(And other ways to get grey hairs, stomach ulcers)
The youngest of my brood is coming up to turning seventeen, and in this country it means that he can drive a car. Personally I would prefer my children drive cars rather than motor-bikes. Call me over protective, or perhaps I’ve just worked in too many emergency rooms. I figured out pretty early that I was not the best person to teach my son how to drive. Mothers and sons (or daughters) should never be pitted against each other behind and beside the wheel. So I dutifully sent my son off for the standard 10 lessons with a local driving instructor.
This was great for learning how to start, stop and generally getting some time behind the wheel, but that was pretty much about it. He was not taught any of the finer points such has hill starts, cornering, emergency stops, wet weather driving etc etc. And so in the end, it was he and me in the cockpit anyways.
I must admit there were a few hair raising moments. It’s a scary thing to be in motion in a vehicle, with your teenager at the wheel and having no control whatsoever over the steering or brakes! All in all though I thought I made a pretty good teacher and he a good student. And so for when your time comes to take the passenger seat, here are some general tips for you and your teen to read BEFORE they take to the streets.
- When you take your teen to on-the-road lessons, install an extra rear vision mirror for you. They work wonder fully for seeing traffic behind the car when driving with your teen.
- Before driving a car, do a simple safety check. Turn on the lights and walk around the vehicle to ensure that all lights are in working order. Also check your blinkers for proper operation. Look for any fluid leaks or things hanging from the vehicle. Check that the tires are properly inflated.
- When you get into the car, adjust all mirrors and seats before placing the key in the ignition. To properly adjust the right mirror place your head against the right window and adjust the mirror so that you can just see the right side of the car. For the left, move your head towards the center of the vehicle and adjust the left mirror in the same way. When you are sitting correctly in the driver’s seat, you will not be able to see your vehicle, but your blind spots will be greatly reduced!
- Learn where a “blind spot” is. Avoid positioning yourself in someone else’s blind-spot. Be aware that other vehicles, especially motor bikes may be traveling in your blind spot.
- Always wear your seatbelts. This is now supposed to be law in Indonesia, but it is poorly enforced. As with most safety precautions, ask your self a serious question. Am I doing this to please a police officer or to save my own neck?
- NEVER remove the headrests from the front or rear seats. Sure it looks cool, but take a tip from an old emergency room nurse. There’s nothing cool about having a broken neck. This is what happens when a car comes to a sudden halt, or is hit from behind when you have no headrests on your seats. Your head is thrown forward, then back and…SNAP!
- When a light turns green, look left, then right, straight ahead, then left again before proceeding through the light. Notice all vehicles and ensure that someone else is not going to run the light. This is especially the case in this country where light sequences are frequently out of synch, or one intersection does not work, while the other does. Then of course there are the idiots that love to turn right from the left lane, or ignore the lights completely.
- Keep your eyes moving. Notice what is happening on the sides of the road and check behind you through your mirrors every 6-8 seconds.
- When driving on a two lane road that allows parking on the left, stay toward the center line to allow for room if someone were to open their door to exit their vehicle in front of your car. This forethought will help you from swerving to miss an opening door. If there is no parking allowed on the road position your car toward the left to allow for more room between you and oncoming traffic.
- Expect the other drivers to make mistakes and think what you would do if a mistake does happen. For example, do not assume that a vehicle coming to a stop sign is going to stop. Be ready to react if it does not stop. Never cause an accident on purpose, even if a pedestrian or another vehicle fails to give you the right-of-way. In Bali its Raffertys rules and most people on the road have never had any formal driver education. They just point-and-go. Drive defensively.
- When traveling behind other vehicles, there should be at least a 4 second space between your vehicles. When traveling at night or inclement weather, these times should be doubled.
- Don’t talk on a mobile phone or text while driving. Phones detract from your ability to concentrate on the road and increase your chance of a collision by nearly 400%. If you must use the phone, pull over to a safe, well-lit parking lot and place your call there.
- When leaving for a long trip, be sure to give an itinerary to someone back at home with the route of travel, approximate time of arrival and a contact number at your destination.
- When being approached by an emergency vehicle, pull to the right shoulder of the road and STOP. Put on your hazard lights to allow others to see you better.
- There is an old saying... “If the roads are wet, then drive like its snowing. If the roads have snow, then drive like they’re icy. If the roads are icy, then don’t drive.” We don’t have any snow in Bali, but we have some killer monsoons. SLOW DOWN. When approaching big puddles slow down even more. You don’t know how deep they are, and roads often collapse in wet weather.
- If you are approaching a puddle on one side of the car only, be aware that it will throw your car off course as the tires going through water travel slower than the tires on the dry.
- Remember as your speed increases so does your braking distance. If you double your speed, you quadruple your braking distance. If you double the weight of your vehicle, you double the stopping distance.
