Please Check Out Our New Blog

http://www.CullingtonDrivingConcepts.com

Teaching Teens To Drive Diagnosed With ADD, ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, or Bipolar Disorder

Having been an active instructor for almost 30 years, the answer is simple.  You teach teens diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, Asperger's syndrome, or Bipolar disorder the way they need to be taught.  That's it, just teach them the way they learn best and the problem is solved.

Over the last several decades, labeling kids seems to have become a national past-time.  It seems like the teens that are looked upon as "normal" escape the labeling process but the teens diagnosed with disorders listed in the title of this post, have big labels pasted on their foreheads. When it comes to teaching driving, I've found these labels create more of a hindrance than they help. In fact, I don't think they help at all.

I think these labels are used by some professionals to hide their own ignorance and/or inability. It's so much easier for a professional to say, "Your teen has (enter label) and that's why he can't learn how to drive like a normal teen". What this "professional" is really saying, "This teen doesn't respond to my teaching method like most of the other teens do and I don't have the knowledge, capability, or want to put out the effort to alter my method of teaching".  The difference between a professional and an expert? An expert makes the necessary changes and adaptations to surpass all others .... a professional doesn't.

There are several different learning styles and no two students learn exactly the same way.  If a teen learns how to drive in a very short amount of time, they might be labeled as gifted or normal.  If a teens takes a long time to learn how to drive, the labels aren't quite as inspiring. This apparently easy method of assessing the driving competency of a teen is dangerous.  Many times, the fast learning (normal) student may learn "too quickly" without respecting their mortality and fails to lock in all of the safe driving attributes presented, leaving hidden knowledge gaps.  This situation creates the illusion of a competent driver.  A slower learning student is usually more concerned about their mortality and strives harder to keep all of the safe driving attributes in place by making sure they fully understand all of the presented knowledge.  Very often, the slower learning student turns out to be the better driver so how quickly one learns is irrelevant.

Whenever I have a student where the parent has warned me of (enter label), here's what I say to the student:

Instructor:  I've been told that you've been diagnosed with (enter label). I don't care about labels in this car. Do you really want to learn how to drive?

Student: Yes

Instructor:  If I were to place $1 million in cash on the dashboard and tell you that you could keep the $1 million if you keep 100% of your attention on learning how to drive during this two-hour lesson, would you do it? 

Student: Yes  

Instructor:  If I take away the $1 million, have I taken away your ability to keep your attention on the lesson? 

Student:  No.  

Instructor:  So you have the ability to keep your attention on learning how to drive but it's still your choice to do so. Do you choose to keep your attention on this lesson for the full two-hours?

Student: Yes

I now have a commitment from the student and I'll remind them of it whenever their attention starts to lapse, which it will, so expect it and accept it.  You can only teach a student as fast as their ability to learn allows so be extremely patient and extremely thorough. It really doesn't matter whether a student learns slow or fast, the only thing that's important is that the student learns completely in order to become a competent and safe driver.  

John Cullington

Are Parents The Most Effective Driving Instructors For Their Teens?

Parents care about their children more than anyone else but the system appears to be set up for parents to fail.  When it comes to making sure their teen knows how to drive "strategically-safe", I've found that many parents not only fail, but fail miserably.  The problem arises from the following.

First, the driver education industry in this country is largely inept.  This industry primarily focuses on teaching new drivers the rules-of-the-road along with proper driver behavioral attitudes in order to make them safe drivers.
While driving rules and behavioral attitudes are important parts of being a safe driver, the industry fails to inject the most important part.....Driving Strategies! Folks, it's like playing a game of Chess and only knowing the rules. Without knowing the strategies of Chess, you would probably lose the game.

Second, parents are charged with practicing the driving skills with their teens.  Knowing how to "drive" and knowing how to "teach driving" are two entirely different skills yet most people assume they are the same.  They're not. Parents usually pass on to teens their own driving habits, both good and bad, without even realizing it.

Third, the DMV's driving exams are truly lacking. In California, I've personally witnessed a 6 minute drive test with the normal test lasting between 7 and 12 minutes.  The skill level needed to pass these exams is extremely low setting up the new driver to believe they are competent, qualified and safe.  These extremely minimal standards, as far as I'm concerned, are the main reason why driving is the #1 killer of teens.

To answer the question above:  If parents take the time to educate themselves on the strategies of driving (and of teaching driving) along with the rules-of-the-road, then the answer is "yes", they are the most effective driving instructors for their teens. If the parents don't bother educating themselves, then the answer is "no" and the new teen driver has to take their chances with an inept driver education industry.....the same industry that hasn't been able to prevent driving from being the #1 killer of teenagers over the last 70+ years.



  

Distracted Teen Driving: Applying the Correct Fix.

There has been a lot of press about the problem with distracted teen drivers primarily due to texting and the use of cell phones in general.  With the focus being on the evil "cell phone" or in other words, the "object", it's easy to say, "just put down the cell phone and the problem is solved".  It isn't solved!  The #1 killer of teenagers is driving and that statistic occurred long before cell phones were even invented.

The real problem lies with the lack of proper driver training.  Distractions are everywhere and they come in all shapes and sizes but one of the most dangerous distractions is: Thinking about something that has nothing to do with what you are doing at the present time.  If while you are driving and you start thinking about something else other than driving, that is distracted driving.

We cannot eliminate distractions, it's impossible.  What we can do is to teach the student driver not to be the effect of distractions ......... I always tell my students that nobody can distract you without your permission.

I wrote a section in my book titled, "Distractions: The Problem and the Training Solution".  As an expert in the field of driver training, I've found that distractions are an extremely important part of their driver training.  During the more advanced parts of their training, I purposely try to distract my students into making mistakes (like turning the wrong way on a one-way street) while simply talking with them about their boyfriend, girlfriend, grades, sports, etc.  I make it a training game, a distraction training game.  Of course I won't let my students make the mistakes but I prove to them, the mistakes would have been made had I not been there to stop them.

The realization by the student driver that by continuing to distract them into making major mistakes while they were expecting the distraction is a very powerful training tool because the student realizes they could easily be distracted by their best friend when they weren't expecting it.  The more distraction training you give a driver, the greater their ability to resist being distracted.

I spent over eight hours of intense distraction training with my daughter and was rewarded when she took her first trip to San Francisco at age 17.  She called me and thanked me for all of the distraction training I gave her because as she put it, "it isn't that hard to drive in San Francisco in fact, it's pretty easy."

If you don't teach a student driver how to control their own attention, you condemm them to the effects of distractions.  Giving the student the ability to control their own attention is the key.

John Cullington

Drive Safe ... Are These Empty Words?

You've just spent the holidays with your family from out of town and they're getting ready to hit the road to return home.  As they start to drive away you wave and say, "Drive safe".  Why do we say these words? Do we say this thinking our words will actually have a positive effect on the way they'll drive on the way home or has this phrase just become the polite thing to say to express our love and concern.

When someone says to us "Drive Safe", do we conscientiously process a plan different from our normal driving patterns in order to drive safer?  I don't think we do.  I think the normal response and/or thought process is to politely wave as if to say thank you for their concern and drive away believing that we already know how to drive safe.

So lets talk about safety.  Over the last 10 years, 392,603 men, women, and children were killed in traffic accidents along with over 3 million injuries (per year).....and that's just in the U.S alone.  Of those traffic injuries and deaths, 16% are attributable to teenage drivers while 84% are attributable to adult drivers.

There are 2 major aspects to safe driving:

1. Skill
2. Behavior

Both are important to safe driving but telling someone to "Drive Safe" is really only addressing the behavior aspect of driving and since most drivers already believe they know how to drive safe, the words basically fall on deaf ears.

Try something new.  When you want your words to have a real impact, address the "skill" side of the equation.  Example:  Hey Uncle Joe, on your way home please don't be in a hurry.  Keep an extra large following distance so you can control the traffic behind you.  Don't drive in other vehicle's blind spots and please don't make lane changes into other vehicle's blind spots that are two lanes over. Also, when you stop to get snacks at the market, make sure the kids know that the little white lights on the back of cars in the parking lot tell them the car is in reverse and getting ready to back up so they should never walk behind those cars. Hey Aunt Mable, I know you're upset that Uncle Joe didn't get you that 5 carat diamond pendant for Christmas but please wait until after you get home to discuss it, I don't want Uncle Joe to be emotionally distracted from his driving.  Apply these SKILLS and you will all get home safe.

Now which method do you think would more effective in preventing accidents?

John

P.S.  If you'd like to know how Uncle Joe can control traffic by keeping an extra large space in front of him, pick up my book, "The Cullington Driving Concepts...Empowering Parents To Teach Crash-Proof Driving" available through this blog.

   

Who Profits From Traffic Accidents?

When I ask people this question, their first response is usually, "Insurance Companies".  When I tell them those insurance companies are the ones that have to pay for the damages and they (insurance companies) make more money when they "don't have to pay", they usually give me a blank look.  Just who makes money when you have an accident?  Auto manufacturers, lawyers, doctors, hospitals, rehab specialists, ambulance companies, police officers, firemen, tow-truck operators, body shops, car rental agencies, wrecking yards, and mortuaries.....the list goes on and on.  Additionally, there are a myriad of non-profits and governmental agencies that get millions of dollars to study the problem, wouldn't their funding dry up if the problem were solved?

It's no wonder the "Driving Death Dilemma" hasn't been solved in this country, too many people are financially dependent on it.  Over the last 10 years of the Iraq / Afghanistan war, 6,800 U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat.  Now compare that number to the 392,600 men, women, and children killed in traffic accidents (during the same 10 year period) in the U.S. alone. Where's the outrage?  The driver education industry in this country is woefully inept but it probably won't change because a lot of people are financially dependent on it not changing.  What are your thoughts? 

Pushing Driver Training to the Back of the Line

It's back to school time and everyone is rushing around trying to get acclimated to their new schedules so let's put those driver training lessons on the back burner.  There just isn't time with football and cheer practices going on every day after school and you can't take your teenager out of class to take their driver training lessons.....after all, it's only driving.  Let's squeeze in their driving lessons in the evening after a full day of school and after they finish football practice, when they're dead tired is surely the best time for our teens to learn the most dangerous activity they'll do in their lives.

Are you insane?  It's only driving?  Driving is the #1 killer of teenagers and has been for the last 70 years.  We want our children to get good grades so they can get into a good college or university but the one activity they'll do almost every day of their lives is drive.  So they get accepted to Cal or Stanford, they still have to drive there.  You want to risk getting that knock on your door at 3:00am?  In actuality, driver training is more important than all of the other school classes and activities because driving is the #1 killer of teenagers.  I checked and couldn't find the number of teenagers killed because they missed a Spanish or Geography class.  By the way, driving is also the #1 killer of 4 year-olds to 34 year-olds. Take your teenager out of school for their driving lessons when they're fresh and rested so they can assimilate as much information about safe driving as possible.