Alberta government on young driver safety

The Alberta government came up with a website to promote young driver safety called No Fun Being Dead. Read about it and find the link here.

It is supposed to appeal to young tech savvy people. I found it totally boring. Am I missing something? Or was government money misspent again?

Winter Driving Info/ Advanced Driver Training

I phoned one number, and they gave me another number and then another and then I left a message, but Andy got back to me right away. So, here it is:

in Edmonton the training is provided by CTEC (Canadian Traffic Education Center). The course costs $550.00. Go to their website.

Included in the course is classroom instruction, practicing emergency procedures with obstacles, working with a simulator with individual help, and the use of skid vehicles.

You would think this would make an excellent gift to a young person from anyone who loves him/her. Andy offered me a two for one deal on the spot, if Martin and I went with the idea of becoming advocates. (I should push him, maybe, it will be free?!)

Winter driver's ed info from Cassandra

Thank you very much for sending this Cassandra:

I found some schools local to Edmonton:

City of Edmonton
Winter Driving Courses

Winter Driving Course
This course offers students and seasoned drivers highlights of driving in the winter months.

Each student will be given the opportunity to perform at least 8 maneuvers:

Stressing
Hand positioning
Eye lead time
Posture
Seat positioning
Emergency braking
Swerve-to-avoid
Skid recovery

For more information:

3rd Floor, Westwood Facility
12404 - 107 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2R7

Telephone 780-496-6464

I think I'll phone there on Monday and see if they have any flyers.
Funny, how one can live here for decades and not have heard of winter driving ed. while one hears of road deaths every day. People are so clued out still, they think they have things covered with "all seasons" tires.

Someone told me the other day there are over 400 traffic fatalities in Alberta every year. And how many people live here? Three million only. I'm sure the rate is much higher around here with the road to Ft. McMurray and all the truck traffic to the industry.

Just so terribly, awfully sorry

Today, I am just so sorry that Matt did not know to get off the brakes and steer into the ditch. In retrospect, it seems like such an incredibly simple thing that could have saved them both easily. What a crying, crying, crying shame.

I post today the other last pictures I have of Stefan. It shows how I had to chase him for a decent picture, as he was just making faces at me.

Also, there are Andrea and Thomas this January. They've been such a big help.

I should be in bed.

From Gigababy:

How much insurance you pay or the fact that you've never filed a claim does not mean you are a good driver. It just means you've been lucky. The only way to determine that you are a safe, cautious and skilled winter driver is to have yourself assessed by a licensed and accredited winter driving instructor.

What concerns me as a driving safety advocate is how many parents are sending their young drivers out onto the road not ensuring they have the skills and the maturity needed to handle adverse weather conditions, even if the car itself is equipped for the road by its design, tires or size. Ice is ice. Slush is slush and traction is not something that is guaranteed regardless of what you drive, how old you are, or how long you have been driving. Driving in winter does not compare to dry, summer conditions.

Many people feel 17 *is too young* to drive. I disagree. It is young enough to make bad decisions due to a lack of guidance and experience. But that can be corrected. I was 19 when I first got my licence but I didn't drive in my first real snowstorm until I was 22. But I was prepared, as the year before, I had taken winter driving lessons with Young Drivers of Canada. I was in a small Ford Zx2 sports car with no winter tires on my way back from Montreal in the great big snowstorm of 1999 (the one where the mayor of Toronto called in the army). It took me eight hours and I got home in one piece and so did my three passengers. That day, four people were killed in crashes on the 401 during the same time I was driving. Two of the victims were in SUVs.

Take some lessons. It doesn't cost as much as you think and you'll be surprised at what you learn. And at what you didn't know.

The following schools offer winter driving courses:

Accent Driving School
Bowmanville ON
p: 9056971148

Winter School $295 by CarControl
p: 905-473-9500
ianlaw@carcontrolschool.com

Driving Trainer Simulator?

The phone has stopped ringing and I think I will go to work tomorrow, get myself out of the house and relieve those who've been filling in for me. This afternoon still I will go to the gym; (I will, I will, I will!)

I just finished talking with Esther about the state of the world--with side topic: driver training. (This is also a topic the gigababy blog picks up on.) She said when she was in driver training in Germany, it was drilled into her that when the car is out of control, to get off the brakes. Which reminded me that when my kids took driver training I was looking around to get a video game type driving simulator for them to practice different scenarios. I never found one. Both children turned out to be good drivers. Both drove with Martin and myself for years before they went solo. Stefan, especially, was a natural. I like to think, he would have been able to prevent the tragedy, if he'd been driving.

But, you'd think with all the video games, simulations, graphics, different inputs, there would have been an easy choice for driver training practice? They spend hours and hours shooting people, crashing cars, planes, tanks... Why are they not practicing real skills?