Conserving Fuel

Running out of gas is just about the most embarrassing situation one can put themselves in. And waiting for roadside assistance is another horror story, altogether. This is especially true if you run out of gas at night, because every serial killer comes out of the woodwork to help and give you a lift (Where…

Elderly Driver

My Mother turned 80 years old and had to take both a driving test and a written test to renew her license as an elderly driver in Illinois. Every time I spoke with her on the phone, she was studying her state’s driver handbook. She was clearly worried that she may not pass the driving…

Car Maintenance

It’s true that regular preventative car maintenance improves fuel efficiency and produces less vehicle emissions. So, to help the environment and to save a little cash at the same time, please have your car maintenance scheduled today! One would think that protecting our ozone layer for the future health of our kids would encourage people…

Long-Haul Trucking

The mid-1970’s was the absolute goofiest time for music. Long-haul trucking was sensationalized by movies such as White Line Fever, Breaker Breaker, Convoy and Smokey and the Bandit. Jerry Reed’s lyrics are seared into my brain as my Dad, although not a trucker, drove a pickup truck and had a CB radio like everyone else.…

Future Drivers

Will the young kids of today ever have to drive a car in the future? I tell young drivers in my Comedy Defensive Driving School classroom that, in the very near future they will probably be telling their grandchildren “I remember when I was your age and I had to take a defensive driving class.”…

Self-Driving Vehicle

My eight year old Niece was absolutely obsessed with the new Tesla showcased at the mall this weekend. When I told her that it is a self-driving vehicle, she looked at me like “you’re just messing with me, right?” The same look she gave me at her Grandfather’s funeral when I told her that Grandpa…

Dangerously Short Ramps

Whatever happened to the good old rule of accelerating when entering the freeway and decelerating when exiting? This is a question that was brought up in a recent defensive driving class. Well, there are a few factors that contribute to these problems. First of all, the highway entrance and exit ramps are generally too short. In…

Merging Zipper

One thing that typically irks people is a crazy traffic jam caused because people don’t know how to merge (or, actually, they choose not to merge properly). Whatever happened to the good old “zipper” tactic when merging lanes? Remember, the one car, per car merging zipper that you should have been taught in driver education?…