Learning to drive this year? Your parents have been teaching you to drive all your life. And they may not be the best teachers.
When they got their licenses, they almost certainly went through the same process you will face, including a written test, practice time behind the wheel and a road test.
As Dr. Gridlock, I’ve spent the past decade watching how well mature adults remember the traffic laws and the regulatory signs that were on the written portion of the driver’s exam, and how well they perform the maneuvers required by road test examiners.
My conclusion: Your parents’ memories faded quickly, perhaps before you were born. You may not want to drive like Mom and Dad.
“Many children see their parents multitasking behind the wheel and think that they can do this, as well,” said Brandy Brubaker, spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, which issued 113,284 original learner’s permits during its fiscal 2016. “But taking your eyes off the road, even for a brief moment, can have devastating results. It is critical to stay focused on the task at hand while driving.”
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Among the other lessons she’d like young people to retain: Always buckle up in the vehicle and make sure everyone else is buckled up, too; follow posted speed limits; always drive sober; and never drive while distracted.
Getting a driver’s license is commonly referred to as a rite of passage from the restraints of childhood into the freedom of adulthood. That’s the wrong way to think of it.
Your responsibilities regarding other people have just increased. So don’t cram for this test and then empty out those brain cells, as I fear many of your parents did.
You’re going to be tested every time you drive, and there may be times when you won’t be eligible for a do-over.
Some of the things that sound so easy — compared with parallel parking — will turn out to be much more difficult to retain in memory and put into practice.
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Drawing on the test-prep material offered by the motor vehicle departments in the Washington region, I want to highlight some driving rules and behaviors you should retain to your dying day, no matter what you see other people — including your parents — do when they are behind the wheel.
I’ll start with a couple from the Virginia DMV.
Speed limits: "A speed limit is the maximum legal speed you can travel on a road under ideal conditions. You may drive slower than the posted speed, but it is illegal to drive any faster. By law, you must drive slower if conditions such as road construction or bad weather make the posted speed unsafe."
When you’re behind the wheel and can glance quickly at the speedometer in free-flowing traffic, notice how many brains seem to have unburdened themselves of that information since it was on a driver’s test.
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Stop signs: "You must come to a complete stop at the sign, stop line, pedestrian crosswalk or curb. Wait for any vehicle or pedestrian to clear the way." Many drivers just ignore the "complete stop" rule. Others resent it. They tell me so after they get tickets from enforcement cameras that caught them rolling through.
If you’re not feeling challenged about remembering those rules, let’s do a couple of sample questions that the District Department of Motor Vehicles offers to people who are preparing for their written tests.
When making right turns, you must:
A. Be alert for vehicles ahead that are also turning right.
B. Yield to bicyclists traveling between you and the right side of the road.
C. Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
D. All of the above.
Proud of yourself that you knew it was D? Wait 20 years. Driving through an intersection is one of the most difficult things you will do as a motorist. When you want to make a left, will your eyes lock on the oncoming traffic and ignore the people in the crosswalk that you are about to turn into?
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Here’s one more from the District’s prep quiz.
Distracted driving may be caused by:
A. Changing the radio, CD or tape.
B. Eating, drinking beverages or smoking.
C. Using cellular phones and/or texting.
D. All of the above.
Don’t start thinking that “All of the above” works every time, but in this case, it’s again the correct answer. In recent years, many laws have been passed that focus on texting as a form of distracted driving. Don’t allow texting to become your definition of distracted driving. Anything that pulls your eyes or attention away from the task of driving is a dangerous and potentially deadly distraction.
Here’s one of the tutorial questions from Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration that also deals with sensible behavior.
The best thing to do if you become tired or sleepy while driving is:
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A. Get rest or change drivers.
B. Drink coffee.
C. Open a window.
Coffee and a rolled-down window are high on the list of mythical remedies for drowsy driving. So is cranking up the radio. Those won’t solve the problem. Pull over and take a nap. Better yet, get enough sleep before you start the trip.
I know parents will think of more forgotten lessons than I’ve listed here, and I hope they will write in with them. But I ask them to remember their crucial role as educators within their own families when it comes to driver training.
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