Learn-2-Drive, Better! Presented by the Alaska Driving Academy
Episode #5 - Hey did you know?
We'd like to welcome our listeners to another episode of learn to drive better podcast presented by the Alaska Driving Academy. I am coach Chris and I am Miss Misty and we want to do a special shout out to Jake Stutzman and the Jake Stutzman band for intro music for our podcast. Jake's good friends with us and he is affectionately known as Jake from State Farm, Jake from State Farm. you can get, his music on all the major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple music, YouTube, et cetera. He has five singles out currently and one where he's collaborated with another band. So we want to support our friends, Jake recently moved away from Alaska down to the lower 48, but we want to make sure that we give him a plug and make sure everybody knows that that's where we got our music from. Yes. Jake's an amazing person and we really appreciate all his hard work so today's podcast, it's a doozy. It is. We were just talking about what we're going to name it and, uh, I'm not sure how we're going to name it. this episode today, we decided that we wanted to talk about all those crazy things that we see on the road that people do, because I think most of it is just people are unaware of what the actual law is when it comes to that particular maneuver or, driving situation. We're not the only ones. I know everybody sees, we're out on the road and we see somebody do something super crazy and like, what the heck was that all about? Right? Yes. And I think it's just a lot of it is just honestly, people get offended, they get offended, but I think it's just ignorance of like how they're supposed to handle themselves out there. There's something that we always talk about when it comes to driving. And it's, it's really that we need to share the roadway with others. Yes. And I think a lot of people are out there and they're very selfish about their driving. they only care about themselves and they don't realize that their actions affect everybody else that's out there. What is it that you say driving's? Driving is an act of patience. Right, and that's something that you always communicate with your students that Every day. Yeah, and, we shouldn't be in a hurry when we're driving. We should be taking our time and being considerate of others. And, I, I think in life, everybody has done something really stupid, not just in driving, just in life in general. Yeah. Just general stuff. I think we've all done something really stupid and a lot of it just comes from being impatient or in a hurry or just not thinking the process through. Yep. Okay. And unfortunately, when it's done in a vehicle, it can be tragic. Yes. Yeah. To not just that person, but other motorists on the road, pedestrians, et cetera, everybody that's around that situation. So, we just wanted to kind of call out a couple of situations that we see. and address, the issues with that driving situation. And maybe if you're somebody that has seen this and has done this, maybe it'll be a wake up call of like, I had no idea what I was doing and how it affected other motorists out there. And if you know somebody that has done one of these, maybe you can educate them. Yes. Okay. that's all we're trying to do. We're trying to educate people. We've said from day one, we're not, we're not doing this because we think we're better than other people. We're not gurus. We're not the smartest people in the world. Right. We've made mistakes, just trying to help people be better when they're out there. Yeah. And in the process we're learning too. Every day. And we're getting better. Yes. Every day. so let's start off with something basic. Let's start off with the four way stop. Okay. Okay. There's a lot of people out there that are very unaware of what the four way stop entails as far as the law. Okay. And etiquette. There you go. And some etiquette. Yes. So, let's begin with this. As you approach a four way stop, we need to look at the first rule of thumb, which is first come. First serve. First serve. Yes. Okay. As we approach, we need to be very aware that we're approaching a four way stop. How do we know that it's a four way stop? Usually right below the stop sign, it says four way. There you go. There's a little red dot. placard there. Yep. There's a little red plate that says four way. Okay. So if you're really paying attention, To this intersection, you'll not only see the stop sign, but you'll see That there is a four way plate right below the stop sign What's a do you know another way that you can recognize that it is a four way stop? I want to say reading the intersection, but It is reading the intersection And part of that is as you stop if you look at all four corners, I always ask students this What is a silver sign? That has eight sides on it. Stop sign. It is the back of a stop sign. It's the most recognizable sign. Even if there's no words on it, you know what it means. Right. Doesn't matter the color or what the words say on it. It could be in a foreign language, right? But I don't have to see that it's red. If I can see that it's eight sided. And it's silver. It's just the back side of it. So I know what the front side says. Yes. Okay. So the first thing is sizing up the intersection and realizing what kind of intersection that you're approaching, right? Yes. As you're approaching and coming to a complete stop, observing other people that are approaching that intersection as well. That way you are aware of the first come, first serve rule. Okay? You can't do that if you're completely unaware of when other motorists approached and stopped at that intersection. Remember, we can't be selfish when we drive. We have to share the roadway with other motorists. So as we approach, the first rule of thumb is first come, first serve. If I'm the first one there, I'm the first one to leave. I'm the first one to leave. If I'm the second one there, I'm the second one to leave. I'm the second one to leave. Now, sometimes it's not clear who stopped first. Or you might've stopped at the same time. Right. Right. Right. We're very close to each other, right? And again, we don't want to make assumptions that they're giving us the roadway, right? Right. So we fall into the second rule, always yield to the person stopped on your right. Yes. So if you're at an intersection and there is a vehicle to the right that came to the intersection. At a reasonably same time that you did, yield the right of way to them first, allow them to cross intersection, and then it would be your turn. Okay? Now, if there are three of you, he may have to yield to somebody to his right first. Yes. So, as long as he's sitting there and he's yielding to someone else, we're going to sit there and yield to them. Yes. Okay. What is something else that you can do at an intersection that would help communicate with others that you're going to give the right away? Usually you give the wave right and make eye contact when you're doing it. Exactly. We want to make eye contact with other motorists because that will tell us if they're paying attention to us. If they're locked on another vehicle or they're locked on a pedestrian and a crosswalk or they're just not paying attention, we need to be aware of that because I'm not going to assume at this point they even know that we're there. They might not even realize who came first. As well. They may be completely unaware of what the law is when it comes to this intersection. They're just going to come to a stop and they're going to go, right? Okay. So eye contact is an excellent way to determine whether or not other motorists are aware, but giving the wave, sometimes I may have the right away, but I want to give it to somebody because I might be driving slower. Yes. I might be with somebody that, you know, has less experience and like we do with. When I'm on my lessons, a lot of times I will have, the student give the other driver a wave so they can just be out of our way and we'll be behind them. Right. We know we're going to be driving slower. So go ahead. We do have the right away, but go ahead and let them get ahead of us. That way we're not holding up traffic. We might be driving with a heavy load. We might be, driving with a trailer. Right. Mm hmm. There might be a situation where we would be driving under the speed limit to be cautious, right? Yes. Other than having a new driver. And we want to give the right of way. That way we're not impeding traffic cause we're sharing the roadway and we don't want to impede on their ability to get where they're going. Right. Okay. So, I think that pretty much clears up four way intersections, four way stops. Four way stops, yes. Four way stops. that's a pretty common one that we see in a lot of communities. And I see a lot of people that don't abide by this. They, they come to a stop and they're just going. And, you know, I think a lot of it is your sense of awareness at these intersections to ensure that. I'm overcautious. Yes. And I don't mean overcautious to the point where You're sitting there forever. Right. It's enabling me to not go anywhere, right? I don't want to be incapacitated because of my caution. No, but we just want to make sure that we're aware of our surroundings. Right. a lot of us have a lot invested in the vehicle that we're driving. Yes. Some of us are invested for years in tens of thousands of dollars, right? especially with the price of automobiles in the last few years skyrocketing. So protect that investment. Assume other people aren't as invested in their vehicle as you are with yours. Okay. So, always give the right away, always be aware at intersections and just, be aware. Use caution. we're talking about intersections, right? Let's talk about this one. You're at an intersection and you want to merge with traffic by turning right onto the roadway. Okay. I could have a stop sign. I could have a red light. I am yielding to traffic that has the right away their flow, and I'm looking for an opening so that I can pull out and start merging with traffic. Okay. I see this a lot as people that are on the roadway that has the right away, they approach that intersection and they make a lane change. as they're approaching or in the middle of the intersection. No, no. Yeah. Now we all know what solid lines and dashed lines on the road represent. Okay. Solid lines mean that we do not do anything. We stay in our lane, right? We cannot make a pass. Right. And it doesn't matter if we're passing, with traffic that's going the same direction or passing going into oncoming traffic. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if it's a white or a yellow solid line. There is no passing, no passing. Yes. Now, if we have a dashed line passing or changing lanes is allowed, is allowed. Exactly. So I don't know if a lot of people are aware of this, but as you approach an intersection, you will see the white or yellow lines go from being dashed to solid. Usually 50 to 100 feet before the intersection. Okay. One that's most common is we have a two lane road. That means two lanes of traffic go in the same direction as you approach the intersection. And the most dangerous one is the person that's in the furthest lane from you. The left lane. And as they come to the intersection, they want to make a lane change into the right lane. Just as I'm trying to merge into that lane. Thinking that it's open. Thinking that, yeah, there is no flow of traffic and that I have the right of way. And now you're impeding that. When you approach an intersection, you're locked into your lane. until you're through the intersection and even through the intersection, you'll notice that there is another 50 to a hundred feet of solid white line, solid white lines. So you were locked in entering. During and after that intersection to the lane that you've chosen as you approach. So making a lane change right there now is affecting other motorists. It's putting us in danger because you're doing something very unexpected. Yes. And, I see it a lot. We do. We see it a lot. and not always do people signal to let people know that or communicate that they're going to do something like that, that they're going to do something like that. So as I approach and I make that stop and I'm yielding and I see an opening and I try to pull out, I have that person that makes that lane change and then we can have a collision or someone has to make a very invasive maneuver to avoid each other. Right. And, you know, all of these things that we're going to talk about today could set off a road raid situation, right? Yes. Depending on situations. Yes. Very much so. And people don't get that, but I do. I mean, if you have a lot of time and money invested in some, something such as a vehicle and someone's putting that. investment in danger, it can be very personable. Yes. Right. Or just simply the fact you're putting me at risk. And you're, if your family in the car, right. Yeah. You have your family or loved ones in the car and you're putting us all at risk because you're just being careless in how you are navigating down the road. Right. So, like I said earlier, a lot of this comes from, play. Ignorance of the law. They just don't know what the law is when it comes to these things. And I always say ignorance doesn't mean innocence. Well, I didn't know, well, that doesn't make it okay. Exactly. These are really good tips to help, especially with the newly licensed driver. And for those that have been driving for a long time, they just didn't, they weren't aware of that. Right. Right. Just be more aware of your driving situation and how it affects others. Okay. So that's another situation that we see. Okay. There's a really good one coming up. We'll go ahead. The center turn lane. Ooh, that's a very good one. There's a couple of things that go on with this. There's a lot of things that go on with this. Right. And center turn lanes aren't always, you know, they're not always present in all communities. True. Or are they only on certain roads? I see a lot of communities that don't have center turn lanes at all. And then I see communities that have them on their major roadways like we do through our town. So let's talk about the first one that we see. People think that the center turn lane. It is a merge lane to pull out and to accelerate and use it to merge with traffic that they're trying to, get into. And this is a major no no. It is not a merge lane. A merge lane. It is a center turn lane. Yes. So, let's go over the law of what it's used for and the only purpose that it's used for. The only purpose that the center turn lane is used for is as you're traveling down the roadway. You are to merge to the left into it because you are making a left hand turn. You're turning left. You're turning left. That's all. That is the only purpose for that lane. It's basically to get you out of the flow of traffic so you can make your left turn safely and the people behind you can go about their day. There you go. It keeps that left lane. consistently moving and not having to deal with traffic that has to slow down and make a left turn a left turn. That is its sole and only purpose. A lot of people use it as a. Merge lane when they're pulling out onto that roadway that has a center turn lane And they are trying to merge with the traffic heading to the left They're going to go over the lanes that are heading to their right And they want to head to their left and they clear the lanes coming from their left, right? They're coming from left to right and they clear those lanes and sometimes it's one or two or maybe even three lanes of traffic. And what they're doing is they're only focusing on one direction. Yes. I will clear the traffic to my left so that I can get in the center turn lane and then once I'm in that center turn lane, then I will merge over into that first lane of traffic and we have an intersection just like this posted right in front of where we are here in Saldana. Where we're based out of in the mall. We have a left hand, exit where you can make a left or a right. And every summer we have multiple accidents of motorists trying to come out of the mall and make a left there. And they get into a collision with somebody that's using it properly. They're coming from that direction that's being used properly and they're merging over, but the one they don't see is the one to their right, that lane that they're trying to merge with, they're ignoring it. They're just trying to do baby steps. They're going to go out to the middle and then they're going to merge over. But what they don't realize is that there's traffic coming from their right and they've merged into that lane because they're pulling into the mall as well. They're going to make a left into the mall. And because your eyes are only looking to the left, you don't see that person in the center turn lane and they pull out and there is a major collision right there. At least once a year. At least once a year. Yes. So if you're unaware of this, that center turn lane between the yellow lines is for turning left when you're on the roadway that has the center turn lane not coming off another roadway using it as a merge and acceleration lane. No. Okay. So I hope if you're unaware of that, That this clears up things. Okay. Now this isn't the only problem that I see with the center churn lane. I see another issue with the center churn lane that we see with new motorists. And it's kind of dangerous, actually. It is. The motorist is inexperienced and they don't recognize that there is that lane that they can merge to the left to get out of traffic so that they can make a left hand turn. And they make that left hand turn From the lane that should be the free flowing lane. Right, from the lane that they're traveling in. Yes. And now they're What's happening is they're slowing down, which is impeding traffic, which is not what's supposed to happen, right? You're impeding the flow of traffic and Someone isn't aware of what's going on. So we have seen where the center turn lane is used as a passing lane Yes. And the motorist behind them decides, I'm going to swing to the left, use the center turn lane to pass the vehicle that's slowing down in front of me unexpectedly, and not aware that they're about ready to make a left hand turn from the wrong lane. And now we have a collision in the center turn lane. Yes. Okay. So there's two people at fault on that one. One, the first driver who's not using the center turn lane when they should. Yes. To turn left. And the person behind them that is impatient. There you go. Impatient. we're in a hurry, right? Right. What is 10 seconds to wait to see what is this person doing? Okay. Yep. And I don't get it. I mean, if that person was having a car issue, wouldn't you want to maybe assist them in getting their vehicle out of the roadway? Right. Maybe hit your four way flashers to let traffic behind you, let them know that, hey, there's a vehicle in front that's slowing unexpectedly. I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to let traffic behind me know, hey, There's an issue up here, right? And if they make the left hand turn and you shrug your shoulders and go, well, there went somebody that was unaware of what the law was. They didn't use the roadway properly. And because I was patient, I was able to keep myself out of harm's way. Yes, exactly. Yeah. And look at that investment that I have. Remember all that time and all that. Tens of thousands of dollars is okay. Everybody in the vehicle is okay, but it's an act of not being patient where we have the double whammy, right? And we see it with young drivers. I've had it with me when I've, taken. New drivers out on their road exam. Yes, we are. We are state examiners here for the state of Alaska to test, for class D licenses. there's a road that we go down that has a center churn lane. And part of the test is to determine whether they use the lane and they merge at the right time, they decelerate properly, have their signal on properly. And they wait for a proper space and traffic to negotiate the A left hand turn right there and I've had it happen where I'm instructing them that they need to make a left. We don't merge in and not only do they not signal, not only do they not merge, but sometimes they make that turn going the same speed that they started off with. Right? So in my mind, you know, the road I'm thinking of the speed limits 25 miles an hour. So, in my mind, I'm thinking, well, they don't understand the instructions. They're not going to make this turn and I'm going to have to give them an alternate turn so that we can get to the roadway that we really need because they just missed the one that I wanted them to. And I've had them make that severe left hand turn. Still make the turn. And still make the turn. And I'm just like, oh my gosh. It's fun out there. It is. But there's a lot of people out there that. How do I say this? I wish everybody would take A driver's improvement course and not to promote our business, no, just to help the safety of everyone that we're on the road with, right? Because we talk about that situation in class. We talk about center turn lanes. We talk about four way intersections and they're aware of it. Even if they've been driving with their parents. And their parents have not exposed them to that kind of situation, or maybe their parent hasn't explained what the rule is. I get a lot of students, I ask them what the rule is of a four way stop, and they're not aware of it. They're completely like, I have no idea. They know they need to stop. They just don't know the etiquette. See of the stop. Right. And, you know, it's just a little bit of knowledge that really changes how they drive out there. All of a sudden, they're completely different motorists just with a little bit of knowledge. So the test that I've taken with new drivers They haven't been our students. Those have been, the walk ins, you know, the scheduled, I'm just going to take my test. I've been driving for a few years or a few months or a few days or whatever. And they come in and. And they don't, they're not aware of it. They may have never had a turn lane like that in any of the driving situations that they've ever used. So they don't even know how to use it. Yes. Right. So I do, I just wish everybody would, some states have made it a requirement now where you have to go and take a driver improvements court course. Alaska will never do that just because the way our communities are in the state of Alaska. It'll never happen here. But. It's worth that investment for your safety and your peace of mind. Well, I'm not even talking about the person taking them or thinking about the parent. Right. It's worth, it's worth it to them to protect their loved one to go, Hey, you know what, I'm going to put you through this course. And even if you only learn one thing that you didn't know, it could be the one thing that saves them someday. Yes. Right. So, if you're out there, if you have somebody that, you know, a loved one that's getting to that age that needs to get their license, I really suggest that you consider using a driver improvement course to help educate them, to make them a better driver. Yes. and listen to them and if they ever ask questions, please take the time to, Or that moment to educate them on what they're asking. don't blow it off as like, it's not a big deal. It is a big deal. Yes. Okay. So I think that covers center turn lanes. my big pet peeve there. Yeah. Yes. the next one I think would be, roundabouts. Oh, I love those too. Yeah. in our community, we just recently have gotten new roundabouts. We have three of them now. they're smaller ones. and a lot of people have different thoughts on them. My thought about a roundabout is this. Roundabouts have been used in Europe for a long time now and they're not a big deal. I think sometimes as Americans, we get very used to what we do when we're introduced to something new, even though it might be better for the flow of traffic or for safety. We look at it as an inconvenience because we have to learn something new. Roundabouts were designed specifically for two purposes, one, to keep traffic moving at all times so that you wouldn't have to come to a stop. You just have to yield long enough to make sure that the roundabout is clear so that you can enter it. And number two. Safety. Safety. Okay. So let's talk about the rules of a roundabout. I get a lot of students that come into our class. I ask them what the rule of the roundabout is, and they tell me the rule for a four way stop. First come, first serve. That is not safe. The rule for roundabout as you approach around about, you will notice that roundabouts have yield signs as you approach. So the rule is simple. The motorist in the roundabout has the right away. Okay. The motorists. in the roundabout. That means they're doing the circle. They're doing their business. They have the right away. All motorists entering the roundabout must yield to traffic already In the roundabout. So I always tell motorists that it's really simple. As you approach a roundabout, yield to anybody in the roundabout to your left. If you look to your left, you will see if there's any traffic that's in the roundabout that you would impede if you entered. Okay, now if there is somebody in the roundabout and they're on the other side, I can enter the roundabout without impeding their flow. If there's somebody in the roundabout to the right, they have three quarters of the roundabout to even go through before I would impede them. So I can go in and enter the roundabout. The only person I'm worried about is the person immediately to my left. If there's somebody there, they have. The right away. Now, I always say the most dangerous thing about a roundabout is not entering it because you control that. The dangerous part about a roundabout is being in the roundabout and having somebody enter that doesn't understand the rules and the laws. I can see that because they're entering at the wrong time. So I'm in the roundabout, there's a person approaching and instead of yielding to me, they come right on in. Yes. But again, if you're aware of your surroundings and you're cautious, you're expecting that person to do what they're not supposed to do. Yes. You've planned for it. We've planned for it. So I control that, right? Should we stop in the roundabout? No, no, because stopping in the roundabout is going to impede all the traffic within the roundabout. That's flowing in the roundabout. Now, the exception would be if someone enters and doesn't follow the laws and the protocols and it compels me to stop to prevent something from happening, right? To prevent a collision. Yes. Right. So, I hope that really helps with roundabouts. now there's all different styles of roundabouts. You know, two lanes entering, one lane in, one lane out, all that sort of stuff. Really just pay attention to the signs as you approach them. Our goal today isn't really to detail breakdown once you're in roundabouts because there are probably 15 different styles of them, but really the danger of roundabouts is not understanding how to enter, right? You must. Yield to traffic in the roundabout traffic You can get in that roundabout and do circles all day long traffic is not supposed to impede you at any point If they're entering Okay so hopefully that helps because like for us down here in soldana up till what, four or five years ago, we never had roundabouts. So people that lived in this area their entire lives have never had to deal with them. They've never had to be knowledgeable about them. And I'll tell you, the first few years we've had them, we had a lot of collisions. Yes. Or people would just drive right over the top of them. Right. Yeah. So, again, it's just knowledge, right? It's just being a little bit aware of different situations and understanding there are solid white lines entering intersections. Yes. There are special intent for. Center turn lanes. Center turn lanes, it's kind of in the name if you think about it, it is, but Apparently, not everybody knows what the name of it is because they still use it for other purposes or don't use it at all. That's true. They understand what the rules are for entering, a four way stop. And a roundabout as well. And a roundabout. Yes. So hopefully this short little podcast has kind of enlightened somebody to go, you know what? I never knew that. Or I was not aware of that. And we can help educate drivers out there and make the roadway safe for all of us. Right? hopefully this helped educate all of our listeners and keep them safer. And even if you did know these regulations, these laws, these rules that you can pass them on to others that are not quite as aware, some things a little shady and you know, it'll just make us all safer out there. It really will. so again, to end our podcast, we always ask our listeners to, give us their input, let us know what they think of our, episodes, the subjects that we're covering, give us some input on things that you think need to be covered. Some knowledge that needs to be explained to motorist out there to help. Yes. And to, give us some input on some things that you use, some tactics that you use to help keep yourself safer out there. So if you have one of these, suggestions or topics or things that you want to comment about. You can get ahold of us at aada dot mailbag@gmail.com. Okay. Again, it's at aada. How you doing that? Aada dot mailbag@gmail.com. I have a lot of fun doing these. All right. Well, Hey, got it. Got to make it fun somehow, right? Yes, we do. All right. So, like I said, we, we wanted to make sure that we were thinking Jake Stutzman today for his, intro music for us. And we appreciate him very much in the Jake Stutzman's band. Please check him out on. One of the streaming, platforms streaming platforms out there to be able to, take a listen to some of the stuff that he has developed. And, until next time, this is coach Chris and Miss Misty signing off. Bye bye.