Driver Class
I started taking a driver's class - figured its about time I get around to acquiring a permit (long story short: overprotective mother overprotected her car and told her daughter she wasn't good enough to drive for a long time. Now over-encouraging s/o insists she must learn!). Yeah it was kinda pooey to drop $550 - but looking at it in the long run, it cuts the insurance bill in half. I practically make it up the first month for insurance costs. The other great thing: they teach about everything you need to know about it. One primary thing is defensive driving. Lets face it, there are a lot of really crazy people here in town who do really strange things like, oh say, not stop for pedestrians (like me, currently).
At the same time I'm getting a certain anxiety. Will I pass the test? Will I crash the car out of having no idea what to do? - Of course this region has a lot of things to be anxious about normally too, like moose. Moose are bloody scary to have the possibility of darting out in front of your car, so being taught in this thing about how to try avoiding them and what to do if you do inevitably hit a moose. And all that stuff under the hood makes me anxious too, I wouldn't know how to take care of the vehicle - an engine looks like stringy spaghetti to me. I'm mechanically challenged in the same way my elder family members are computer challenged.
Covered a lot of things today (visualize your brain being smacked several times with a large, thick textbook to cover the day of trying to get it all in there) - topic on road rage was very helpful. As I said, people are crazy! I am VERY happy they covered it, because coming from a city, there sure was a lot of it and it helps to know what to do if someone starts raging at you. Most importantly, how to deal with the dangerously psychotic level of road rage where they begin using their vehicle as a weapon or heck, perhaps they pull out a weapon (tire iron, gun, etc) and start attacking!
Anyhow - its all a lot to soak up and I'm no sponge. But if you can and are just starting out in a car, get yourself into one of these courses. Not cheap but sure worth every dollar thrown into it...
Hope I pass (again, I sure am not a sponge)!
Originally Posted by RuneDragoon
Elk love bouncing off the sides of cars where I'm at. I can only imagine what would happen when a moose decides to give you a tap. 
