I have thought that I am a good driver for many years. I drive at less speeds than most drivers around me but not so slow as to be a hazard on the road.I try to do the thing that I talk about in this blog.   I really try to be a good example to my children and family when I drive.

So many things can go wrong when you are driving and the other day, while I was driving to the grocery store , I took my eyes off of the road for a split second and when I turned my head around to see in front of me, the traffic in front of me had stopped and I was travelling at about 50 miles per hour. I braked and skidded for a while and knew that I did not have room to stop before crashing into the van in front of me. Somehow my instincts took over and I was able to let off the brakes for an instant and steer right and come to a stop beside the van in front of me and to avoid not only hitting him but also not going into the ditch to my right.

So, do you think that you are a good driver? I still think that I am, but even so , good drivers make stupid mistakes. I was not drinking, texting, reading, or doing anything that we all know not to do while driving. What I did was take my eyes and attention from the road in front of me and the results could have been much worse than they were. I could have killed someone or myself. This was a reality check for me and I hope that my telling this story will make you think about how dangerous it is to drive without your full attention on the road and traffic around you.

Pray for me and I will Pray for you.

Everyone knows the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. I think of it when I see drivers racing to be the first one to get where they are going (like the hare). I remember, once when I was driving home from work and a co-worker of mine got on the freeway, about the same time as I did, during rush hour traffic. He was slightly in front of me and was changing lanes about every 15 seconds or so and this went on for about 20 or 30 minutes as we were driving down the road to approximately the same destination. Now I stayed in the same lane for the entire 20 or 30 minutes and when we got to the exit that we were looking for, I was two cars behind him and I know that he had changed lanes about what seemed to be 40 times and had not gained even three car lengths in front of me. If this was a race then I suppose that he won the race but driving down the road is not a race and the point is that what he was doing was dangerous and only caused anger from the drivers that he was cutting off and speeding around.

Now let’s think about the speed limits on the roads and if you drive more than the limit.On a 300 mile trip averaging 65 MPH you will get to your destination in about 4.6 hours. at 70 MPH the trip will take you about 4.3 hours. That’s  about 20 minutes less time per 5 miles per hour  difference. Chances are that when you get to you destination you will sit down and relax drink a cool drink and enjoy your being there. Even if you arrive 20 or 40 minutes later you will still sit down and relax and drink that cool drink and enjoy your being there. Actually you will be more relaxed and less stressed because you took your time and drove cautiously .

Your kids will learn from you,about driving, the same way they learn from you about everything else. (  eating habits, how you talk, work ethic and so on). So drive like the tortoise and not the hare and you will get there about the same time and you will be safe ,happy and a good example for your children.

Remember that it does take a village to raise a child.

Don Culver

I was driving home from a vacation in Savannah Ga and I was taking note of drivers that passed me on the Interstate. I am passed alot on the super highways because I sometimes drive like a snail,my wife tell me. I do the speed limit and even sometimes over it, but not too much. As most of you know, people drive very fast on these roads and it is hard to keep up sometimes. My little survey on this trip was watching people talking on their cell phones. I noticed on this short trip that almost every teenage,or early 20 something, girl that passed me was talking on her cell phone. Now, I sometimes talk on my phone when I am driving ,and I find myself not as attentive to the road and my surroundings when I’m doing this. I know that it is not the best thing to do when driving. I’m not perfect. On this day all these young girls were on their phones, and they seemed to stay on them as long as I had them in my sights. When they got in front of my truck ,I noticed that their driving was not normal as they drifted from left to right, and their speed did not stay constant. I’m not saying that only young girls are doing this, but I did not on this day see any young men on their cell phones. Young girls do seem to talk on their phones more than almost anyone else. This was just one short trip and my observations do not mean that all young girls are doing this. It is odd that this is what I saw, and I will be watching more when I’m on the road. I guess that the point that I’m trying to get across is that it’s a fact that most drivers do use their phones when driving and probably will never stop, but we need to do this much much less than we do and try not to do it at all. Drivers that seem to have these phones glued to their ears are an “accident waiting to happen.” Parents, please talk to you children about this and tell them the dangers of using their phones while driving. It could save their life and the lives of others around them.

I just traveled to China and had one of the best adventures of my life. I did not drive. No one that is not a citizen is allowed to drive there. I did notice that even the taxi drivers were smiling. The roads in the cities are extremely crowded and the drivers have an unwritten rule that if your vehicle is in front by as little as maybe a foot or so then you have the right to change lanes. This is done without shouting or shaking fist at each other and to my surprise ,mostly, with smiles on their faces. It was truly a give and take system that I’m sure that has developed over many years as the population has grown.
As we drive we should practice our smiling. I think that a happy driver is a better driver. It’s hard to have road rage if you are smiling. We should not be in a hurry even if we are late for an appointment. Remember that all other drivers are good people even if they are not good drivers. They will cut you off, speed by you and maybe shake their fist at you. They will weave in and out of traffic as if they own the road. They will do all sorts of things that should not be done on the road but this does not make them bad people. It does make them bad drivers and you need to look out for them and protect yourself by smiling and avoiding them at all cost. Getting home safe is the name of the game.

You never can tell, a smile could even possibly save your life and if not you may get a smile in return.

Don Culver

A few day ago a young man (boy) was killed in a car accident when he was ejected from the
car because he was not wearing his seatbelt. This boy was 16 years young and only had been driving for about 3 weeks. I understand that he was trying to pass a friend and lost control of his vehicle. Many things were done wrong to cause this accident. He was not mature enough to understand the dangers of being behind the wheel of a car and the responsibilities that go with this privilege. He was playing as if driving is a game and others would think of him as cool. He did not have his seat belt on. I’m guessing that he was also speeding. He was not prepared to be alone in a car driving. Now I know that many people, including parents, think that it is a right for 16 year old children to have their licenses to drive. Many kids this age are responsible enough to drive but many more are not. As in this young boy’s decision to ignore proper driving rules, a terrible loss occurred and I am saddened for his family’s loss. This is not only his family’s loss , it is also our loss. I’m sure that this boy was a fine upstanding kid that could have made the world a better place to live in by doing good deeds. He was not bullet proof as many young people think. We all went through this when we were young.
Please teach your children the dangers of the road and if they are not ready to drive at 16,then make them wait until they are more mature and are properly trained. This is a life or death decision sometimes and kids die all too often because they are allowed to drive before they are ready. It is all our responsibility to try and keep our children safe. It will always take a village to do this.

Don Culver

Have you ever looked in your rear view mirror and thought that it was clear and when you started to change lanes or turn left or right and realized that someone was in your blind spot and either had an accident or almost had one. I know that this has happened to me more than once. A young driver needs as much help as he can to avoid these situations. Actually we all do. In the past several years I have been adding small round (convex) mirrors to my side rearview mirrors and this little thing has taken away almost all of the blind spot that is present in all side mirrors. I do not know the statistics of how many accidents are caused by this and I doubt that any has been taken. I do know that there is danger in not knowing what is around you when you are driving and any little help you can get just might save your life. Many times I have seen a driver change lanes and barely miss hitting a vehicle in that lane. So moms and dads think safety, purchase these add on mirrors and not only put them on your cars, also put them on your teenage and young adult children’s cars.

You can purchase these mirrors at any auto supply store and install them yourselves. If you think that you are not that mechanically inclined then ask the salesman or store manager to help you. I normally stick these mirrors at the top inside edge of the side mirror being careful not to cover too much of the middle of the mirror. You will be surprised to see how much your blind spot is reduced by this little addition.

You never know, this could save a life. Please drive safely and teach your children to be extra careful out there.

Don Culver

As I’m driving along I always think of things that I did not tell my children when I was teaching them to drive. I seem to think of something different each time I get into the car. In December I talked about some things that seem to be always mentioned in driving tips and most people know these even if they don’t they don’t always abide by them. Last month’s tips are so important because lives are in danger, not only the teenagers but everyone else that is around them and the people riding in their car.

This month I want to talk about the many memorials that I see on the side of the roads in my travels. It saddens me when I see these crosses and fake flowers off to the side of the road knowing that someone’s life has been snuffed out for reasons that may have been avoided. Some times cars go off the road not because anything was being done wrong by the driver but maybe a flat tire caused the accident or an animal startled them. The bottom line is now they are not here anymore and cautious driving and driving slower maybe could have made the accident less severe.

There should be driving courses to teach teens how to get out of these kinds of situations. They could get the experience of their car leaving the pavement and learn how to guide the car back to the road in a controlled manner. I tried to teach my children this.

Highways in north Georgia have dangerous shoulders without guardrails. Some of these shoulders drop off drastically and if a car should leave the road it would be almost impossible to not be in an accident. So the important thing to do here is to stay on the road and drive safely. These accidents sometimes prove to be fatal. The many crosses and fake flowers that I see tell me this. Please teach your children and young adults to be aware of the dangers of the road and maybe they won’t become a part of this terrible, tragic truth.

Remember that it takes a village to raise a child and it is our responsibility to be a part of this village. Drive safely and teach your children good driving skills.

Don Culver

As our area of North Georgia has grown in recent years, so has the number of cars and vehicles on our streets and roads. As someone who spends a great deal of his day driving in his truck, Don Culver has observed the driving habits of many of our area’s teenagers. He offers these driving tips for youthful drivers:

1. No talking / texting on a cell phone while driving. Teens live by texting and chatting with their friends on their cell phones. Most do not understand that taking their eyes from the road for just one second can lead to a tragedy – especially on our winding two-lane country roads. When you must answer a phone call, pull off the road to a safe place.
2. No teen passengers at night. Driving at night is much different than driving at day. Young, inexperienced drivers need to be able to devote 100% of their concentration on the road and the operation of their vehicle.
3. Click it! Never ever put a vehicle in motion unless everyone has his or her seat belt safely fastened. While today’s vehicles have many safety features that will protect the driver and passengers in case of an accident, they are negligible if a person is ejected from the vehicle during a wreck.
4. No drinking and driving. ‘Nuff said!
5. Obey the speed limit. It’s there for a reason.
6. Understand the “center line system” on two lane county roads. Solid yellow line on your side of the centerline means “No Passing!”
7. The driver should never, ever, take his / her eyes from the road to adjust the radio, CD player or GPS system.
8. When in doubt, don’t!