Monthly Archives: April 2014
Study: Parents Don’t Devote Enough Time To Driving Instruction
April 18, 2014
One of the major problems with the US system of training teens to drive is that parents don’t have the training they need to properly train their teens to drive. While driving may be second nature to parents, it’s all new to the teen and with the teen at the wheel, parents miss out on a lot of “teachable moments.”
Researchers at the Highway Safety Research Centre at the University of North Carolina installed video cameras to see how much time parents actually devoted to driving instructions when teaching their teens to drive. The videos showed that parents spend more time on rudimentary vehicle handling techniques and not enough time on “higher order” techniques that will teach the teen to anticipate and plan for possible hazards ahead. Read more: Parents’ driving instruction often superficial
Parents Notified When Teen Is Pulled Over By Police
April 16, 2014
A statewide program in Michigan notifies parents if their teen (ages 16-21) is pulled over and stopped by law enforcement. Once registered, parents receive a sticker that is placed on the vehicle’s window. If their teen is stopped, the parents will receive a text or email notifying them of the event. So far, Michigan is the only state to have this program but it sounds like a good idea to take nationally. Read more: STOPPED ‘puts parents back in the car
Ask The Driving School Instructor: Will New Laws Be On The Driving Test?
April 14, 2014
Question: I heard that there are some new driving laws that were passed in Florida this year. Will those they be on my driving test?
Answer: The Florida legislature has considered some changes to the driving laws this year but none of them are laws yet. If they pass the legislature and are signed into law by the governor, the laws probably won’t take effect until July 1st at the earliest. Some will go into effect on Oct. 1st and some on January 1st of next year.
Your written driving test will be based on information in the Florida Driver Handbook and the latest version of that handbook was published in 2014. If you notice, at the beginning of the handbook, there is a section called “Important Law Changes”. That section will have all the new laws that have gone into effect as of the date the handbook was written.
You’ll only be tested on the information that is currently in the handbook and not on any laws that may have been passed since then. Of course, if you go to take your behind-the-wheel driving test, you should be aware of any new laws that may have gone into effect and, even if a law, such as the new law against texting and driving, isn’t mentioned in the manual, it’s a good idea to obey it.
Drunk Driving Victim Shares His Story
April 14, 2014
Alex Balluff, suffered traumatic brain injury after being hit by a drunk driver. After months in a coma, the former honors student and star athlete survived but no longer has any short term memory and must rely on notes and journals to recall the day before. “I’m no longer the old me,” Alex said. “I lost my old identity.” Alex is now sharing his story with high school students. Read more: ‘I lost my old identity’; Drunk-driving victim shares his story at conference
Unlikely Partnership Against Drunk Driving
April 7, 2014
A Tennessee mother who lost her son in a drunk driving crash has formed a partnership with the drunk driver who killed her son to spread the word on the dangers of drunk driving. She has also started an organization called “1N3” that points out that one in three of us will be affected by drunk driving at some point in our life. Read more: Mother and drunk driver who killed her son team up
Photo: WCRB TV News Chattanooga, TN