Fill it to the rim.
Saturday, July 17, 2010 at 10:42AM In retrospect, three cups of coffee may have been one too many. That's what I decided on the trip home this morning.
I had strapped myself into the passenger seat, content to let my 15-year-old daughter navigate the relatively empty suburban roads to the shopping center wherein lies Safeway Driving School. She did a fine job; don't misunderstand. Sure, I would prefer it if she applied some gentle pressure to the brake pedal a few seconds earlier than has become her habit. And, yes, she lacks a bit of analytic process when comparing the color of the traffic light (green) to the color of the brake lights (red) on the cars between her and said traffic light.
But she'll be a good driver. Is a good driver. The driving instructors agree. And no matter how hard I press my foot against the floorboards on the passenger side of the car, I will have zero impact on whether (or when--or even how) the car stops.
In the end, I took a bit of my own advice: What's the worst that can happen? Well, she can get in a wreck. Not a major one, but a fender-bender. Either she will hit someone because she waited too long, or someone will hit her because she waited too long. The odds are probably stacked in favor of this, where we live. And then I relaxed. I've been in fender-benders. Back in the days before airbags, in fact.
Okay. There are processes in place to deal with these things.
But I do think I'll eat a little protein and drink some water before I go pick her up.
Reader Comments (2)
Oh, you mean pressing the floor with my feet on the passenger side doesn't stop the car? I always use that mode of stopping when your Dad is driving.
I think you have to be hollering, "HONEY! HONEY!" to make that technique work. ;-)