If you learned how to drive sometime in the last 80 years, there’s an extremely high probability that you learned a “Conventional Driver Training” (CDT) methodology. Want to set your new driver up for an accident? Teach them what you learned or have them take lessons from a regular (CDT) driving school. If the average licensed driver thinks their driving skills are so great and that “Conventional Driver Training” (CDT) is so damn good, then tell me why over the last 75 years, twice as many people in the U.S. have been killed in auto accidents compared to the number of U.S. soldiers that have been killed in….

ALL OF THE WARS FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR UP TO AND INCLUDING OUR CURRENT WAR.

Conventional Driver Training (developed in the 1930’s) is a plague that has permeated our society. Driving schools and parents teach it to new drivers with the best of intentions, but good intentions are no substitute for teaching a driver training methodology that steers drivers into having accidents.

In the late 1480’s and early 1490’s, the vast majority of society arrogantly believed that the earth was flat and their knowledge on the subject was beyond reproach…..

BECAUSE THEY KNEW THE EARTH WAS FLAT

Now, in 2017, the vast majority of society arrogantly believes that they know how to drive (and teach driving) and their knowledge on the subject is beyond reproach….

BECAUSE THEY KNOW HOW TO DRIVE (AND TEACH DRIVING)

The truth? As an expert on this subject, I can tell you that “people don’t know what they don’t know” and that includes the vast majority of parents and professional driving instructors.  Conventional Driver Training is a “Flat Earth” methodology and is killing thousands every year.  You can continue the problem or be part of the solution.

John Cullington

When I was a young child and I behaved in an inappropriate manner, my parents would call that “bad” behavior.  Bad meant bad.

Later on in my teenage years, I learned the meaning of “bad” had actually changed to mean “good”.  A bad concert or a bad car actually meant it was a really good concert or an awesome car.  Bad meant good.

Well, since “Bad” can mean “Good”, is it possible that “Good” can mean “Bad”?

The following is a list of statements that have been communicated to me by the “PARENTS” of the teenage drivers while they were observing me teach their children during their driver training lessons.

I tailgate…..but I’m a good driver.
I drive too fast….but I’m a good driver.
I roll stop signs…..but I’m a good driver.
I text while driving….but I’m a good driver.
I don’t always signal….but I’m a good driver.
I totaled a car last year….but I’m a good driver.
I ran into my garage door….but I’m a good driver.
I drive in “packs of traffic”….but I’m a good driver.
I’m afraid of driving at night….but I’m a good driver.
I rear-ended a car last week…..but I’m a good driver.
I roll red lights on right turns…….but I’m a good driver.
I have three speeding tickets…….but I’m a good driver.
I drive in other driver’s blind spots….but I’m a good driver.
I’m afraid of driving in heavy traffic…..but I’m a good driver.
I’m afraid of driving on the freeway……but I’m a good driver.
I’m afraid of driving on mountain roads…but I’m a good driver.
I sometimes hit the curb when parking next to it…but I’m a good driver.
I unsafely pull out in front of approaching drivers…but I’m a good driver.
I depend on my mirrors and don’t check my blind spots…..but I’m a good driver.
I sometimes cut other drivers off when making lane changes….but I’m a good driver.
I sometimes make lane changes into other driver’s blind spots…..but I’m a good driver.
I swerve around other drivers making a right turn in front of me without looking
….but I’m a good driver.
I forget to turn on my headlights when it’s raining (California requirement)
….but I’m a good driver.
I can’t park with wheels straight in the middle of a parking space
….but I’m a good driver.

The vast majority of drivers classify themselves as “good drivers”.  The harsh truth?  As an expert in the field of driver training for over 3 decades, I can honestly say without a doubt:

THE VAST MAJORITY OF DRIVERS ARE ……wait for it…….wait for it…..

                                          “BAD DRIVERS”.

Don’t believe me?  How can you explain 6.2 million accidents annually in the U.S. with 3.2 million of those accidents involving injuries?  Are all of those drivers good drivers?  How can you explain approximately 35,000 traffic deaths each year?  If our country is full of so many “Good Drivers” then why do thousands of these senseless deaths occur?  How can you explain that since 1949, almost twice as many people have been killed on U.S. highways compared to the number of U.S. soldiers that have been killed in all of the wars the U.S. has been involved in, going back to and including the Revolutionary War beginning in 1775?

Whatever happened to the goal of becoming, or having our children become, an “exceptional, expert, or extremely competent” driver?  Sadly, that goal has never been really prominent in our society…….it’s been supplanted by passing a pathetic 8-minute DMV driving exam and receiving a little piece of plastic called a driver’s license.  A driver’s license isn’t a goal, it’s just a piece of plastic.

The list presented above is by no means a complete list.  Review the list and see how many of those bad driving traits apply to your driving.  How many of those bad driving traits do you think your children/teenagers will adopt because, if mommy and daddy do it, then it must be OK for them to do when they start driving.  Parents will reap what they sow and bad driving traits are big bad dangerous seeds for new drivers. Please read my previous post The Education Program Most Likely to Kill to find out where a big part of the problem started.  Additionally, if you’re interested in fixing the problem, please take a look at the 5 Star Driver program I’ve developed.

John Cullington

While driving on Interstate 5 in Southern California just south of the 405 merger near Mission Viejo, a brand new yellow Corvette caught my eye.  Traffic was backed up and moving very slow, as is usual in this area.  I positioned myself in the #3 lane because it was obvious to me that this lane was moving faster than the #1 or #2 lanes.  The yellow Corvette was several hundred yards ahead of me and was darting in and out of the #1 and #2 lanes, cutting off other drivers and making them brake suddenly.  Because my lane was moving a little faster, it didn’t take long to pull up next to him even though he continued to try and catch any little space that might get him ahead of the next car.

I looked over at his license plate and it read:

Well, one would assume that this middle-aged gentleman probably attended and graduated from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), at least that’s what I assumed.  Then I began to wonder:

Why doesn’t this presumably intelligent man just get into the lane that’s moving faster instead of risking an accident with his nice new yellow Corvette by darting in and out of slower moving traffic?

I kept observing this gentleman for about 10 more minutes through my rear view mirrors, he continued to cut in and out of the #1 and #2 lanes until I was too far ahead to see him.  I then began to wonder:

Did the MIT on his license plate mean something different like:

Motorist in Training?

I guess I’ll never know.  One thing I do know, most drivers think that because they have a driver’s license, they automatically know everything there is to know about driving.  The qualifications to pass a driver’s license test are at best, the equivalent of a One Star Driver.

A Five Star Driver should be every driver’s goal.  Please check out my new

5 Star Driver Video Training Program at 5StarDriver.com.

John Cullington

I picked up Marina, a 19 year-old college freshman who was learning to drive.  This was her first driving lesson with an instructor but she had driven with her older sister a few times.  Marina seemed eager to “prove” to me she was already a good driver so I would give a good report to her father, fast-tracking her path to that all important California driver’s license.

Only one problem, she wasn’t a good driver.  Although she could operate my car with relative ease, she quickly learned that “operating a vehicle” and “driving a vehicle” are quite different.  Knowing how to stop at a 4-way stop-sign intersection didn’t give her the understanding of when it was her turn to go, the confusion and resulting close calls were immediately apparent.  Our entire lesson was filled with examples of these confusions relating to many different aspects of the driving experience.

When the lesson concluded, Marina looked at me with a big smile and asked, “Do you think I can pass my driving test”?

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I politely explained that she wasn’t ready to take her test and that she was still in the learning process.  I thought to myself:

How can a smart young girl ask a question like that after all of the examples of her
“not being a competent driver” were presented during the lesson?

Because she didn’t know what she didn’t know.

Marina had just completed her college freshman year so I asked,
“If your university offered you your 4-year BA / BS degree certificate right now without having to complete the next three years, would you accept it”?
Without hesitation she answered, “absolutely not”.

I asked her why and she said,
“I wouldn’t have the knowledge or skills I would need to pursue my career”.

I told Marina that since she would have a BA / BS certificate to show she was qualified, she could still pursue her career and her response was, “But I wouldn’t know what I was doing so it would be a very short career”.

I smiled and said, “Well, the minimum qualification to pass a drive test is like getting a 4-year degree after only one year but with one difference……if you don’t know what you’re doing in a car, it can kill you.  The drive test is only about 8 minutes and does not test the competency of a driver”.

Marina’s smiling face transformed into a more serious and concerned face….she was really thinking about what I said.  I hope Marina stops looking at the driver’s license as the goal and starts looking at becoming a 5 Star driver as the goal, her life may just depend on it.

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If you’re interested in helping your new driver become a 5 Star Driver, pick up my new
Creating a 5 Star Driver…Beyond Driver’s Ed™ Driver Training Video Series.

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John Cullington