American Basic driver education and beyond (Poll)/Discussion

[Miragemaiden]

You know that would of been a good option to add to, but I guess it could count as high performance driving.

Yeah, that's what I went with.

Well most people will be happy being driven by google's driverless cars in the future, but you'll have to pry my hands off the wheel, fuck that noise.

http://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/werd.gif but that's 'cause driving's actually fun--why the hell would I want a computer doing it for me?

[Talint]

I fully admit I am a bad driver, and I love speeding. I got my license at 18, but have never needed it until this past year (public transit was my god for the longest time). I am surprised at how aggressive I really drive, and how much I beat on my car.

However, I would take any opportunity to get better, since I just have the basic Driver's Ed course. Not to mention know more about car mechanics in general.

[Acturus]

Basic driver's ed here. I live in Florida, and I have no plans to go anywhere else.

Winter driving, how I lol at thee.

[Yugl]

One issue that possibly contributes to the "problem" is that the time you receive your license is also the time you begin to attend a university. Personally, I used to drive everywhere and I made sure to keep my practices in check (No speeding and always going by the basics). However, the inability to drive while attending a distant university impedes earlier progress. It would be interesting to see if there is a decline in automotive skills between that particular range (Holding other factors constant of course). Another focus might be towards breaking that down further to see if automotive skills improve during Junior and Senior year since upper class students tend to travel via car more often.

[jmc]

I pretty much selected every option there was, except rally training....however that is coming soon. (how can I own subarus without doing a rally course?)

I've had way too much driver training, from basic education when I was 16.... To winter driving, since I live in new englad. To emergency response driver training.

[Acevalefor]

I've been driving since I was 12. I grew up in a very rural area where you either drove the hay trucks/work trucks or you helped ma in the kitchen preparing lunch for those that were driving the trucks...fuck the kitchen, so I learned to drive 4 different flat-bed trucks from Chevy to International to Ford. It was a great place to start because it gave me the confidence I needed to be able to get in the cab of just about anything with wheels or tracks and drive it. Even some things with wings ^^.

In high school, I took a driver's education course just to lower my insurance. It was a complete joke and taught me nothing I didn't already know. I even added several things like spatial awareness that the course didn't even touch.

5 years ago, I took a required class for my motorcycle endorsement and passed with flying colors because of my experience trail riding a dirt bike when I was a teenager. That course was probably the most educational course I took because of all the class time teaching about all the other idiots on the road and how to handle your bike in case of an emergency. (i.e. how to crash with finesse).

My thoughts on driver education courses are that they are severely lacking except for the specialized courses like CDL, Motorcycle, Crane Truck, and the private courses for race training. The best teacher is time behind the wheel with a willingness to get better. In my 16 years of driving, there was very little anyone could say to me to help me improve. It has all been my own experience behind the wheel that has taught me to be a good driver.

Now the flip side to being a good driver...you tend to get cocky. I have caught myself being aggressive and playing on the road a little and realized I was freaking out a few other drivers that probably shouldn't have been on the road. You know the type, the ones that "panic brake" as soon as they see brake lights anywhere in their line of sight, the ones that sit with their seat so close to the steering wheel that the airbag will decapitate them if it ever goes off and they can't even turn the wheel a full turn because their boobs get in the way.

[Amastacia]

Basic driver's ed only. An interest in safety and driving has lead me to look up information on good driving techniques, which I've tried to practice in safe places (rev matching, heel & toe, double clutching, left foot braking, shuffle steering, threshold braking, cadence braking (should ABS fail), etc.).

I would ultimately like to take an HPDE course, and/or attend rally school to learn better car control.

The saddest part is when I lived in NC and needed to convert my license over, their written test was a joke and the kids coming in to take their practical test had to make a total of 3 right turns in a parking lot. The state cared more that they had insurance than that they knew how to drive.

[*Shinzon*]

I've been driving since I was 12. I grew up in a very rural area where you either drove the hay trucks/work trucks or you helped ma in the kitchen preparing lunch for those that were driving the trucks...fuck the kitchen, so I learned to drive 4 different flat-bed trucks from Chevy to International to Ford. It was a great place to start because it gave me the confidence I needed to be able to get in the cab of just about anything with wheels or tracks and drive it. Even some things with wings ^^.

In high school, I took a driver's education course just to lower my insurance. It was a complete joke and taught me nothing I didn't already know. I even added several things like spatial awareness that the course didn't even touch.

5 years ago, I took a required class for my motorcycle endorsement and passed with flying colors because of my experience trail riding a dirt bike when I was a teenager. That course was probably the most educational course I took because of all the class time teaching about all the other idiots on the road and how to handle your bike in case of an emergency. (i.e. how to crash with finesse).

My thoughts on driver education courses are that they are severely lacking except for the specialized courses like CDL, Motorcycle, Crane Truck, and the private courses for race training. The best teacher is time behind the wheel with a willingness to get better. In my 16 years of driving, there was very little anyone could say to me to help me improve. It has all been my own experience behind the wheel that has taught me to be a good driver.

Now the flip side to being a good driver...you tend to get cocky. I have caught myself being aggressive and playing on the road a little and realized I was freaking out a few other drivers that probably shouldn't have been on the road. You know the type, the ones that "panic brake" as soon as they see brake lights anywhere in their line of sight, the ones that sit with their seat so close to the steering wheel that the airbag will decapitate them if it ever goes off and they can't even turn the wheel a full turn because their boobs get in the way.

I drive aggressive because I don't trust anyone else. If there's one thing I learned from the MSF course, everyone is out to get you. It's more true on a bike than in a car, but if you ever drive passively and completely chill, you're going to have a gigantic fucking crash. The roads are cluttered with people who just don't pay any attention. I don't ever drive behind a big rig truck if there is passing room, I hate to be right next to a car in another lane (excluding traffic) because people lane drift and don't fucking realize it. Tons of stuff like that. I've been fortunate to never get a ticket but even if I got a ticket making an aggressive speeding pass I'd be ok with it because it'll help my ass stay alive.

[Acevalefor]

I drive aggressive because I don't trust anyone else. If there's one thing I learned from the MSF course, everyone is out to get you. It's more true on a bike than in a car, but if you ever drive passively and completely chill, you're going to have a gigantic fucking crash. The roads are cluttered with people who just don't pay any attention. I don't ever drive behind a big rig truck if there is passing room, I hate to be right next to a car in another lane (excluding traffic) because people lane drift and don't fucking realize it. Tons of stuff like that. I've been fortunate to never get a ticket but even if I got a ticket making an aggressive speeding pass I'd be ok with it because it'll help my ass stay alive.

I agree. I am always aggressive and even more so when I am on my bike. I have the power to accelerate away from just about anything and I like to stay away from other vehicles. What I was talking about with getting cocky is when I take a corner sideways or pull out into the suicide lane to merge into traffic moving at freeway speeds. I know I can do it and I have complete control of my vehicle, but 90 year-old grandpa just had a heart attack because he saw me do it. He nailed his brakes even though he was 300 yards away and in the opposite lanes, caused the idiot on his cell phone behind him to rear-end him, then the idiot lady behind the wheel of that SUV with the steering wheel/boob interference problem clipped the corner of cell phone dude's car and killed herself. All because I broke the back end loose and drifted around a corner.

[Byrthnoth]

My state only had a written test. I drove twice before I got my license.

[Melena]

My work actually required us to take a driver safety course through the Sheriff's office. Same class all the deputies have to take. Was a lot of fun, especially on the slick pad. I know they offer a public class that's identical for a couple hundred bucks and I'd highly recommend it.

[Acevalefor]

My state only had a written test. I drove twice before I got my license.

Wow...see what I mean by inadequate driving education? Just out of curiosity, how many tickets/accidents have you been in where you were at fault or you could have done something to avoid it but didn't know how?

[greenhills]

same story here as most, basic level only to get the discount on insurance. and i learned way more delivering pizza as a teenager than i did from the old fart that took me on the road lessons.

In 2005, traffic deaths wound up costing just over $41 billion in medical bills and work lost. Yes, that's billion with a "B." According to the CDC, 10 states stood head and shoulders above the rest in monetary losses. Those were: California, at $4.16 billion, Texas, at $3.50 billion, Florida, at 3.16 billion, Georgia, at $1.55 billion, Pennsylvania, at $1.52 billion, North Carolina, at $1.50 billion, New York, at $1.33 billion, Illinois, at $1.32 billion, Ohio, at $1.23 billion and Tennessee, at $1.15 billion.

reading that list made me laugh as it reads like i made a list of states i hate driving in. with especial hatred towards ny, ohio, pa, and fl, where the rules of the road are yield means speed up and get the fuck out of the way. and you can always tell you hit ohio because all of a sudden the travel lane becomes the passing lane, and the passing lane becomes the travel lane(until you start to pass them). i'm just surprised more n.e. states aren't on the list, but i guess they don't have the population to compete.

[*Shinzon*]

I agree. I am always aggressive and even more so when I am on my bike. I have the power to accelerate away from just about anything and I like to stay away from other vehicles. What I was talking about with getting cocky is when I take a corner sideways or pull out into the suicide lane to merge into traffic moving at freeway speeds. I know I can do it and I have complete control of my vehicle, but 90 year-old grandpa just had a heart attack because he saw me do it. He nailed his brakes even though he was 300 yards away and in the opposite lanes, caused the idiot on his cell phone behind him to rear-end him, then the idiot lady behind the wheel of that SUV with the steering wheel/boob interference problem clipped the corner of cell phone dude's car and killed herself. All because I broke the back end loose and drifted around a corner.

Yeah that I understand. Something similar nearly got me in an accident awhile back when I was heading up to a friend's place in CT. I was moving pretty quickly in the left lane near the divider on a twisty bit of the road and the dude in front of my slams the breaks with no one in front causing the back end to loosen just a bit but not enough to scare the guy behind me luckily, was in an a suv at the time, and as it turns out the guy ahead was texting while driving. I had never seen anyone do that before and the first time I see it, nearly gets my ass killed.

[Byrthnoth]

Wow...see what I mean by inadequate driving education? Just out of curiosity, how many tickets/accidents have you been in where you were at fault or you could have done something to avoid it but didn't know how?

One accident where some girl (~18?) pulled out in front of me when I was ~10 feet away going 35mph, 0 tickets.

If anything, I'd say her actions in that case were a good example of the failings of our drivers ed system. Blind T-intersection, continuous road has the right of way while dead-ending road has a stop sign. Blind corner (electric pole, bush, and a tree), so people on the dead-ending road can't see anyone coming unless they're right at the intersection inching out. She is second in line at the stop sign and the person in front of her goes. She follows without checking if anyone is coming.

Once she realized that someone (me) *was* coming, she tried to cut her left turn shallow and accelerate to get around before I came through. I slammed on the brakes (road is a notorious speed trap so I was already covering), she accelerated while still turning left... she's lucky I didn't go through her damned driver's door and kill her. I ended up hitting her tire and bending the axle in the middle.

If she'd accelerated forward (off the road), she'd have driven onto someone's large front lawn but probably sustained no damage overall. Worst case, I'd still have slid into the back half of her car but she wouldn't potentially have been in mortal danger. By cutting the turn shallow and accelerating towards me, she increased the force of collision and put herself in a much more dangerous position. It's hard to think critically when there's a car coming at you that you didn't expect, but wow...

Upside, ended up getting more than twice the blue book value for my piece of shit car (she accepted full responsibility for the accident) and there have been no long-lasting medical problems from it. It had over 200k miles and only one working lock, so I wasn't particularly sad to be rid of it. Upgraded two decades for $4000.

[Acevalefor]

One accident where some girl (~18?) pulled out in front of me when I was ~10 feet away going 35mph, 0 tickets.

If anything, I'd say her actions in that case were a good example of the failings of our drivers ed system. Blind T-intersection, continuous road has the right of way while dead-ending road has a stop sign. Blind corner (electric pole, bush, and a tree), so people on the dead-ending road can't see anyone coming unless they're right at the intersection inching out. She is second in line at the stop sign and the person in front of her goes. She follows without checking if anyone is coming.

Once she realized that someone (me) *was* coming, she tried to cut her left turn shallow and accelerate to get around before I came through. I slammed on the brakes (road is a notorious speed trap so I was already covering), she accelerated while still turning left... she's lucky I didn't go through her damned driver's door and kill her. I ended up hitting her tire and bending the axle in the middle.

If she'd accelerated forward (off the road), she'd have driven onto someone's large front lawn but probably sustained no damage overall. Worst case, I'd still have slid into the back half of her car but she wouldn't potentially have been in mortal danger. By cutting the turn shallow and accelerating towards me, she increased the force of collision and put herself in a much more dangerous position. It's hard to think critically when there's a car coming at you that you didn't expect, but wow...

Upside, ended up getting more than twice the blue book value for my piece of shit car (she accepted full responsibility for the accident) and there have been no long-lasting medical problems from it. It had over 200k miles and only one working lock, so I wasn't particularly sad to be rid of it. Upgraded two decades for $4000.

You didn't happen to hit this girl while driving on a rural highway near Salem, OR did you? My sister-in-law had almost that exact thing happen to her. She pulled out and panicked when she saw the oncoming vehicle.

The only accident I was ever in while driving was because of a faulty idler switch and a wet foot. I used to underwrite for a car lot in portland and as a part of the deal we had, I got first right of refusal to buy any cars they got from auction at cost. They got a pretty nice chevy truck and I decided to buy it. While I was driving it to the auto parts store to buy a new switch for it, it was idling at about 3k rpm so I had to stand on the brake to get it to stop. While sitting at the first stop light I came to, my foot slipped off the wet brake pedal (I live in Oregon, it's always wet) and the truck lurched forward and tagged the bumper of the brand new honda in front of me. it broke the bumper mounts on her car and a new bumper was $3000 from the dealership she took it to.....WTF!? I offered to buy her a new bumper for $700 and let the dealership install it for another $300 but she refused and I had to turn it into insurance for a fucking bumper replacement. Also, It was my plastic license plate mount that ripped the bumper off her car and my truck got nothing but a little bit of dirt knocked off of it. Lesson learned here: Don't deal with crazy asian women that try to tell you to stay at the scene of the accident so their husband can drive there from work and kick your ass...

[Byrthnoth]

Naw, it was in Delaware.

Edit: Also, me turning to the right to try and avoid her would have exposed my driverside door and put me right into a telephone pole, in case people were wondering. Worst case, I'd have entirely missed her and she would have driven off while I would have run into a telephone pole.

[Talint]

Trying to do some preliminary research on Google about it, all the info I'm finding is scattered and inconsistent.

As someone who's only taken the basic Driver's Ed course, what course(s) should I look at signing up for? How should I go about this? D:

[*Shinzon*]

Trying to do some preliminary research on Google about it, all the info I'm finding is scattered and inconsistent.

As someone who's only taken the basic Driver's Ed course, what course(s) should I look at signing up for? How should I go about this? D:

State, type of extra learning you want to do? The video I posted on the first page in OP is of the Audi Club of America in conjunction with a winter driver education course. Those usually move from state to state as the club does different events for their members but usually nonmembers can get the information and sign up.

For say, extreme high performance driving, there's a lot of clubs that do it and the most notable race training program in the states is Skip Barber. There is also the O'neil rally school of driving where Travis Pastrana learned to drive rally cars and off road racing. Also worth taking a look at local race track events because sometimes they'll list when they have those types of events/driver education courses and you can call and ask for information.

[Krandor]

Basic driver's ed, but I did play a shit ton of Gran Turismo 3 with a steering wheel, which was honestly more useful then what most driver's ed courses will teach you.