On the RebootYou.com website, we’ve suggested going back to
school as one strategy for restarting. Well, I took my own advice recently and
went back to school, although it wasn’t exactly what I originally had in mind.
It was driving school – a course for seniors whose skills
behind the wheels may be slipping.
It was a pretty thorough refresher course, lasting about
2-1/2 hours and covering freeway, residential and downtown traffic.
I was encouraged to take this course by my wife, who sees my
driving habits from the passenger seat and has a much more objective view of my
abilities than I do. So while I was initially skeptical, it turns out she was
right – the course did show me several areas where I can definitely improve,
and underscored the fact that I am not the Mario Andretti that I used to be.
For example, glancing in the rear view mirror regularly to
see who or what is behind you and what they are doing – closing on you, passing
on the right or left, etc. It’s a way of staying mindful of your total
environment. I wasn’t doing it often enough.
Another example, when exiting the freeway: don’t step on the
brake pedal while you’re still in freeway traffic. Just take your foot off the
accelerator, slow down to make the exit ramp, then apply the brakes. Putting on the brakes on the freeway may
slow you down too fast and it also sends what could be an alarming signal to
the car behind you.
And looking in the right hand side mirror (and turning
around to look) before turning right at
a stop sign or traffic light – there may be a bicyclist or skateboarder
slipping up beside you.
So, steering out of denial and into the safe lane. The life
I save might be yours – or mine!
4 comments:
Excellent post. I'm experiencing a few of these issues as well..
Look at my weblog - bet angel free
So far the two sites I have been told to go to - EONS is no longer active and this site, sorry to say, is not very current. So where do baby boomers go to get real help for finding a job, resumes, or just sharing with each other in 2013. The last thing I’m thinking about is a driving class. I need a job, I need benefits. I wasn’t even hired by Home Depot. i can’t get seasonal jobs. Do I just drop off the face of the earth because I have become invisible to the hiring community. I’m still as good and better than I used to be. If it’s a lower job then I’m overqualified and that just means too old. One person said we would be a risk to the company, because we would leave as soon as a better job was found. GET REAL. I would kiss the feet of the people that hired me for a regular job with benefits - - - and I’m going to leave. I don’t want to go up the ladder like the younger generations who stay 1.97 yrs on average. They learn, take what they can and go to a competitor.
When i reached the senior years, I stopped driving. I don't know but my children don't want me to drive all by myself. Glad they are always there when I need a ride. For safety, I stopped driving alone.
Great article. I've seen changes in my parents' driving skills - and my own as well. This is a challenging subject, as driving is seen as a form of freedom.
-Kurt.
www.Seniorly.com
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