Helping Someone Get Their License

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 03/10/2015 at 09:50 • Filed to: None

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So oppo, in a few Saturdays I'll be helping a teen from church get some parking experience. Talking with him, I also realized that he still has a bit to learn. What knowledge should I share with him?

I'm thinking of simple stuff that every car driver really should know; like changing a tire, changing wiper blades, if your car is rwd or fwd (and give a brief explanation of the difference), etc. Basically info to make him a better driver overall.

Any idea on what he should know?

1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 09:54

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I'd start with actual driving experience. Getting him behind the wheel in an empty parking lot. I'd leave the maintenance section for after he has the basics of driving down.

CB > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 09:54

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Learn the threshold where ABS kicks in on a normal road. It definitely helps me in panic stop situations.

Teach him how to parallel park well.

Knowing what all the buttons do is a good idea. If you're able to, also teach him how to change the main exterior bulbs and show him how to identify them.

And if all else fails, DORIFTOOOOOOOOOOO.

zeontestpilot > 1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! 03/10/2015 at 10:01

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Yeah, the empty parking lot was my idea too. While talking to him, it seems he does need a refresher.

zeontestpilot > CB 03/10/2015 at 10:03

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I was going to make it a point to express that every car is a bit different to drive, so he should never assume they all drive the same way.

Leadbull > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:06

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Take him karting.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:07

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You might open the hood and give him a simple explanation of what he's looking at. When you're a kid, having an older dude patiently walk you through that stuff can mean alot. Good on ya for helping out!

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:09

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"When in doubt, throttle out"

Not literally that, of course, but if you have any snow left on the ground (assuming you had any at all), showing someone how to use the throttle to steer the car in slippery situations is a lifesaver.

WRXerFish - WRX-Wing pilot > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:12

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No radio or passengers for a bit if possible to reduce distractions.

Oh and MIRRORS, MIRRORS, MIRRORS. Make sure they know how to use them properly for blind spots.

1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:14

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I learned way before I was "technically legal to drive" and my parents focused on the basics. That way I knew how to start/stop a car and navigate it. I learned the maintenance not long before I was required to take my drivers test, since then I could fix a flat on the side of the road after I got my license.

Teaching him to reverse proficiently would be up there too. I would give him the choice of either using his side mirrors or looking backwards out of the rear window. I realize that not everyone can easily do that, but I like that over my side mirrors because it keeps my eyes focused on everything that I can see through the rear window, which is a lot more than side mirrors. It makes it simple (for me at least) to correct turns when I don't have to shift my head from side mirror to side mirror, but just shift my eyes instead. I then use my mirrors when I'm unsure or really close to objects.

Just an opinion, but I wouldn't force anyone to use only their side mirrors to reverse. I think you are limiting your resources.

Moves-Like-Senna > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:15

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Lights - What each light setting does and is for.

Honestly, it's my biggest weakness. All my DD's had auto lights, never had to touch anything growing up due to provincial regulations. Even when I was racing, it was two switches and simple. Since I moved to my current province were auto lights aren't necessary and even if you have them, you have to turn them off manually, I've been lost on how to use my headlights right.

OPPOsaurus WRX > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:19

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parking lot are too small. take him to an industrial park. they will be empty on the weekend, ther are still parking lots but also small streets to at least get out of first gear. changing a tire is a good idea. maybe do a couple panic scenarios. Stress safety stuff like buckles, mirrors, hand position

as well as blinker fluids how to properly tailgate and switch lanes without signalling, all practical real world stuff. definately should try the Scandinavian flick, j turns etc

zeontestpilot > 1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! 03/10/2015 at 10:22

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He's 18, but he needs his temp license renewed. It's another thing I'm gonna help him with.

zeontestpilot > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 03/10/2015 at 10:23

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Didn't think of that, but good point!

1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:26

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Ah, I gotcha

Snuze: Needs another Swede > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:29

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I'll second most of the advice here. Take him to a parking lot, let him drive around. Practice parallel parking, all the usual driver's ed stuff. Get the dynamics out of the way before going into car maintenance.

One of the best experiences I had was taking a defensive driving course at Summit Point Raceway. It's not Driver's Ed, you don't learn traffic laws, you learn how to handle a car in abnormal situations to avoid accidents, etc. It was half classroom time, half driving. We'd talk about a technique or how it works and then go practice. And at the end of the day we had a "test" to combine all our lessons. We drove retired police Caprices which had a toggle switch on the dash to turn ABS on and off. It's all very good stuff to discuss, and if you want to practice, you can replicate a lot of what we did fairly easily, if you have a big enough parking lot to work with.

Biggest thing to teach is look ahead/look through turns. Don't stare at the road 20 feet in front of the car, you need to be looking all the way down the road. And as you turn, look through the turn towards the exit, you will instinctively go through the turn. A lot of single car accidents/runoffs are simply people not paying attention, not looking far enough ahead. They go into a turn and the turn starts to sharpen or something, they don't correct until it's too late, and either don't correct enough or overcorrect.

Then I think RWD vs. FWD is a good topic because it leads to oversteer & understeer discussion, which is crucial in emergency/panic situations (i.e. when you keep turning the wheel more but the car keeps going straight, you need to actually back off a bit because you're understeering). If you have space might be good to practice some high(ish) speed maneuvers if you can do so safely to see how the car feels. An easy was is to get a bunch of cones or something and make a skidpad. Just drive donuts around it, pushing the car as fast as you can until it starts to understeer (or over).

Braking is important, and practice some panic stops (if his car doesn't have ABS teach threshold braking). One exercise we did in my Summit Point class was to compare locked up tires, ABS, and threshold braking. First lap, no ABS, come up to 55mph and lock up the brakes at the cones, come to a stop. Instructor opens the door and marks the spot we stopped at with chalk. Now do it again, but with ABS on. Instructor marks the spot, it was 40-50 feet shorter than locked up brakes. Now do it again with no ABS, riding the threshold. Instructor marks the spot... by the end of the day we could all beat the ABS by 10-15 feet. You may not have a lot big enough to hit 55, and maybe no ABS or way to toggle it, but you could probably repeat portions of this exercise at a saner speed like 35. Either way, its good experience to know what a panic stop feels like

Swerving and offroad recovery are also big ones. Another exercise we did at Summit Point was to practice swerving. First we started with a little autocrossing. Then we tried an exercise on the track swerving around a moving box, if you ahve another person you could replicate it. You'll need another person, a cardboard box, and a long, strong string or small rope. Have someone sit across the way from the box and hold the rope. Have him drive down the "lane" and as he approaches, they yank the string so it moves in front of the car and he swerves to avoid it. This is a good one because if you're looking ahead you shouldn't have to swerve to miss stationary objects, the things that will get you are moving (car suddenly enters from a side street, deer runs into the road, etc.) Offroad recovery is a bit harder unless you have a lot with some drop offs at the edges. Big problem many people have is if they get a wheel off the pavement, it's hard to get back on because of that lip. So they turn and the car doesn't immediately come up because of that lip, so they crank the wheel over harder. Suddenly the wheel breaks over the lip, car catches traction, and shoots across the road perpendicular. The trick is to slow down and gradually turn the wheel until it starts to catch, ease the car back onto the road. Or if it's an emergency, i.e. you swerve to miss an object, dip 2 wheels off the road, and have to get back on fast because there's a tree coming up, you can give the wheel a quick yank but be ready to counter steer to straighten it up so you don't go perpendicular.

zeontestpilot > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 03/10/2015 at 10:30

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Ha, thanks! I actually started teaching a kids/preteen/teen class at church a few Sunday's ago (for a total of 5 kids), and he's in the class. He mentioned in passing that he doesn't have a license, so I asked if he'd like some help. He's a pretty cool kid, :).

zeontestpilot > WRXerFish - WRX-Wing pilot 03/10/2015 at 10:31

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Good points.

zeontestpilot > 1.21 JIGGA WATTS!!! 03/10/2015 at 10:43

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Yeah. He currently has no one helping him, they are too busy. But I would imagine it's hard to get a license if he doesn't get experience. So I offered to help him get some.

Right now he needs a refresher course, parking experience, a renewed license, and once he graduates HS and gets a job, he wants to buy a car. I offered to help him with everything.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:47

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That's awesome, dude. Sounds like a solid church. Keep it up.

zeontestpilot > Snuze: Needs another Swede 03/10/2015 at 10:48

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Ha, I won't be able to do all of that, but I can do some. We'll be using my car, a '08 PT Cruiser as he is unable to use his mom's Montana. But, I think my car is a good choice because you can't do a lot of crazy things with it. And it's very predictable on how it rides.

zeontestpilot > OPPOsaurus WRX 03/10/2015 at 10:51

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He lives in a really small town (the next over), so I might drive him to my town (which is bigger) because the school parking lot is pretty big here.

computiNATEor > Moves-Like-Senna 03/10/2015 at 10:54

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People who leave their high beams on all day really tick me off. It seems to be particularly bad in 2006+ Civics...

Snuze: Needs another Swede > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 10:55

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Yeah, it's a lot of ground to cover. And obviously how much you can do depends on time, space, and how much you want to risk the PT. But even if you can't try it, you can at least discuss it.

I would say maybe the most important thing is braking, at least try to get a panic stop in. Also, in doing that, talk about tire grip. I know for me, at least, it's the best way to think about what the car is doing in the big picture. Explain that each tire on the car only has a finite amount of grip, which is reduced in cold, gravel, rain, snow, etc. Doing things in the car (accelerating, braking, steering) uses that grip. If you use too much grip to do one thing, you can't do anything else (i.e. if you brake really hard, you can't steer).

zeontestpilot > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 03/10/2015 at 10:59

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I plan on it, :). I'm like a pseudo-kids/youth pastor now. Plus the senior pastor blindsided me when I told him what I was doing; he told me he'd foot my gas bill since it's technically an outreach to the community, lol.

Tapas > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 11:00

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When in doubt, go flat out and apply a dab of oppo :)

Moves-Like-Senna > computiNATEor 03/10/2015 at 11:02

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Agreed. Here in Quebec, if you leave the cities, there's dead areas for hours, so people think they can leave them on when they pass the odd car but being blind on a 2 way narrow highway where trucks struggle to stay in the lane is just dumb.

zeontestpilot > Tapas 03/10/2015 at 11:10

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My car won't do that...but maybe the church truck? :)

Trevor Slattery, ACTOR > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 11:11

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http://www.streetsurvival.org/

My son just qualified for his permit. He will be heading here.

zeontestpilot > Snuze: Needs another Swede 03/10/2015 at 11:15

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Very true, and you just gave me an idea. I know of a place where he can practice driving on dirt and ( if it's still there) snow. it's s good thing to understand how different surfaces can affect your grip and stopping distance.

Tapas > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 11:29

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Now you're thinking!

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 12:02

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Ha! That's great. I wish all churches did more stuff like this. Practical ministry. There's a guy at my church who is a very successful business owner. Has a big house and his own Trans Am racing team. He also teaches a personal finance class. Boom. Practical stuff.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 12:34

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Have then read the maintenance schedule for their car listed in the owners manual.

Show them how to check tire pressures, check the oil and other fluids and where to check for what fluids go where (usually listed in the owners manual).

Show them how to change a tire.

When it comes to car control, practice parking in a parking lot. Use a lot that has some light poles and also have them go around 2 poles in a figure 8... forwards and backwards.

That helped my mom with learning how to control the car.

Explain when to use high beams and when not to... and what it looks like when the high beams are on.

Same deal with the regular lights, signal lights and 4 way flashers.

Teach them how to parallel park.

Teach them lane discipline... specifically that the right lane is for driving and the center and left lanes are for passing. "Keep right except to pass"

Also discuss looking farther down the road. Tied in with this, if approaching a red light, there is no need to keep accelerating.

And finally... teach them how to do the Scandinavian flick... and vehicles you shouldn't do that in...

zeontestpilot > Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig 03/10/2015 at 12:35

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Yeah, our pastor has a huge heart for ministry. We heat by burning wood (as does the pastor). He went out, in 10 F, to cut down trees, to split the wood, and gave it to my family because a polar vortex was coming. That's awesomely crazy. Actually, it's a bit inspiring too, :).

It's why I like smaller churches, they are more personal.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 12:48

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That's a good idea, I hadn't thought of that. That will be good for learning about braking since you can lock them up easy on loose surfaces and at relatively low speeds.

You could also give him a sample of understeer instead of doing something elaborate like a skid pad if the space is big enough. Just have him get up to a reasonable but safe speed and cut the wheel hard so he can feel the car push. Maybe repeat a few times and have him cut it then back off so he can see how you regain steering by turning less.

I think braking and over/understeer are really the two worst events for a new driver because the solution is so counter-intuitive to how a vehicle operates. When the car doesn't stop or turn, our brains are programmed to apply more brake, or steer more, when the reality is you need to do less. It's what irks me about our drivers ed system here, you learn traffic laws, but not vehicle dynamics, i.e. how to actually drive a car.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 12:49

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Definitely. I don't think a church should really outgrow its building. It should grow to a second building, start a new plant somewhere. Keep it small, local, personal, and effective.

zeontestpilot > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 03/10/2015 at 12:54

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I can everything except the flick, as I don't know how or what it is, :/.

zeontestpilot > Snuze: Needs another Swede 03/10/2015 at 13:02

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Yep. I was taught, in drivers Ed, that the left lane was the fast lane. Basically, the right lane was the speed limit lane, and it just got progressively faster as you went over....:/. Two years later I found out it was the passing lane....stupid drivers ed...

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > zeontestpilot 03/10/2015 at 14:16

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It's for when they enter a European Rally Car race...