Category: sharing the road

My favourite letter in the alphabet is “why”

Raising four kids has been fun and tough at the same time. Having patience has made it easier to keep the kids in line and to help educate and correct them when they’ve made mistakes. As any parent has heard many, many times before, the kids will often ask “why?” after you’ve explained things to…




In a flash!

  Every now and then you find yourself in a rare situation not knowing exactly what to do. This seems to be the case whenever I see traffic lights out of service. That was the case recently. Drivers seemed to be confused as they ended up sitting at the intersection wondering when it was their…



Learn to pick your battles

I recently learned some things from my kids; indirectly. All 4 of my kids are in the scouting movement and will often go to camp. I became a leader when my two young sons first started out with scouts at age five. I will volunteer my time and go to camp with them as a…



Left foot or right foot?

Growing up I saw my parents do many things that I find I do now myself. I think that’s a pretty common thing in most of our lives. They of course were a big influence in our adult lives. That also includes how they drove when you were a kid. I remember watching my dad…



Another reason to use your side mirror

When I’m teaching my students to drive at Young Drivers of Canada, I often try to use the simple approach. The less information and steps, the easier it is to remember them. I also use some of those steps to help my kids become safe and to help plant a seed in their mind before…



What goes around comes around

Growing up I believed that doing a good deed would bring a good deed back to me. You know, what goes around comes around. In all fairness, the evil deeds also work that way too. Karma, or fate if you prefer, is something I do believe in. I also believe that you have to work…



Driving can be related to…

I’ve coached kids in a number of sports over the years. A few years ago I was coaching my son’s hockey team. During one of the practices I noticed a few of the players weren’t following through with their shots. When I asked them to follow through, they looked a little confused. I asked if…



Did you see a sign?

In just about every jurisdiction around, you need to know what basic road signs mean in order to get your beginner’s permit. In Ontario, you’re allowed 4 signs wrong out of 20 and can still pass that portion of the written test. That’s not bad, but shouldn’t we know what all of the signs mean?…