One Thing You'll Never Learn in School

One subject that will never be taught in a regular school may lead to anyone's life being cut short today, tomorrow, or any other day in the future. That subject is how to drive an automobile. In the United States in 2006 alone three thousand four hundred ninety young adults ages fifteen to twenty were killed in automobile accidents. Avoiding becoming one of these statistics may require the basic use of principles learned in school but mainly involves hours of studying driving laws and of course countless hours of practice. Only after someone has been able to accomplish both of those can they become a fairly safe and knowledgeable driver.

Early on in school they teach shapes and colors. When someone is studying to get their permit they use that basic knowledge to memorize and then be able to identify different signs and traffic signals. Knowledge of signs can prevent catastrophe such as driving too fast around a turn and going off a cliff or heading down a one way road head on into incoming traffic. Sometimes traffic signals are as easy as knowing basic colors such as at a stop light which anyone can conquer by simply being able to distinguish green, yellow, and red. In other situations someone may need to interpret more complex signs such as a P with a slash through it showing that you cannot park in that location. Once someone has mastered the signs and signals, assuming they follow them they can easily comply with most traffic laws.

In school they may have taught the history of the interstate highway system. What they did not teach is how to survive at the wheel of a car cruising down the road at speeds of sixty five miles an hour or more. At this speed the driver will have little time to react to any mistake he/she or other drivers may make. To learn safe highway driving someone must get plenty of practice with an experienced highway driver. They will have to learn to stay calm and quickly react whenever a mistake is made by themselves or any vehicle around them. After plenty of experience they can safely enjoy the thrill of driving on the interstate.

Sometime in school they may have taught about motors and possibly other parts used in cars but it is likely they did not teach how to properly operate them in an automobile. Before someone can ever start driving, they must learn to turn the car on, use the gear shift, apply the gas or brakes, and steer the vehicle. They also need to learn how to operate the lights, windshield wipers, defroster, and any other feature their vehicle may include. The placement of the switches and buttons for these items vary be vehicle so the driver needs to become accustomed to their location in the particular car being driven. Once someone is comfortable with all of the different tools needed to operate a car, then they are set to hit the road.

Most people were probably taught manners before starting school and then early on into their school career. Manners play a major role in driving and drivers must learn to use proper manners when operating a motor vehicle. One situation where manners become necessary is at four way stops when more than one driver arrives at an intersection at the same time. Unless they are going in opposite directions they cannot both go at the same time so one driver needs to be polite and allow the other to go first. Another situation is if one driver makes an error the other drivers must keep their cool and not seek revenge or make a rude gesture because that could cause the drivers to become distracted and therefore risk an accident.

All of these components are essential for staying safe on the roadway but drivers also need to use the common sense that they have been accumulating all their life. Often time situations on the roadway may force a certain driving law to not be appropriate for safety reasons and the driver must judge whether or not they can reasonably break that law. Drivers also need to use it in gauging whether or not a certain activity they may want to partake in on a roadway is safe or not. After someone has mastered all of these different aspects of driving they can safely enjoy the freedom of the road.