Driving is a Challenge

This is the second time in my adult life that I challenged myself to go further.  

The first time was white water rafting in Colorado. It was a huge challenge.

I am not a swimmer, don’t care much for the ocean, but I do enjoy walking in the sand and occasionally dipping my foot into the water.

I remember snow skiing, horseback riding, air plane rides in small planes, and many other sports. For whatever reason I never looked at them as challenges.  Possibly a challenge is facing a fear and conquering it. Yup, that’s it.  So what fear was I facing when I undertook my latest challenge?

Fear of being hurt, trusting, losing control, hurting someone else? 

All the above, plus.

I recenty took a driving course - Emergency Vehicle Operation Course. 

I have been driving for a good many years. I learned to drive in New York City, so  I consider myself to be a good defensive driver. I have had no trouble parallel parking and backing into a space. At least not until Thursday, July 27th.

That's when I participated in a mandatory driving exercise for the Volunteers in Policing program with the Sandy Springs Police. [The officers worked hard to make the day a pleasant one.]

 The course was laid out with chalk marks, cones, speed signs, cold water and a Jiffy Johnny. 

The day started with a two hour class with Sgt. Nable explaining exactly how a car is engineered to be a car, how it acts and reacts by what we do and what we don’t do. [Use your seatbelt, the life you save might be you own.]

Our first exercise was to go through the cones in a fairly straight line to the end of the road, and reverse our car without the use of mirrors. Right away I knew I was in trouble.

We then had to back up through another lane of cones to the beginning of the road.

I wondered how police officers can see through everything in their car to do this maneuver?  I put my arm on the passenger seat looked through the rear window and didn’t see a single cone.

"I killed a few," to quote Lt. Steve Rose, who dubbed me,”The Cone Killer”

I eventually completed the course and an officer directed me to do it again, without knocking over any cones. 

Off I went again, somewhat wiser and much improved.

As I started I listen for the signals.

First exercise goal: Hit the speed you are told to reach. Pay attention to the speed sign at end of road. Take your foot off the gas as you approach the cones in front of you, (the car will still be accelerating) and when he says, "BRAKE," you hit that brake with everything you’ve got and hold it.  The object is to stop before you hit the cones. Whew!

Next: Hit the speed you are told to reach and as you near the cone divider he calls out either a left or right and stop. Coming down a straightaway, there is a last minute swerve and hard pull into lanes either right or left and a brake hard.

This is just some of the exercises we were given in defensive driving.

Interesting how keyed up and trusting you become while waiting for that one word, brake, right, left.  You learn to trust your instincts, trust the voice, and trust your car.  If you take care of your car, your car will take care of you.

Some drivers on our roads think they are race car drivers, as they race down Roswell Road and Ga. 400. The difference is they don’t know, they only think they do.

If you too want to accept a challenge in your life, do it.  Remember though, find the right instructor in whatever you undertake to do. I did and it was exhilarating.