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Parents, What Are You Aiming To Get Out Of Driver's Ed?

by William Hogan on 11/03/19

So recent events have compelled us to "get on our soapbox". We have recently started lessons with two teens who have both gone through another local driving school who they were able to also have administer their road test and issue these kids a PA Junior Driver's License. Why you ask then have their parents reached out to us and engaged us to do further behind-the-wheel driving lessons with their teens? In both cases, the parents realized that their "newly minted" licensed drivers were missing some key skills that concerned them as parents about their teens being successful everyday drivers! We have heard this general call a fair amount from some parents in the last year or so. Unfortunately we feel some parents are being misguided often by their own teenagers in attacking Behind-The-Wheel education. We have had an ongoing problem here in Southeastern PA regarding how long it seems to get an appointment to take a road test through the local DMV facilities. A couple years back, the state solicited many of the driving schools throughout the state with the idea of having one such school in each county in the state act as a third-party testing center. The idea was to create more avenues for prospective drivers in the state to have the opportunity to get a road test scheduled in less than the typical 5-6 weeks or sometimes more that it seems to always take to get a date set to take a road test at the state facilities. In some manner, the intended point of this is good. But we as an organization never even entertained the idea for a number of reasons, a couple of which we'll note! #1, we don't want to ever be the people who teach your son or daughter to drive, and then be the same people who make the determination as to whether they have the proper skill set to become a properly licensed driver. We think that has the potential to reek of impropriety! #2, this service, unlike when you take a test at the state facility isn't free! The competitor in our county who administers these road test charges anywhere from $110-$130 for the "privilege! So what happens if they fail you? Then you sign up to do another test run with them for another $100+! That can certainly appear to be a bit "fixed". Now mind you, we're not accusing anyone of any wrong doing from our knowledge, but we have had a number of frustrated parents reach out to us after going through this program and speaking about what appeared to them to be unreal reasons that their teen failed a road test at this private facility, and more recently parents who have as we earlier mentioned engage us to do further lessons with their children because they didn't get the proper real-life, situational experience that allows the parents to feel confident about their kids driving in some real-life situations! Let us share something with all of you parents. Most of your teens are going to want to go take a road test where they perceive that #1, they can easily pass and #2 that they can get it set-up as quickly as possible. So we ask all the families we speak with, "what are you aiming to get out of driver's education for your child"? If you're only concern is just getting your kid through their road test as quickly and simply as possible without really concentrating on real-life skills, then we aren't the driving school for you! If you're looking for a partner in the idea of developing sound physical and mental skills as a driver while properly preparing them for their road test at the DMV, then we're simply the best driver's ed program in Bucks County! Let us share what makes us a bit different.

1.) We are focused on two goals with every student. Working on real-life driving situational awareness as well as soundly preparing them to pass a road test. Every student who goes through one of our programs has had intense work in right-of-way decision making while in real world situations including extensive merging on and off the interstate, and exposure to busy intercity driving, as well as teaching them our very successful parallel parking technique, and lastly a thorough "pretest" at the test center they have scheduled their road test at.

2.) Our six hour program involves five driving lessons not the typical three that most of our competitors push students through. We don't believe that new teen drivers with learners permits have the experience and mental concentration to do 2 hour long driving lessons! So our program is a combination of one hour and hour-and-a-half lessons. There is a reason why our teens don't go to school and have math class for two hours! They wouldn't concentrate that long and be focused! We'd make the argument that no one has ever been killed because they don't know geometry. So why put a new driver in a position to have to mentally concentrate for two hours?

3.) All of our behind-the-wheel lessons are one-on-one. We don't do any piggy-backing where some other schools will have your child's last half-hour of their lesson picking up their next student. We don't believe in it and never do it!

4.) We have a 96% passing rate for students on their first effort at a road test over 16 years! Our students are extremely well prepared to pass their road test when we're finished with them and you don't need to pay us extra to "baby sit" them in taking them to the test center. Any driving school that tells you they have any influence on your child's road test outcome is lying to you!

5.) Look at some of the other schools vehicles. Often a lot of dents and dings. Our vehicles are in very good condition because we have effective programs and we proudly have never had an accident with another vehicle in 16 years in business!

So parents, if the most important issue for you as you embark on your teens getting a permit and working towards being a licensed driver is for them to have a solid skill-set and be sound and considerate drivers, give us a call. And no matter who you choose to teach your children to drive, make sure it's about something beyond the simple convenience of passing a road test!

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Fall Is Here & School Is Back In Session.

by William Hogan on 08/31/19

Here we are on the last "unofficial" weekend of summer which means by sometime early next week all the local schools in our neighborhoods will be back in session. This brings on a added level of concern for all of us as drivers. Both young elementary school age children, as well as high school age kids aren't always as watchful as they should be about their surroundings while walking to school or getting on or off the bus. Please make sure you are watching as a driver for the unexpected in a child running from behind a parked vehicle or bus or from the curb in front of you driving. And remember to obey the directions of those sweet little ladies who serve as crossing guards. They are the rule of law in their domain and they take their roles very seriously! And by all means, pay attention to stopped school buses with their Stop Arms down. It's the law to stop at least 10 feet short!

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Spring Makes For Active Wildlife!

by William Hogan on 05/20/19

Well spring has finally arrived here in the Northeast! As restless as we all get in the winter, most of our wildlife friends also look forward to better weather and therefore getting more active. This can bring on added issues to us as drivers in Bucks County especially when it comes to our favorite, Deer.. They can be an issue at any time of day, but especially in early evening and at night. They tend to be more active as the day cools, and more reckless in the spring. A couple thoughts and ideas for dealing with the deer as a driving issue:

We teach a "visual search pattern" that helps someone hopefully identify the deer before they appear in our path of travel driving. As you go down the road, especially the two lane roads throughout our area, you want to visually scan from off the road on your right, then slowly bring your focus to the edge of the road on your left. This is not an erratic, quick movement of your eyes, but a fairly deliberate back & forth. So as your moving your eyes, if something changes in front of you, you'll be able to identify it and react. But this also allows you to see the deer an extra couple seconds before they're right in front of you, therefore creating a bit of extra time to react.

We also believe in using high beam lights as often as possible at night to make your visual work easier! Just remember to turn them off as you identify traffic coming at you in opposite direction as you'll be "blinding" the oncoming driver.

Any questions on any of these ideas, feel free to call us or drop us an email. Safe travels to everyone and enjoy the weather..

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Some Thoughts for Winter Driving for Parents and their Teens!

by William Hogan on 12/29/18

Well folks we hope all of you are having a terrific holiday season and we want to wish everyone a healthy, prosperous, and happy New Year. Of course the new year in the Northeast signals a time that most of us as drivers don't look forward to, winter! And most parents we've ever worked with are absolutely terrified that first winter their teen drivers have to deal with icy and snowy roads. So we're going to pass along a few ideas for both new and experienced drivers in dealing with winter road conditions.

1.) Drive Slower

As simplistic as it sounds, when you're driving in ice and snow you just simply have to drive a bit slower! You have to build in some extra time on any journey which will give you the mindset to be able to be patient and take your time.

2.) Create a Big Space Cushion

You need to be very mindful of, and create a big space cushion! Following too closely to the vehicle in front of you is a recipe for problems. You should probably have three times the space between you and that vehicle ahead of you that you would have on a sunny, dry day in June.

3.) Nothing Harsh

Our best winter mantra is "smooth is good"! The absolute best thought and action you can carry forward this winter to keep yourself from losing grip or traction while driving is to avoid doing anything harsh while driving. No harsh braking, no harsh accelerating, and no harsh steering! Anytime you slam on the brakes, smash the gas pedal or suddenly turn the wheel harshly, you are most likely to lose grip on a icy/snowy road surface.

4.) Don't Drive Where Everyone Else is Driving

One of the other great tips we've shared over the years is to not drive on a snowy road surface where most other drivers are driving. When vehicle after vehicle goes down a road in the exact same track, it packs down that snow and turns it into a hard patch of ice about as wide as most vehicle tires. If you then hit the brakes while you're driving along that packed down track, you will surely skid. So we would pose to as best you can drive a couple feet off that track that everyone else is packing down, and drive in the "fresh snow" where there are little to no tire tracks. You will find much better traction there!

So try to incorporate these ideas into your winter driving patterns and you'll have a much safer time on the roads this winter. And for parents, get your teens out in a big, empty parking lot the first couple days we have snow on the roads and let them experience the feel of driving in bad conditions and the feel of what it's like to lose control or grip/traction. Be patient with them in this process and take advantage of the early opportunities for them to experience this in a safe environment before they're out on the road alone. We do a number of "last minute" lessons with teens in the winter to work with them on these concepts. Feel free to reach out to us for any help on any of this! And let's all hope for an early spring..

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4 Tips for Driving on Wet Roads

by William Hogan on 10/12/18

Who knew it only takes 1/12th an inch of rain at 35 mph to hydroplane? Streets and roads are more dangerous when we get rain after it has been dry for a while. (Rain will make the road slick with dirt and oil that have accumulated). But, you just need water. Thankfully most of the oil washes off after one day’s rain. Regardless, wet roads are dangerous— whether it is raining or not.

Often danger comes from limited visibility. Be safe, drive smart. Check out these 4 driving tips for driving in rain.

1. Turn on Headlights

Day or night, keep your headlights on while driving in rain. In many states, laws require headlights during rain or whenever visibility is less than 1000 feet. That is about a quarter of a mile or three and one-third football fields.

2. Newer Tires, Awesome Breaks and Wipers

· Threadbare tires are dangerous. Keep your traction at top performance. Maintain relatively new tires with deep tread. Or, get some all-weather tires. This should help if you hydroplane.

· Get regular brake checks.

· Keep your windshield wiper blades ready for rainy days—before the rain comes.

What to do if you hydroplane?

· Ease off the accelerator and continue driving steadily forward.

· Do not slam on the breaks.

3. Don’t use Cruise Control

Rainy weather demands full attention. Keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and your feet ready for action.

If you hydroplane, cruise control can cause you to lose control. And, if you do hydroplane, the lack of traction may cause the cruise control to accelerate.

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4. Drive Smarter

Smart people adjust their strategy around changing conditions. Weather is one of those things. Driving in rain or any inclement weather be careful and pull back:

· Keep your distance. You never know when the person ahead of you will spin out.

· Do not tailgate—especially in limited visibility.

· Slow down. Take corners slower.

· Be patient. Expect extra traffic.

A defensive driving class will help train you for dangerous driving conditions. Techniques and car maintenance keep you smarter on the road, whether driving in rain or any conditions.

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