ALAYBOY got his driver’s license

ALAYMAN

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Wasn’t sure this day would come before college graduation. 😬 Prayers for the next couple months as he will be driving in Cincinnati regularly, not an easy task for seasoned road warriors.
 
I got my first driver's license in Pensacola. Going back there this past summer reminded me why I am such a neurotic driver to this day. We enjoyed Pensacola but the traffic there was horrendous. There are no traffic laws there. Only traffic suggestions.

Driving down Gulf Beach Hwy, we were in following a pickup truck who signaled and slowed down to make a left turn. Of course, I slowed accordingly but the guy in the black Acura (with the glass packs) swung around us and almost plowed into the guy making the left turn. Mrs. abcaines just watched in horror.
 
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the gal in Nebraska who pulled off one of the finest recoveries I have ever seen. She was drafting behind a big rig as they both passed us doing 90 mph on I-80. (We were pulling a trailer so we were barely doing the 80 mph speed limit). She gets about 100 yards in front of us and next thing we know she's lost control and is swerving across both lanes. She touched the right shoulder then swerved back to the median. I watched her wheels sink into the thick grass; I just knew she was going to eat it... But she kept it together and brought her car back into the lane of traffic. As we passed her, she was very visibly shaken. She moved to the right and took the next exit. I'm sure she needed a change of britches. Mrs. abcaines' eyes were the size of dinner plates. She had her phone up ready to call 911. I wanted to pull off the Interstate and follow her to congratulate her on such an awesome save.
 
When we were out west on our vacation to Yellowstone we drove on roads with those 80mph limits. You can go long stretches without seeing any other car, but when a Pronghorn or Whitetail crosses in front of you there’s little time to react. What you witnessed was undoubtedly surreal.
 
Wasn’t sure this day would come before college graduation. 😬 Prayers for the next couple months as he will be driving in Cincinnati regularly, not an easy task for seasoned road warriors.
When I got my licence in high school, I mainly drove to visit my girlfriend, who lived out of town. As a result, my driving experience is such that I'm quite comfortable in conditions that make a lot of people nervous: driving solo, long-distance, on two-way highways, at night, and/or in the snow.

On the other hand, now I live in the city, and I don't own a car, so I only drive occasionally. And the freeway makes me nervous.
 
Wednesday I took the varsity golf team to a course situated roughly halfway between between Spokane and Coeur d'Alene. I had a choice of going through Spokane, which, according to Google maps, is a few minutes quicker or driving up to Cd'A then cutting over. I choose to avoid downtown Spokane and take the Cd'A route. Taking a car or a bike through downtown Spokane is bad enough Iet alone trying to wrangle a school bus through there. Just because I can doesn't mean it's a good idea...
 
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Cars these days do the braking, traction control, navigation, backing, and the parking for you. Does anyone under 30 really drive anymore?
 
When I got my licence in high school, I mainly drove to visit my girlfriend, who lived out of town. As a result, my driving experience is such that I'm quite comfortable in conditions that make a lot of people nervous: driving solo, long-distance, on two-way highways, at night, and/or in the snow.

On the other hand, now I live in the city, and I don't own a car, so I only drive occasionally. And the freeway makes me nervous.
a lot of people in honolulu don;t own cars.. ...the bus service - which at one time was second to none - made it very easy to get around town - and even the entire island - without a car... ...and it was even more convenient since you didn;t have to worry about parking.. (which is a major pain on this island)...... .. an independent but republican leaning mayor named frank fasi was responsible for making the oahu bus service one of the best in the nation.....

but that changed a few years ago... .under one democrat mayor after another the bus degraded into what amounts to a rolling homeless camp ... ..i still have my permanent disability bus pass but i seldom use it anymore... ....riding the bus now is a smelly.. dirty...and miserable experience... and sometimes even a dangerous experience.... .... the city claims they are working to try and make it better... ..... but you know it;s not working when more and more commuters are deciding they would rather suffer the cost of car ownership and pay anywhere from 200 to 2000 dollars a month to park it .. rather than suffer riding the bus even though paying a lot less.... .....i ended up using my bicycle to get around if i can;t get someone to drive me where i need to go now.... or else i just walk....(ankle express)....
 
Cars these days do the braking, traction control, navigation, backing, and the parking for you. Does anyone under 30 really drive anymore?
Lots of truth in what you’re talking about. Prior to taking the test ALAYBOY had the opportunity to practice on a maneuverability course. It is a set of pylons that you have to negotiate left and right turns, forward and backward. The first attempts were done by him using the back-up cameras and all of their audio beeps. It absolutely drove me nuts as I was sitting in the passenger seat, and he was not having much success. I’m really old-school in a lot of ways, and eventually I told him to just use his Sideview mirrors and the relative distance that he could perceive that way, and it worked much better for him.
 
The first attempts were done by him using the back-up cameras and all of their audio beeps.
The great thing about the backup camera on my truck is it allows me to line up my trailer hitch on whatever trailer I'm connecting to. I have the option of silencing the backing alarm which preserves my sanity (what little I have).

I think all the alarms, cameras and whistles should be disabled on driving tests and kids should be required to demonstrate competency without those devices.
 
The great thing about the backup camera on my truck is it allows me to line up my trailer hitch on whatever trailer I'm connecting to. I have the option of silencing the backing alarm which preserves my sanity (what little I have).

I think all the alarms, cameras and whistles should be disabled on driving tests and kids should be required to demonstrate competency without those devices.
I worked for an underground utilities contractor in the early '90s. I had a class A commercial driver's license for combination vehicles. Maneuvering around croweded construction sites gave me a lot of practice backing trucks and trailers. I could drive in reverse as well as forward.

But not now. It's been almost thirty years. I've come to rely on the little electronic helps.
 
But not now. It's been almost thirty years. I've come to rely on the little electronic helps.
When backing a trailer, my backing camera is useless. All I see is my hitch and the front of the trailer. I'm absolutely dependent on both of my side mirrors.

The front part of our property is where the semi circular driveway is. There's room for our camper and the smaller of our trailers. I keep our larger trailer in the back. The only access to the back of the property is through the carport. Because we live on the side of a hill and the back is very uneven, I back the trailer to it's parking spot. I pull up the the edge of the road to get my truck and trailer aligned, put it into 4 high and back it up the hill passing through the carport. I have to make sure I'm starting my backing very straight because if I'm passing through the carport and trying to steer too much I'll take out my mirrors on the carport posts. Over the years I've become quite adept at this maneuver so it takes a couple minutes to park.
 
The great thing about the backup camera on my truck is it allows me to line up my trailer hitch on whatever trailer I'm connecting to.

I love that feature on my truck too. I can remember the days of using those little magnetic telescoping things with the yellow balls to line things up, what a joke, lol.
I think all the alarms, cameras and whistles should be disabled on driving tests and kids should be required to demonstrate competency without those devices.

Totally agree!
 
As soon as I turned 16, I scheduled the road test at the DPS to get my license. It was an absolute rite of passage towards your adulthood and your ultimate freedom! None of my kids were that anxious to get their licenses and I think my daughter finally got hers at 18. I at first found it hard to believe that ALAYBOY would be in college and not yet have his drivers license until I remembered this about my kids.

I guess these days, 16 is about when we start letting the kids out of the house on their own to play in the neighborhood or whatever.
 
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