Safe Driving Interview with Mr. Capone

Why is it important to inform people about this?

Our objective is to teach our students, at an early age, to be safe, courteous and defensive drivers.  The Public Service Announcements were created by our students during the Divers’ Education classroom portion of our program,  When the students come up with the message/s, there is a better chance the information is retained and followed. 
We strive to give our students the skills, knowledge and respect of the driving task so they have a better chance of  staying safe in the car!!!
I believe  our three part, (Classroom, Simulator and BTW) award winning Comprehensive Driver Safety Program is extremely important to our community here at The Northstar Nation.  


How long have you been educating students about safe driving?

I started teaching the Drivers Education classroom curriculum my first years of teaching (37 years ago)!  I have been teaching Behind the Wheel for 35 years and The Simulator for 27 years.


Do you enjoy teaching about this?

I love teaching the safe driving curriculum!  It is very rewarding to see the improvement made by the students from the beginning of the simulator unit to the end of the unit.  The same improvement takes place in the car!  I also like the fact that what I am teaching is something the students will use everyday of their lives once they start to drive and that it is important to them!  Their safety, physical mental and emotional health, finances, freedom, ability to move, avoid pain, stress and staying alive can all be impacted by decisions made in the car.  
We can never stop the accidents, but we should be able to bring the crashes (direct consequences of a “bad” decision in the car) down to the lowest level possible


What are the first few things students need to know about safe driving?

FOLLOW THE EIGHT!  A GREAT WAY TO STAY SAFE
  1. Seatbelts (front and back seats always)
  2. Three Second Following Distance
  3. Blind Spot: Check your when moving laterally (entering/exiting traffic, passing,  lane changing, going around a car or an object, merging or any time you are moving towards or away from the yellow centerline or the curb!
  4. Avoid “ALL” Distractions in the car while driving (pull over to the side of the road safely, if you feel you must send or read a text).
  5. The Golden Rule: Release the gas, cover the brake any time you see a hazard (anything that may cause you to change your vehicle speed and/or position.  
  6. IPDE Process: Identify the hazard, ALWAYS Predict the hazard will make you change your vehicle speed and/or position, Decide what to do and Execute the decision.
  7. DO NOT SPEED (SPEED KILLS)
  8. Respect the potential dangers of ignoring safe driving strategies above!


Would you be interested in becoming a safe driver teacher? 
I thought I already was!
​