I received some positive responses to my recent column about teaching financial literacy in high schools. Many of you asked, “Where was that class when I needed it?” That's exactly what I think.
When I read news articles about tragedies that seem to repeat themselves every spring, I had the opposite reaction. In some areas, driver education classes may not currently be available when you need them.
High school principals tell me this. “As prom season approaches, many kids get injured in car accidents. And they often lose some of their time.”
Oddly enough, back in the 1970s, when I spent my high school years in rural Alabama, there was a great driver's education program. What is considered a luxury in 2024 was taken for granted in a time when many things were in short supply. Air conditioning was often inadequate, yearbooks were made in abandoned school buses, and he had only two sports to choose from. But thanks to Smith Chevrolet, we now have a brand new Chevrolet Nova. We also had an excellent driving teacher named Coach CB Strickland. When I boasted about the fact that my small rural school offered driver education classes, my big-city cousins said, “You know what? But what happens when the mule dies? ”
Currently, in our area, access to driver education classes varies from state to state and county to county. Some districts in Alabama offer this course. Slightly less in Georgia and about half in Tennessee. The quality of instruction will also change. It depends on the efforts of the school and the abilities of the teachers.
Coach Strickland taught me fundamentals that I still use today. Please lock the door. Fasten your seat belt. Adjust the mirror. A stop sign does not mean “slow down.” Expect other drivers to make mistakes and don't be surprised. Turn on your headlights when it's raining. Keep a safe distance from the car in front of you. Please be safe on school buses and railroad tracks. When entering the roadway, don't just look for cars; also be on the lookout for motorcycles.
he told us: “This is the most important class you'll take. Not everyone uses algebra or physics every day. But they drive cars, and this class could save your life.” yeah.”
Some of my friends who went to other schools said their driving school classes were “party time.” I'm always grateful that that didn't happen at my school.
When it came time to get my driver's license, my dad drove me to the county courthouse in Scottsboro, Alabama. Unlike my small community 55 miles away, Scottsboro had red lights, four-way stops, and real traffic.
I thought the state trooper administering the driving test would do it in his own car, which I'm sure was a basic sedan with an automatic transmission. That's all I've ever driven. It couldn't be like that. That day, my dad needed to pick up some bait while he was in Scottsboro, so we got in his Ford pickup truck. I had never driven a straight shift and had no desire to do so, so he did the driving for me.
The police officer's car was not available that day, so we carried out the inspection in the car we brought with us. I told him I can't drive with a straight shift. He said, “I'll show you how to make it work, and you can go from there.'' What followed was a comedy of errors. I was now able to perform all possible functions at the same time, even though I was straining at the gear shift and clutch. Headlights, turn signals, wipers, defroster, etc.
Next is the parallel parking test. I was practicing in my school's Chevrolet Nova, but I wasn't very good at it. How could you do that with this old Ford pickup truck? Thankfully, there were only two cars parked on the street where we did our test. One was at the front and his was at the other end. There was enough space to land a Boeing 737. I was lucky.
In an age when we're pumping money into schools for the latest technology, it seems strange that lessons that can keep teens alive are relatively low on the priority list.
David Carroll is a Chattanooga news anchor and his new book, “I Won't Be Your Escape Goat,” is available on his website, ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. 900 Whitehall Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405 or RadioTV2020@yahoo.com.