Learning to Drive Again

Posted by Evelyn Kanter Oct 6, 2006

I always begin tennis season and ski season with a refresher lesson with a pro instructor, and I take exercise classes with a pro instructor. We all do.

But how many of us take a refresher course with a pro driving instructor? It's been years since I got my driver's license. I won't say how many years, and I probably have picked up some bad habits along the way. We all have.

Cars have changed enormously since I got my license. Wonderful things like anti-lock brake systems and traction control didn't exist when I got my license. Back then, we were taught to pump the brakes so they don't lock. But that doesn't work with the new anti-lock technology, called ABS. You have to jam on the brake and keep your foot pressed down hard.

When ABS kicks in, the grinding noise you hear makes you think you've broken something. Drivers who don't know how ABS works take their foot off the brake, which is absolutely the wrong thing to do.

Cars have changed over the years. So has our eyesight, reaction time and attention span.

An emergency is not the time to learn. Take a driving lesson at one of the many pro driving schools around that teach accident avoidance and emergency recovery techniques. It could save a life.