The Safe Driver

Is it a circle or a rectangle?

Have you ever found yourself leaving a parking space, either your driveway or a parking lot, and realized you’ve just ran over something? How embarrassing is that! Could this have been avoided? I believe it can be and I teach my students to do just that.

Since we tend to have a very busy lifestyle, we’re always in a hurry. You know what I mean; you’re already running late and you hop into the car to leave for work, but you end up driving over your child’s skateboard. Did it have to happen? How could this be avoided? I watched someone leave their driveway doing just that. Then the driver got out of the car and yelled at their 8 year old son for leaving their skateboard on the driveway. Hold on now; who is the adult and who is the child here? As a driver, shouldn’t we be responsible for our actions?

During the third season of Canada’s Worst Driver on Discovery Network, I asked one of the participants what they should do prior to entering the vehicle to ensure it was safe to drive away. She couldn’t answer me. Considering her husband was a commercial truck driver, I was hoping she could have learned from him. They all do circle checks before starting off and I teach my students to do that same, but not in as much detail. She was a little surprised when I told her to walk around her vehicle to ensure it was safe to drive away; and she has two young kids. She admitted to me that she had run over their toys before. Shouldn’t we learn from our experiences?

How long would it take you to walk around the vehicle? A quick glance at the tires, doors, windows, trunk and under the front of the vehicle will only take roughly 10 seconds. That’s only 10 seconds out of your day. It would take more time out of your day if you ran over something, especially if it caused damage to your vehicle. Any time you’ve left your vehicle unattended, you should walk around your vehicle and do a circle check.

How many times have you seen a driver travel along at normal speed with a flat tire? Do you think they noticed it? If they did, why are they still driving at the speed of traffic? I remember being out with a student when we saw their neighbour backing out of the driveway over their metal garbage cans. They made a huge noise and caused damage; but still continued to drive! So much for caring about their possessions. It would have only taken a few seconds to move those cans away from their vehicle.

To do a circle check means you’ll need to walk around your vehicle the long way. Check on all four sides for damage and obstructions. The reality here is these few seconds can save you time and money in the long run and a lot of frustration too!