Night out with Uncle G.

Well, Uncle G. and I attended traffic school last night. And let me tell you, it was much more interesting that I expected. The class lasted from 6:15 untill 10:00, and the time went quickly. I'd say there were 25 of us there; I was the only guest, and guests were expected to participate along with the others.

One of the first things the instructor did was let us know if someone was late, he or she would not be admitted to the class. This was "clearly" stated in the letter each person received prior to the class. He told us, "It never fails. Someone always shows up late." At about 7 or 8 minutes after the class started, two women showed up at the door. Ken, the instructor, told them they were late, could not be admitted, and would have to call the number on their letter to be assigned to another traffic school class. The women argued that they couldn't find the room after they'd gotten into the building. Ken held firm and sent them on their way. Hooray for Ken.

There are 52,000 deaths a year on the highways in the U.S. We all think it's so tragic if a plane goes down and a lot of lives are lost at one time, but this is l50 lives lost every day in the U.S. or three per day in each state in traffic accidents.

You're 3 1/2 more times as likely to die in an accident during the overnight hours than during the day. But many people opt to do long vacation drives during the nighttime hours. It's Not a good decision! And this is taking into account there are less cars on the road.

The cross-over barriers in Kentucky have been struck 5,000 times in 5 years. There have, of course, been some deaths. But these barriers have saved an unbelieveable number of lives.

You can go to U Tube and bring up teen texting while driving (I've not done this yet) and see while you'll never text again while driving. What idiot would text and drive at the same time, anyway? U-tube/cross over barriers also shows how the barriers work.

It was also discussed how driving is only 10% physical, 90% mental, and made for a very interesting discussion.

If your insurance company ever requests your driving record, be sure to request that they be given ONLY YOUR THREE YEAR record, not your five year record. And this request has to be abided by. If they attain your five year record, they attain a record of all the latest traffic violations. If they attain the THREE YEAR RECORD, they do not.

I, like most in the class, thought a driver started out with points, and lost points if he or she had a violation. Wrong. You start with no points. If you have a violation or an accident, then you can rack up your points, such as three for one such violation, etc. Twelve being the highest number you can attain before you're in deep trouble.

There was discussion how a person can be charged with DUI if the substance in his or her body is prescription meds, not only alcohol, etc. So if the meds warn not to drive etc, you do need to be careful if the meds effect you. I think most people know this already, but it's interesting conversation in a classroom setting.

Last, Uncle G. really didn't need me there last night, except for the drive home. He handled himself just fine along with the rest of the class. However, now this is the truth believe it or not. I swear!

There were two women there who spoke no English! They understood nothing being said! They couldn't speak or write English. When the evaluation form was handed out they were skipped over completely. But they were still handed their little completion card like the rest of the class, told to hang on to it though they won't know that) for a year, stating they'd completed their traffic school class. Now, just what was accomplished by their being there. And they can't read highway signs, i.e. yield signs, etc. etc. etc. but they're out there..so watch out!