The California DMV has released the on-line version of the new 2009 Driver Handbook. Download a copy by clicking here.

Here is an excerpt, taken from the New Laws for 2009 section:

No-Texting Law Effective January 1, 2009

• Drivers may not use a wireless communications device to write, send, or read text-based communications, while driving a motor vehicle.

Administrative Per Se (APS) Zero Tolerance Law Effective January 1, 2009
• It is unlawful for a person who is on probation for a DUI offense tooperate a motor vehicle at any time with a BAC of 0.01% or greater. Violation(s) of the law will result in a 1-year suspension of your driving privilege. Refusal or failure to complete a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) or chemical test while on probation will result in a 2-year revocation of your driving privilege. Two or more prior DUI convictions within ten years will result in a 3-year revocation of your driving privilege. You will not get a restricted license for any of the above violations.

Effective July 1, 2009
• If you have a prior DUI conviction(s) and are convicted of driving with a suspended driver license, you will be required to install an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) for up to three years depending on your driving record.

Important
• Many Californians are choosing bicycling as an alternative mode of trans-portation. Bicycling is beneficial in reducing both smog emissions and gasoline usage. It is environmentally sound and increases physical health. Both bicyclists and motorists must follow the rules of the road and follow safe driving practices. Motorists should be especially watchful for bicyclists to ensure every ones safety.

Since we announced the program yesterday many people have been asking us for some examples of Advanced Freeway Driving. Here is an example of one of the areas that we would like to take students during the new program.

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The I-15 / I-91 Interchange is a main artery for travel in southern California, and an excellent experience for novice drivers. Driving through an interchange of this size is something that cannot be duplicated in our Basic 6 Hour Program. The largest interchange within driving distance is the I-15 / I-215 Interchange, which pales in comparison. Let’s use Google to give us an idea of what a typical student will experience with our new 12 Hour Program.

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Starting from the I-15 Northbound, the student must identify the road signs move the vehicle into the proper lane to merge on to I-91 East. Once completed the student then takes the vehicle onto a very long banked left turn overpass that rises almost 100 feet above ground.

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As the student nears the end of the overpass they must negotiate a tricky merging lane down to a narrow one lane on-ramp to the I-91 East. Once completed, the student then takes the 1st off-ramp, and switches to the I-91 Westbound to travel through the Interchange again.

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This time the student stays on the lowest level of the interchange and continues on I-91 East. Once completed, the student takes the 1st off-ramp, and switches back to the I-91 Eastbound.

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The final pass takes the student back on the I-15 South.

If you would like to enroll in our new 12 Hour Behind-the-Wheel Training program, click here. You can also contact us if you have questions or concerns by clicking here.

Due to overwhelming customer demand Amber and I have decided to develop a 12 Hour Behind-the-Wheel Training program.

Purpose:

To improve the overall quality of Behind-the-Wheel training Drive Happy will offer an enhanced program that exceeds the current 6-hour DMV requirement for new drivers. This will produce drivers who are capable of passing the DMV Drive Test more easily, reduce accident and citation risk, and reduce the local fatality rate among new drivers.

Overview of the Program:

The Drive Happy Total Training Program will consist of 8 driving lessons (1 ½ hour each), providing a total training time of 12-hours. Additional driving lessons will allow us to teach advanced driving skills such as freeway merging, parking lot maneuvers, and defensive driving techniques in far more detail than the current 6-hour program allows. Additional driving lessons will also allow the driving instructor to be a part of the new drivers education for a longer period of time, promoting the growth and retention of fundamentally safe driving habits, and counteracting the tendency of new drivers to regress and aquire bad driving habits after their Driver Training is completed.

Costs of the Program

We realize that the increased cost of this program may dissuade people from enrolling. To counteract this effect Drive Happy will be offer a $100 discount on our 12 Hour Total Training program. The total cost of the program will be $500.00 (regular price = $600)

Enrollment Form:

Student Name:

Date of Birth:

I ran across this article over the weekend.  Check out this excerpt.

Cyrus explains, “My driving instructor scares me. We’re driving along and he’ll say to me, ‘What’s going to happen if you make a left turn?’ I’ll say, ‘I dunno’ and then he’ll go, ‘Bang – that’s going to happen to your brand new car’. He just starts hitting things.”

Wow,  even the rich and famous end up with lousy driving instructors.  There is an unfortunate group of driving instructors in the world who believe that teaching means scaring the crap out of students.  Here at Drive Happy, we take a positive approach to teaching.  We believe that a new drivers early experience behind-the-wheel shapes the rest of their driving lives.  Those who learn to enjoy driving,  and have the knowledge to drive with confidence, are safer than those who are frightened of driving.

Special message to Miley:

It’s not too late to change driving schools! Drive Happy would be happy to teach you,  and we have appointments available this week!

Everyone is a bit nervous before their first driving lesson.  We understand your fear,  and we wrote this article to help reduce your fear by giving you an overview of a typical Lesson #1:

The NO List

1. NO freeway driving on the 1st lesson
2. NO angry instructors
3. NO cheating you out of lesson time

Pick-up

Your driving instructor will arrive on time.  If your instructor is delayed for any reason,  we will contact you to explain the situation.  Please be ready to go when we arrive.  You should bring the following items with you:

1. Your Instruction Permit
2. Corrective lenses in necessary (ie. glasses or contacts)
3. Sunglasses (If your lesson is scheduled during daylight hours,  especially early morning or late afternoon)
4. A comfortable pair of shoes (Heels, platforms, and sandals are not advised)

If you have a cell phone,  we would appreciate you turning it off,  or onto silent mode.  You don’t want your Hannah Montana ring tone going off in the middle of your first U-turn,  do you?

The first time you get in the car with your instructor, you will be in the passenger seat.  We never start a student driver out in their own neighborhood.  Why?  Because having your family and friends snapping pictures, and peeking out from windows as you get behind-the-wheel will make you nervous.  Your instructor will drive you a short distance to a quiet residential street.

Getting In The Driver Seat

Our training car is very customizable,  to allow students of all heights to control the car comfortably.  Your instructor will help you to adjust the seat, steering wheel, mirrors, and seat belts.  If you have never driven a car before, don’t worry!  Your instructor will also identify the basic control for you.

Start Your Engines!

Now, onto the fun part.  Your first driving exercise will be a short trip around the block.  The purpose of this drive is to allow the instructor to evaluate your starting skill level, and to give you a chance to get a feel for the training car.  This is not a graded assignment.  It’s OK if you don’t know what you’re doing, your instructor will not allow you to hit anything, or damage the training car.

Circles And Circles

The next driving exercise will be completing basic right and left turns.  Your instructor will teach you how and when to use the gas, brake, and steering wheel to make the car go where you’d like it to go.  You will also learn how and when to use the turn signals, understanding and following the speed limits, and visual search/hazard avoidance techniques.  The amount of time spent on this exercise varies, depending on your starting skill level, and your ability to learn and retain new skills.  At some point during this exercise you may begin to realize that you ARE DRIVING A CAR, AND IT IS FUN!  Smiling and laughing may occur. Your instructor will smile and laugh with you.  Congratulations, and welcome to Drive Happy

Big Roads

The next exercise will introduce traffic and main roads.  You will be leaving the quiet area and practicing right and left turns at major intersections controlled by lights.  You will also learn how to locate and obey posted speed limits higher than 25mph.  With more cars on the road, you will also how to measure and maintain a safe following distance, sharing the road with bicyclists and pedestrians, making protected and un-protected left turns, and how to make a right turn on a red light.  Advanced students may also basic lane changes.  

Winding Down

As you approach the last 30 minutes of your first driving lesson, you instructor will begin directing you towards your home.  You will get to drive in your own neighborhood.  We may also cover the skill of curb parking,  and backing in a straight line.  Very few new skills are introduced in the last 30 minutes because you have already absorbed an enormous amount of information and are starting to fatigue.  At the end of the lesson, you will learn how to park in your driveway.

De-briefing

Having returned safely to your own driveway, your instructor will congratulate you on your progress and re-cap your lesson.  Please do not ask your instructor if you are the worst driver we have ever seen.  The answer will always be no.  You are not a bad driver, you are a student driver!  The instructor will then take the time to meet with your parents/guardian/spouse/etc.  Your mom probably wants to get a picture of your sitting in the driver seat.  Make mom happy,  and don’t worry, this happens all the time! 

If no one is home,  we will schedule a phone call or e-mail update.

Homework & Sceduling Your Next Lesson

Your instructor will probably give you a homework assignment.  Don’t worry, it will be something fun (ie. go out and drive often,  practice those right turns,  watch the videos on our website, etc.)  We will also try to schedule your next driving lesson. We are very flexible, however we suggest lessons to be no more than 2 weeks apart.  If you are not able to practice in-between lesson we suggest that your lessons be as close together as possible.  Repetition is the way to build good habits, drive often and you will drive safe.

This is what you can expect from your first driving lesson.  Please remember that every student is an individual and there are slight variations from lesson to lesson depending on a multitude of factors.  If you have any questions or comments,  share them in the comment section below.

Thank you for reading,  and Drive Happy!

The licensing process for a teenager can be confusing,  to say the least.  Here is an example of one of the most misunderstood rules for teens.  From the DMV website:

Before being eligible to take your driving test you must:

AND

• Have held your permit for a minimum of six months

This means that a teenager has to wait 6 months from the date the permit was issued, until they can take the Behind-the-Wheel test.  The intent of this rule was to ensure that students had adequate time to practice before obtaining a California Driver License.  Sounds reasonable, right?

Unfortunately, it has not worked.  Teens are not using this 6 month period to practice and perfect their driving skills.  What they are doing, is procrastinating.  The mandatory 6 month waiting period has allowed student drivers to put driver training on their mental back burner.  Students and parents commonly tell us that the reason they are not practicing often or scheduling regular lessons is that they “have a whole 6 months to do it”.

To a teenager, 6 months is an eternity.  Imagine that you are a teacher,  and you assign a term paper to your students that is due at the end of the school year.  When do you think they will begin to work on that paper? The day before the end of the school year of course!  The same logic holds true with learning to drive.

Procrastination has become the norm in the industry, and the DMV is encouraging it with their well meaning but poorly planned rules.  When will we realize that these arbitrary time limts are not making our drivers safer.  Only better training and thorough testing will make them safer.

Agree?  Disagree?  

Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

I’ve got another article to share with you this morning.  The topic is the danger of unlicensed drivers on our roadways.  Here is an excerpt:

. . .a full 20 percent of 14- to 18-year-old drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2006 did not have a license. This means unlicensed teens are significantly over-represented in fatal crashes.

I think that this makes a strong case for professional driving schools.  Unlicensed drivers are un-trained drivers.  It seems obvious that an untrained driver is more like to crash and die,  doesn’t it?

The article goes on to discuss some of the other finding of the study.  You can read the full text from marketwatch.com here.

I’m still not comfortable with the focus on “teen” drivers.  I think we need to be talking about un-trained drivers,  regardless of age.  Many studies have shown that the age of the driver is not an indicator of their ability.  The most significant indicator of a driver’s risk is their training and experience!

We need to be requiring driver training for all new drivers,  not just teens!

Share your thoughts below.

Good morning everyone.  Did everyone have an awesome Halloween?

More importantly,  did you remember to set your clocks back an hour this weekend?

I’ve got an interesting article to share with you today about the dangers of moving the clocks back.  From marketwatch.com

NEW YORK, Oct 31, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — When daylight savings ends Sunday morning, roads may become more dangerous, says The National Road Safety Foundation, Inc. a non-profit that provides free driver safety films and programs for schools and other organizations.

I’ve got to admit that this is something that I haven’t really considered before.  Here is another excerpt from the article:

“The time change and earlier nightfall are a combination that’s a formula for drowsy driving — a condition many drivers fail to recognize. It can be as dangerous as drinking and driving.”

Alright,  that sounds realistic.  More drivers on the road at night,  but how does this translate to danger?

The next paragraph was alot more disturbing:

A recent study by the National Sleep Foundation last year show 60 percent of U.S. motorists have driven while sleepy, and nearly 37 percent admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel. The risk of drowsy driving is especially prevalent among teens, who tend to keep late hours and think they can function on minimal sleep.

Wow!  Almost 37% of drivers have admitted to falling asleep behind-the-wheel?  If these numbers are correct,  that would certainly make the road more dangerous.  

The article goes on to provide a few tips for drivers to recognize and overcome drowsiness while driving.  Here are the highlights:

Difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, rubbing eyes

Daydreaming or not remembering the last few miles driven

Head snaps, yawning

Drifting out of your lane, tailgating or hitting shoulder rumble strips

Lately, we have had people inquire about a special defensive driving course or package. At Drive Happy every lesson is a defensive driving lesson.  We teach only defensive driving!  We believe that if you learn to drive defensively from day one, it will become a lifelong habit.  If it ‘s all you know, it’s all you do…

There can never be any harm in taking lessons beyond the requirement, there is always something to learn, and more experience to be had.  However, beware of schools who try to up sell an ‘advanced defensive driving package’ in addition to the ‘regular lessons’.  If it is a good school, defensive driving is the standard.

Each student is unique, and learns at their own pace.  We feel that a set hour program is, well, stupid!  We don’t make the rules, but we do the best we can to make sure each student gets the most out of each lesson. You should too!

Josh and I noticed that last week when the temperature dropped, so did the pressure in our tires. In both our personal, and the driving school cars we have a feature that alerts us when the tire pressure gets low. We found it interesting that after a cold night, both cars sensors indicated that our pressure was low. After some inspection, we found that all four tires on each car were about 5lbs below optimum level. Coincidence? We think not.

With the fuel crisis, and the economy, we have been hearing numerous warnings from experts about how proper tire pressure will not only extend the life of your tires, but improve fuel mileage too! This pressure sensor indicator is a relatively new feature, that many people don’t have. You may not even be aware that anything is wrong… How many people regularly check the tire pressure any way?

At Drive Happy we strive to provide the highest quality of service at a reasonable price. We know that a few extra minutes at the gas station, is one of the cheapest ways to keep your car in tip top condition. Most gas stations offer free air to customers, you just need to ask, the cashier will give you a code to punch in, or tell you the location of a button to turn it on. A tire pressure gage can be purchased anywhere, even the dollar store! Some gas stations even have one attached to the air pump! Check out local your station, and the surrounding, to see who is the most accommodating.

As much as you spend on gas, you owe it to your self to take advantage of the perks gas stations have to offer!