Driving With Abby - Driving School: Day 6

Last day today!

We talked about school zones, school buses, emergency vehicles, mail trucks and ... I'm not really sure what else.
I stayed inside for break and ate the snack that I brought from home (chips from Panera and fruit snacks) and looked over my notes for the test.

Then everyone came back in (and it really smelled like Subway (what everyone gets for "lunch" at 10 am)... NOT FAIR) and people asked questions for about 15 minutes... and then we talked about driver emergencies.
Flat tire, tire blow out, hood flies up, running out of gas, and various other things. Skidding, ABS vs normal brakes... all kinds of stuff.

And then we had our tests. She handed them out to those of us who were taking them, and then we took them! It wasn't that hard, but I definitely had to think for some of them. They were either multiple choice, true or false, or fill in the blank from a work bank questions. So it wasn't that bad. I got 6 out of 50 wrong. (I got 88% if you were wondering.)
I want to know what I got wrong, but we never found out. And I'm not going back to that place again. Except for maybe practicing maneuverability. Maybe.

I'm glad to be done. But it wasn't that bad. But I'm glad to be done.

I'm a driving school graduate! So exciting. (Except for the fact that I haven't gotten my certificate yet because I still have to do the in-car driving bit. But that's not school. That's just driving for 2 hours 4 times with someone I don't know. No biggie.)

Oh yeah, after we took our tests, she put on a couple videos so she could grade them. And then she called each of us over so we could initial some stuff and sign something and get our scores back. And then she let us out. And it was glorious to be free. =P Just kidding. It was pretty much like normal. Nothing exciting.

And now I'm done. With driving school and this post.

Adios!

Driving With Abby - Driving School: Day 5

Day 5...

We talked about:
Fatigue
What you can do to prevent fatigue
a little bit about alcohol&drugs (again)
emotions and driving
"comfort&control" aka A/C, heat, your gauges and gizmos on the dashboard (goof lights, as she calls them)
Pavement/roadway markings (double yellow line separates traffic going in different directions, you can pass if there's a dashed yellow line. White lines separate lines of traffic going in the same direction. And it shows the edge of the lanes.)
And the shared left turn lane.

Then we had our break. I went to Dollar General and got a bag of Lay's because I forgot to pack a snack :(
But they were good.
And then we talked about
Stopping distances
Speed limit laws
and Intersections.

And we watched a couple movies... 3 I think, throughout the whole day.

It was a decent day. Tomorrow's the last day. I get to take my test and be DONE! :)
It seemed like the other people didn't have very much trouble with it last week... and I've taken a lot of notes. I'll go over them tonight and then probably tomorrow during break.

Soooo... that's it.

Hope you're having a good day :)

Driving With Abby - Driving School: Day 4

Ahhh today began the second week of driving school.
It's kind of funny, because in one week, you become the expert. You can just come in and plop down in your seat. And then there are the new kids who look SO uncomfortable. It's pretty funny. And it takes a little longer on Mondays because the new people have to pay&stuff.

Today we went over why driving school is important (we had lessons 1&2 today), the point system, mistakes young drivers make, we watched a movie about young drivers... we talked about seat belts... and watched a video about that... and then whoever came up with a question got to leave for break (aka go to Subway or Dollar General). I came up with a question about something completely unrelated to seat belts (but we had talked about it earlier) and went to Dollar General and got myself a Hershey's bar. It was delicious.
Second half of class we went over road rage, driving courteously, and some other stuff that I don't remember, but took notes on. OH! The SIPDE and Smith systems. SIPDE-
Search systematically- keep your eyes moving
Identify- look for specific clues about what's coming up-break lights, signs, other people's signals.
Predict -what are other people going to do?
Decide- Decide what you're going to do (with your speed&direction)
Execute- Execute what you decided to do.

Smith system is
All Good Kids Like Milk.
Aim high-look out as far as you can/keep your eyes moving
Get the big picture-Don't pay attention to just what's around your car. Look at the big picture
Keep your eyes moving
Leave yourself a way out. (Aka don't get stuck in the middle of 4 cars.)

And then we talked about managing your space/tailgaters/ then road rage. At the very beginning of class we talked about air bags and such.
We talked about your total stopping distance. And then being courteous.

It was a good class. I just want my test to be over! Hah.

That's all for now.
Look for Driving School : Day 5 tomorrow!

Driving With Abby - Driving School: Day 3

*yawn*

Hi. Today was another day of driving school. Right off the bat, after roll-call and counting off and making sure that everyone who was on the list was actually there, we talked about alcohol. And a lot of other stuff. Such as: what to do if you get pulled over, drugs, when it's legal to drink when you're under 21 (aka when you're with your parents, they give you the alcohol and you consume it in front of them. That's when it's legal. And no where else.), insurance, the car inspection that you get when you take your drivers test, and purchasing and maintaining a car.

During the last hourish (45 minutes, really) some people took the test (if it were their second week of class) and the rest of us just reviewed and looked at a crossword puzzle that's impossible. HAHA. (I got 1. You had to come up with the actual answers on your own, so it was more of a crossword AND a word search. Insane.)

And one last thing: We watched this horribly acted movie about this teenager who was on his way home from prom with his girlfriend and his friend and his friend's date, and they got into an accident. And the guy looked like Zach from Saved by the Bell. And his girlfriend's name was Kelly. It was hori-blay.

And now I'm done until next MONDAY! WOOHOO!


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Driving With Abby - Driving School: Day 2

Hola! Driving school... It's fun. We watched at least 2 movies today. (45 minutes&21 minutes from what I can remember)
We talked about bad weather conditions. You basically do the same things for rain, snow, and fog... just with little variations, but not really. hah.

We talked about motorcycles and trucks... annd blind spots on trucks&stuff... I drew on my paper a lot today... A sweet musical staff (wavy! hah) and some hearts and peace signs&more musical notes. It was pretty win.

I talked to a girl whose name I can't remember during break... she goes to Manchester... she knows Cat&Connie because they play soccer together, so that's cool. She finishes tomorrow... I have another 3 days. But I'm cool with it. I like how it's set up M, T, W, and then another M, T, W. It makes it easier and makes you more sane.

I should take a picture of this writing on the table... I think it says something like "Sanity is not underrated" or something like that. People draw all kinds of stuff on the table that I sit at. I'm tempted to add a musical note to it. :)

But yeah. It wasn't crazy today... we're talking about drugs&alcohol during one of our classes tomorrow...
And I figured out from a statistic today that 10 of the people in our class (statiscially speaking) will be in an accident involving a drunk driver. Also, two people from my family of 5 will be involved in a crash. CRAZY. (2 out of 5 people... 25 people in the room, 10 out of 25. Craazy.)

Annnnd I think that's about it for today. I'll try to blog earlier tomorrow so I remember more... I was lazy and read all day today! hahaha.

Byeeeeee

Driving With Abby - Driving School: Day 1

Woooooooooohoooooooo!
I can guarantee that that is not the first thing that comes to anybody's mind when driving school is mentioned.
But I really don't think that driving school (from here on out referred to as DS) isn't that bad.

We got there... and waited a little bit because the instructor wasn't there yet. She got there and we went inside. Dad paid&stuff... I had to sign some papers... other people had to pay&sign papers&stuff... so then class started and we kinda just jumped in. We talked about highway driving, pedestrians, maneuverability, and what to do if you get into an accident during the first 2 hours... then we had a 15 minute break... a lot of the kids (there were 21 in the class!) went to Subway (or Dollar General) to get food . I went to Subway so I could get a cup for water... I left my water bottle at home this morning :(
Then during the next 2 hours we talked about signs and parking.
Pretty basic stuff. There were a few things I didn't know, but I knew a lot of stuff. But it's still good to review stuff or whatever.

That was Day 1 in a nutshell! (A pretty big nutshell, but still a nutshell)

Driving With Abby-Just another Sunday drive...

Hello all.
I went driving today! Surprise, surprise! I might even drive a little bit more later today.
I think things went well. I made the mistake of turning into the left lane on Arlington. But I won't do it again. I promise. =P
I didn't drive on the expressway. I just didn't feel like it. But I got a solid 20 minutes. So that's good. It's all about the hours. I need 2,400 minutes of day-time driving and 600 of night-driving. That's a lot of driving. But I'll do it! I'll make it. Maybe there will be another driving anecdote for you soon :)

Au revoir!

Driving With Abby-MOM

I drove with Mom for the first time today. It was a short drive. To Shaffer's Market. Not bad at all. I'd never driven on any of those roads before. Ever. But things went smoothly. The only thing I really wish I had done better was parking. I was super crooked. But I'm okay with that. I really haven't been driving much. So it's all good. I don't think I freaked Mom out too badly ;) Maybe she'll even let me drive again! haha. That's all for now!

Driving With Abby-Random

Hola! I have 2 driving times to cover. But I don't think it should be too crazy.

On Tuesday I drove to Wal-Mart to return Alice in Wonderland to the RedBox. I went the back way. And it wasn't too bad... I don't think. It's a little crazy turning left across Arlington Road, but I did it. And I manage to turn without any cars coming towards me! It was fantastic.

Coming home wasn't crazy either. There was a little bit of a crazy left turn. But it was okay. There was no one at the stop sign =P



I just got home from driving to and from North Canton to see Unseen Masterpiece (Jeremiah&Jen's band) play at Cafe Gelato. They were good! I love listening to them play. You can listen too! Just click on this link or this one! :D

I took all back roads to get there. It was pretty tame. Nothing crazy. Hannah says I got close to the curb a couple of times but I didn't do anything too crazy.
I don't feel like there's much to report for the way there...
On the way home I just kind of drove where Dad told me to drive. Not really sure exactly where we drove, but we drove and got home. We got gas at Get-Go on Massilon and then went home via Boettler and Arlington. I wasn't up for expressway tonight!
We made it home. I have more night-driving. And I have more time on my card. So that's good.

Peace OUT Girl Scout!

Driving With Abby-EXPRESSWAY!

Yesterday I went driving. For about an hour. I drove to Giant Eagle. And I made my first mistake coming out of our neighborhood. I forgot to signal. (And I didn't have my lights on, but that wasn't as big of a deal because it was sunny.)
I parked semi-successfully at Giant Eagle... I probably would've been okay, but I pulled through anyways. We got our newspaper... and then started out for a gas station. And I got on Massilon Road... which is kind of crazy... annnnd then I got on the expressway. And it was insane. You're going so fast. And you have to pay attention to so many things. But I got home. And I drove on the expressway successfully. And then I turned right onto Arlington and got gas at the Speedway there... then turned right on Arlington again and went home the 'back way' and didn't die on Arlington...
Drove around the neighborhood for a while... dropped the newspaper off at home. Drove to Target... or the parking lot behind Target. Practiced parking and maneuverability. Let's just say that looking over your shoulder is SO much easier than looking in your mirrors!
Thennn we went to Target. And I officially hate that three way intersection. Because people don't get it. But that was on the way out. On the way in it was fine because I had the right of way. So it's all cool. I parked. Between two cars. And then pulled through because the people who were parked there were just pulling out.
Got Reese's Cups for the ice cream pie I'm making for June birthdays for Encounter. (You can see how to make it here :)
Drove home. And didn't die. So it's alllllll good. But I was definitely ready to be done driving after an hour!

And thus concludes Driving With Abby-EXPRESSWAY!

Driving With Abby-Major roads

I went driving yesterday. It was a milestone for me. I drove on a major road.
I drove to the Panera that is half a mile from our house. That wasn't too bad. Except not turning when I could've. But I didn't. I waited. The people behind me were probably mad. But whatever.
Thennnn I drove to Giant Eagle. Which is like, 5 miles from our house. Maybe farther. Maybe not. Probably less.
But to get to Giant Eagle, I drove on ARLINGTON ROAD. That's a big deal. And they're doing construction. It was a good time. And I didn't die. It was good. And I parked semi-successfully. I had to back out a bit and pull in again, but it was okay.
Driving back was uneventful... except for not realizing that I was going SUPER (for Boettler) fast. I was going down a hill though. So it was okay. And I braked. We didn't crash. I didn't get pulled over. We did what we needed to do. And I have a feeling I'm going to be running a lot of errands now =P Not that I mind! :)

Dinner time soon!

Driving With Abby- Back roads edition

Hello dear readers. I have survived another driving excursion with my father.
I had a mission: return 2 DVDs (The Spy Next Door&The Princess&the Frog) to a RedBox at Giant Eagle. (For those of you who are familiar with the area, I went to the one on Waterloo, not Boettler)

I drove around the neighborhood a few times just to get back in the swing of things after a month of not driving! Then I drove. On back roads. With other cars. And like, 35 mph speed limits! And bendy/curvy roads. It was kinda crazy. But I got a full hour of driving in. So that's good. 10 minutes of it was even night driving because I went back out with Dad to go take a neighbor's trash out. So that took a while. And I drove around a little extra just to get that full hour.

There was a biker on one side of the road and a car on the other and I had to go between them at one point. And then I had to gun it to turn. But I made it and everyone is still alive. Soo that's good.

I tend to drive on the far far right side of the road. Like almost over the white line. But I'm trying to remedy that. On the way back I felt like I was driving in the middle of the road. But I was really just where I needed to be. It's strange. But I'm getting more accustomed to where I'm supposed to be on the road.

I forgot to signal at one point in our neighborhood. Dad simply stated: Fail. I would have failed my drivers test, but I'm getting more used to signaling every single time I turn whether I need to or not!

I think I'll start today's NIPTO post now... :)

Driving With Abby

I think I should start a weekly post called Driving With Abby. Then I can tell you the crazy things that happen while I'm learning how to drive. You're so lucky because you get to hear all about it!

Today I drove around my neighborhood for about 20 minutes. That's a feat. There aren't a lot of roads in my neighborhood. I drove on all but one of them. The one I didn't drive on was a cul-de-sac.
I practiced turning. And just driving in general. Then my dad drove up the road to the Target parking lot (Behind Target actually) and we NASCAR'd it. No, I didn't go 200 miles-per-hour. I just went in circles. Ovals to be exact. Practiced my left&right turns. Thenn Dad drove to BP and taught me how to pump gas. Then he drove to a small state park that's pretty much always deserted and I practiced parking and backing. I "hit" the car next to me. Oops. Then I drove home. On real roads. Without my hazard lights on. Heh. (The first time I drove on a real road I was going about 15 mph in a 25 mph... my dad put the hazard lights on for me... hee hee.) I think I actually got up to 30 mph today! I also "almost" hit a robin... it was in the middle of the road. I was going towards it. I honked. It didn't move. Then it flew away after about 2 more seconds. It was slightly frightening. Then I went home. And a car followed me. So I had to act like I knew what I was doing and go fast. And then I had to make a left turn and there were CARS. HAHA. Really Abby? There were cars? on the road??? I know, I know. And then I had to park in the driveway. Which wasn't so bad. I had to back up and pull forward a little bit so I was straight, but it wasn't all bad. I feel like I'm improving. So that's good. My dad's sleeping. He needs the rest after I stressed him out today =P

And thus concludes "Driving With Abby" week 1