That's when it hit me, tomorrow I get my very first driver's license. It is just a learner's permit and I will have to an experienced driver with me but I am on my way to joining my friends in this newfound freedom. Having studied the Rules of the Road from cover to cover I might not miss even one question on the examination.
I have my license now so who needs it? Surely it isn't me. My friends tell me I am a good driver. A little fast and reckless maybe but I get where I'm going and usually ahead of the other person. Taking a long trip? Invite me along to get you there in a hurry.
Totally rudimentary is that driving on the public highway is a privilege not a right. Many come to forget this. Aggressive driving and road rage is all too commonplace today. So too is the increasing number of impaired drivers due to drugs, alcohol or other causes. Surviving driving during an entire lifetime, without tragedy, will require a defensive attitude and never insisting on the right of way.
New drivers are especially at risk. They haven't acquired the skills and reflexes needed for the long haul of a lifetime of driving. A disproportionate number of accidents are caused by them. Every generation has had to bury certain of their numbers.
Having paid attention in science classes in school will keep you in touch with the forces a heavy vehicle traveling at high speed is subject to. Centrifugal force, for instance, experienced going around a curve requires the driver to enter the curve and then speed up getting out of it. This will be uncomfortable at first but then become second nature.
Braking your vehicle is something you will develop a feel for. Anti-lock brakes (ABS) put a computer system there to help. Thousands of times per second the computer applies the brakes and then releases them. Law enforcement officials crashed many vehicles when ABS was first introduced. No more pumping the brake on modern cars.
A word of caution about using a cell phone or texting while driving. Doing so poses a threat of a serious nature to yourself and others. Increasingly it is becoming illegal to do it. We are all to a certain extent social creatures. Younger age drivers are especially so. School vacations don't always end too soon. Getting back with friends and classmates is a big part of life. With the start of heavy dating and social events it is only natural to look like a phone device has grown out of your ear.
Some years ago a concerned father bought his new driver daughter the heaviest car he could find. Safety was the goal. Unfortunately, a truck hit her and her friends broadside. The mass of the truck trumped the heavy sedan. Never lose your fear of the other guy while driving and keep the odds on your side by playing it smart. Drive defensively.
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