In the driver’s seat

When someone says “I’m a farm kid” you can probably make some general assumptions about their childhood – among them that they got behind a steering wheel long before their feet could reach the pedals and they were often “In The Driver’s Seat” long before they were eligible for a driver’s license. I’m one of those kids.

I started with the John Deere lawnmower at the age of five, was plowing the snow by the age of ten, and drove the pick-up truck across the fields to get firewood by the time I was twelve. I was a natural – just ask me.

The first lessons working with farm machinery are related to safety. The farmer next door, my parents, and my boss today reinforced then and now the need for gloves, safety glasses, ear protection, steel-toed boots, and long pants. Driving a car is no different. You simply can’t dismiss being cautious. My parents insisted I take Driver’s Ed when I was sixteen even though I already had hours of driving on our property and a tractor safety certificate which allowed me to drive a tractor on roadways.

I was cocky about it and certain it would be a silly class useful only for the insurance break.

The reality was different. The comfortable speed of a tractor or the plodding pace of the snowplow was no match for what happened on the roads in a car. I went into a driver’s education course with a fundamental understanding of vehicle control and traffic maneuvers. I then learned how to safely operate a vehicle on busy interstates, at night, and during other dangerous driving circumstances. Although it may seem unimportant, our instructor stressed the importance of adjusting a vehicle’s steering wheel, seat, and rear and side-view mirrors. We practiced “communicating while driving” by using turn signals entering and exiting traffic, utilizing turn lanes, changing lanes, and adjusting vehicle speeds when necessary. In addition to practicing driving, perhaps the most important skill developed was the ability to foresee hazards and unsafe situations. To be a better and safer driver you must recognize that other drivers and conditions are oftentimes much more dangerous than your driving ability. My Dad taught me to drive a standard shift. He patiently reinforced the lessons he learned in Driver’s Ed decades earlier – He was all about seatbelts, not tailgating, space cushions, and applying the three-second rule. He emphasized what he called the “preflight checklist”…are the tires inflated, did you check the oil? Do you have enough gas to get where you’re going and back? Are your wipers working?

Question a young kid didn’t really want to deal with… Mom pushed me out of my rural comfort zone and made me drive in the city, on parkways, and the interstate. She took me to the empty snowy high school parking lot to practice handling her car in the snow. She reminded me that weather and road conditions could be unpredictable. She and Dad wanted me to be a safe and competent driver.

When I was five I was in an accident with my mom. She’s a good driver who logs hundreds of miles a week, all year round. On a beautiful sunny morning in January, strapped into a carseat, I watched from the back as she told me to not be scared, held her breath, and attempted to maneuver the sudden 30 foot stretch of black ice that appeared on the downhill, shady part of a tree-lined road we drove every day. To this day I can tell you her first reaction was to remain calm and avoid overreacting. She did as little as possible to allow the car to pass over the ice, softly “pumped” the brakes to trigger the ABS, and tried to keep the steering wheel straight. When the back end of the car slid left or right, she made very gentle turns of the steering wheel in the same direction. The car picked up speed on the downhill slide and despite her best efforts went off the road proving that all of her years of experience were no match for the condition. We were safe and she was minimally hurt because we wore seatbelts, were not speeding and she kept her eyes on the road. Important things to remember always.

Today, when I am not in school I work for a John Deere dealership as a delivery driver. You might say I’ve come full circle with cars trucks and tractors as I load a heavy-duty diesel rollback with shiny new tractors going to their new homes. All of the Driver’s Ed lessons and Mom’s out of my comfort zone drives have made me a good driver. And before I leave the shop I can hear dad’s voice and the “Pre-flight checklist” in my head making sure the truck is safe for me and the drivers around me.