The Case for “Hands-on Stick” Driver Training

Driver training in the United States is inadequate and inconsistent. It is often too short and focuses on a narrow range of skills, resulting in drivers who are not fully prepared to navigate the roads safely. To address these issues, I propose implementing an Enhanced Driver Education program that would provide novice drivers with comprehensive instruction in several key areas before they begin driving on public roads. This program would effectively address the shortcomings of current driver education and produce safer and more competent drivers.

Anti-Distraction Training: This style of training should assist in reducing accidents and hazards on the road. Most accidents are caused by distracted drivers. Distracted driving occurs when the Driver’s attention shifts to something other than the operation of the vehicle in which they are driving. Distracted Driving can happen for various reasons, from texting and driving to even glancing at a cool car you saw pass by. We should incorporate an anti-distraction plan to reduce distractions. This can be done by training students to ensure any possible distractions in the car are ‘out of sight, out of mind’ and with advanced driving simulators to simulate what happens when you drive distracted and the possible outcomes. Hence, they are less likely to attempt it.

Driving Simulators: These are highly technological driving simulation machines. They can be built from cheap or costly materials depending on how realistic they are and the level of performance you want. These machines consist of a high-performance computer, a big monitor or TV, a controller that takes the form of all necessary pieces used to operate a car (Steering wheel, Pedals, Shifter, Handbrake, etc.) and depending on how much you spend you can add either just a car seat or a racing base on hydraulics with a chair to simulate the movement of the car. Most opt out of the hydraulics to save money. These Simulators are more advanced versions of what you might see at an arcade. The simulators use special software to simulate more realistic car physics and motors in things like the steering wheel to give something called Force-Feedback for a more responsive feel. Driving Simulators could assist in teaching people to drive as they are very forgiving and allow the user to create scenarios and retry them as many times as they would like. For a lower-end setup, anyone can make one at home for under $1,500.

Road Rules Awareness: The test for Road Rules and Signs is pretty easy right now. We need to increase the difficulty of these tests and ensure we spend more time explaining road rules and signs to students. Plenty of signs are still left for students to figure out, and in a time when common sense doesn’t exist, this creates many issues and hazards. We must ensure that all students learn more than 85% of all road signs minimum to pass. The test should also be increased to at least 100 questions with a minimum passing grade of 90% (Margin of error = 10) to obtain their license. In the short term, explaining the rules needs to be more in-depth, and the tests must be more difficult.

Defensive Driving Techniques: Defensive Driving is the understanding of how to avoid situations where accidents are evident. These things include more in the simulator and in-car training to help commit special driving techniques to muscle memory. These driving techniques can consist of knowing how, when, and which way to properly and safely swerve a car in times of emergency and how to perform extraordinary turns or recover a vehicle after loss of control. This should be a standard in all driving schools.

Stick-Shift Training: A traditional automotive transmission is the Manual style. This is similar to an automatic, but instead, you must shift the gears to fit different speeds using an extra peddle added to the left and an H-Pattern Shifter made up of a certain number of gears depending on the car. With this transmission, you need to use the clutch whenever changing the gears and modulating the throttle (I would explain how to use this transmission style, but that would be a whole essay in itself). This transmission style requires the driver’s focus and critical thinking to operate correctly. Every move on the road must be thought of well in advance.

Emergency Preparedness: Techniques used for situations where the car may malfunction or when you get stuck. This should also be taught in every driver education course. In this category, you should learn what to do when your brakes fail, your throttle gets stuck, something blows up or breaks, or even situations where you may get stuck. This is a crucial part of driving as most people won’t know what to do in these situations and could end up in serious trouble; the outcomes of this are never good. You will also need to pass a ‘Freak out test’ where you will be tested on what you will do in a situation where if you freak out, you fail. In a test like this, you must remain calm to pass and survive. This could be performed in a simulation.

Essential Maintenance: Basic Maintenance is already taught in numerous other countries and is a prerequisite to obtaining a driver’s license. It should also be required here. Things like changing a tire, checking and filling fluids, essential inspections, and a few others should be taught. This could save everyone a lot of resources, time, and money. Students should also be taught what to look out for and listen for.

Basic Vehicle Understanding: Everyone should be taught the basic ideas of how things in a car work. They don’t need to be able to explain how the entire car works but the basic concept of a car so they will understand what they are doing with a deeper meaning and can understand where problems may arise. Example: “A mixture of gas and air is ignited by a spark, pushing pistons to spin a part in the engine creating power by rotation which is multiplied by the transmissions gear ratios for different speeds and then sent to the wheels by differentials and driveshafts.” or “Brakes are activated by compressing a special liquid through tubes to push a pad around a rotating disc connected to the wheels to slow the vehicle down.” (This one may be confusing to anyone who doesn’t know how a car works. But that is the point)

References

Personal Experience