It is now January 2026. I took driver’s training, let’s see…. 59 years ago? Obviously, there has been changes.
Since the COVID Pandemic a vast majority of drivers have apparently been given license to drive at any speed and any way they want. My three chief complaints are A: Tailgating B: Speed and C: Running Stoplights and in no particular order. Why? They are all genuine threats to life and limb. Basically, so many younger people (20-55?) have become suspended adolescents. There are few consequences now, other than crashes and occasionally death.
I have recently tried to drive at or below the posted speed limits. While this is not easy, particularly with my powerful vehicles, it has a few benefits. Better fuel economy…Check. Somewhat safer…Check. Opportunities to piss off the other drivers, Check (as long as one does not get shot). The mix between trucks going 65 and …well…assholes driving 80 to over 100mph means I either get stuck in a slower lane OR I get pushed into going much faster than frankly I should. What’s to do?
Well, that was my current situation. Let us turn back the clock and look at my actual high school driver’s training experiences.
First of all we were given cars. The local dealers would loan cars to the program. These would be usually equipped with an auxiliary brake for the ride alone instructor. The instructors were our regular high school teachers working as a summer job. So, we all knew them. The car I trained in with several other students was a Dodge Coronet 440. Yah, 440 cubic in V8 in a somewhat light car. More about that below.
We had classes to attend. One included the famous film I think was Highway 50 or something like that. It was essentially a horror reel of crashes to impress upon us the fragility of an automobile. And that was decades before the safety equipment we have now. Personally, I believe that walking a new driver through a parts recycling yard … ok JUNK yard with the smashed and twisted cars (implying death and mayhem) would be better.
And we drove. In addition to the regular local drives with our instructor (Mr. Whorey) we were tasked with taking a long highway trip. This was the big culmination of the several weeks of class and training. It would be several hundred miles. My friend Richard Wirtz, always a jokester, showed up for his trip carrying a teddy bear and a bible. As I recall, we had three plus instructor in our Coronet 440. From Marshall Michigan (where I supposedly grew up….denied!) we drove to Lansing, then Saginaw/Bay City, then Detroit and finally back to Marshall. Yah, all day.
On I-94 on our return portion I was at the wheel when the opportunity to pass came along. We were taught to allow for additional speed to facilitate the passing. I took that opportunity to get out land rocket 440 quickly up to 95 mph. Mr. Whorey, pretty unphased, suggested I complete the maneuver and get back in line, literally. Yah…. I totally enjoyed doing that.
I really don’t know what “they” are doing now to teach kids how to drive. If they are trying, it largely isn’t working. I see commercial driving school cars from time to time, but that isn’t the program I enjoyed. In the meantime, I will strive to keep my speed down and my attention to getting there without death or drama.