 8 - Mirror Mirror on the Wall/In the Car
Chapter 9 - Lights…Camera…Action!
Chapter 11 - Let’s Not Get Distracted
Chapter 12 - Speed Limits – You Got to be Kidding
Chapter 13 - OMG…It’s the Police!
Chapter 14 - Urban/Rural Road Driving
Chapter 15 - Highway Driving – Trust Me it’s Different
Chapter 16 - Don’t “Pass” on This Chapter
Chapter 17 - Merging – It’s Not a Game of Chicken
Chapter 18 - Drinking & Driving and Other Really Stupid Things
Chapter 19 - Cell Phones and Texting – The Perfect Storm
Chapter 20 - Do You Have a Plan of Attack?
Chapter 21 - Turn Signal Etiquette
Chapter 22 - Sharing the Road with the Two Legged Types
Chapter 23 - I’d Like to Report an Emergency
Chapter 24 - Those Mean/Angry Truck Drivers
Chapter 25 - It’s Time for School
Chapter 26 - Signs, Signs Everywhere a Sign
Chapter 27 - Stop in the Name of Love B/4…
Chapter 28 - Traffic Oh How We Hate Traffic
Chapter 29 - Tailgating…and I Don’t Mean at Football Games
Chapter 30 - The Weather – It Changes All the Rules
Chapter 31 - There’s a Night and Day Difference
Chapter 32 - Defensive Driving…Better Known as Paying Attention
Chapter 33 - Off Road Driving and Not the Fun Type
Chapter 34 - Final Score Trains 5,269 Cars 0
Chapter 35 - Road Rage/Anger Management
Chapter 36 - Can’t We All be Nice?
Chapter 38 - Common Screw Ups…We All Do Them
Chapter 39 - Flat Tires and Other Crummy Things
Chapter 40 - Lions, Tigers and Bears…Oh My
Chapter 42 - To All You Wonderful Senior Citizens
Chapter 43 - The First Aid “Car” Kit
Chapter 44 - Different Strokes for Different Folks
Chapter 45 - The Ten Commandments of Driving
For Pat…
“My Sweetie!”
Pat was my love, my wife, my buddy, my lover, my rock, my business partner, my very best friend and most importantly the love of my life that can never be replaced. I could not have asked for a more wonderful/beautiful person to ride shotgun with me as we traveled the entire United States together and never once did she complain. My sweetie supported me on this driving book project from the very first day that I came up with the concept until the day she left me and went to heaven and oh how I miss her so!
This book is dedicated to Madison Lewis and all the other teenagers who have tragically lost their lives in automobile accidents!
Introduction
I can remember it like yesterday when my son turned 15 years old and announced “Hey Dad when can I go and get my learners license so I can start to drive?” One of those OMG moments that all of us parents end up going through! So my next step was to go out and pick up the State’s Drivers License Manual and once I got back I decided to flip through it since it had been years since I last saw a copy. The manual itself was OK as it contained the “Basic’s” for learning how to drive however what I noticed was there was so much “Real Life” driving tips missing. That day started my thirteen year project of writing this book called…
Excellence in Driving
The Most Complete Guide for Learning How to Drive…
The RIGHT Way!
Somewhere early in this journey I read that more teenagers are killed in automobile accidents each year than drugs, violence or health reasons. That was one startling statistic that just reinforced what I felt was the need for a more expanded book on all the in’s and out’s that I have learned in over 35+ years of safe driving. What makes me an expert you ask well to start with how about the thought that I have driven an estimated one million miles in my driving career both for business and personal. Just to give you a mindset that equates to driving to the moon and back…TWICE! Additionally I have driven over the entire United States from Caribou, ME to Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA and lastly Key West, FL and everywhere in-between. With all this time and miles that I have racked up I will stack up my years of a safe driving record with the best of them thus I feel I am pretty knowledgeable in offering what I think is the best advice to help you become a better and safer driver.
So given all the above I felt there was a real need to help educate and prepare teenagers of today on Learning How to Drive…The RIGHT Way! Many times it was because young drivers did not have qualified parents/relatives to teach them the proper way to drive or safely operate a car. Even though this book’s main targeted audience is the 15-18 year old potential driver it is by no means to be limited to them only! There are in fact plenty of young adults (and even many older adults) who could benefit greatly from this book as you can teach an old dog new tricks so spread the news. Also maybe you have experienced the “fear/terror” when riding around with others such as family or friends that scare the heck out of you as you ride shotgun with them well a copy of this book would help both of you. In any case I hope this book will be helpful as an additional guide/resource to compliment your particular state’s drivers manual to help you and others become better and safer drivers! By the way on our website teamnimmo.com we have your states drivers’ license manual listed so go there and download a copy now!
Happy Trails!
For Parents Only (Sort Of!)
I have started this book with this chapter as the #1 influence on young drivers is their parents. It goes without saying that as your kids are growing up they will be watching/learning from your actions as a driver. So for their first 15+ years you will quietly be their teacher as they ride with you. How you drive and how you act while driving will be picked up by your kids and those habits will be carried on by them as they get older. So it is up to you to set the tone for when they first learn how to drive!
Do you yell at other drivers (or occasionally flip them the middle finger), do you ride the bumpers of others, do you speed excessively or text while driving? All of these things they are taking in and might just end up influencing how they act once they get their drivers license. So now is the time to start correcting your own habits before they first learn how to drive. It’s the old saying monkey see as monkey do!
So let’s remember from the very beginning when you first start teaching them to drive they will be a nervous wreck! Think back to when you first got behind the steering wheel with your Mom or Dad and how you felt? That said please go easy on them – no yelling - as your job is to teach and guide them not to be a screaming coach from their football or cheerleading days. My father (a great driver by the way) was so hard on me that after the second or third day out with him I came home crying to my mother telling her I could not learn to drive under his conditions anymore. My Mom then rode with me as I learned how to handle and drive a car up until I got my learners permit.
So when you first start out the process of teaching your child it is best to start on a nice quiet Saturday or Sunday morning in a office or church parking lot (more on this later!). Once they are ready to advance out to the real world pick in advance some back roads that are less crowded to avoid the stress. Choose a route you want them to drive on that might offer them various challenges that contain stop signs, stop lights, curves, etc. Please don’t throw everything at them on the first day as remember learning to drive the right way is a marathon not a sprint and will take weeks/months to do.
And one last thing after they have received their drivers license please take the time to occasionally drive with them to observe how they are doing. Parents never stop being parents and neither should you stop coaching them as they drive those first critical months/years.
Good Luck!
Basic Training
First things first advise your child that they are behind the wheel and in control of a 3,500 lb (average weight of a mid size car) piece of metal! So they have an understanding that’s the average weight of their local high school football team – offense and defense combined. Additionally they need to realize this is not like riding their bike and when they crashed they only scratched their knee…this is a whole new ballgame. Studies show time and again that the highest accident incidence rate occurs during the first year of driving. I only wish we had some kind of alert system/notice on cars of new drivers as they are the ones I am most concerned about while I am out driving.
It goes without saying that the car(s) they will be learning to drive in must be in great condition. Good brakes, headlights, brake lights, tires, windshield wipers, etc. need to be in good working order if they are expected to learn how to drive properly. I also recommend that they learn how to drive in a car with automatic transmission versus a manual shifting car. They will have enough challenges just learning how to drive without having to deal with a manual transmission car that only confuses things with changing gears and using the clutch.
So with all of the above in place now is time to get them their learners permit to start the process. You will first need to go by your local driver’s license office and pick up a drivers manual or of course you should be able to go on-line and download a version if that is easier. Again we have all the different states drivers manuals listed on our website teamnimmo.com so you might want to click here first. I would suggest you first read it yourself and then have them read it a couple times in a room/area that does not have distractions. It’s also a good idea to have them highlight any areas that they might be confused about and have them go over it with you. Jumping ahead of things I would like you and your kids to consider signing up to be an organ donor when they finally get their official drivers license. Whether they are involved in a fatal accident (certainly hope not!) or some other life treating situation well it is always good to help others who might be in need…just a thought!