Driver's Ed

[Snoopy]

Melissa,

No, Jamie does not turn her body when changing to the left lane. I have taught her to use her mirrors. She does tend to lean forward a little just to make sure it is clear. When she backs up she twists at the waist to look over her right shoulder whereas most of us without a fusion tend to just turn our head.

I think one of the best decisions I made was teaching Jamie to drive in our mini-van that has a ton of blind spots and was very difficult for her to park at times in the beginning. We are now in the process of finding her a car of her own. She wants to wait until she has her own--small--car to take her driving test in and I don't blame her. But like I told her, if you can parallel park my mini-van or her dad's truck, she can park anything!

Mary Lou

[Sherie]

The extended mirror I have attaches with a little sticky tab to the top of the rear view mirror and is a little smaller than the regular mirror. It has a curved shape to it so that it gets everything in view, rather than being really long.
I highly recommend one of these to anyone with problems turning to check their blind spots.

Great! I'll definitely get one of these. Hope you're healing well.

[trulyaries]

I got one of those "extended" mirrors and it is wonderful. It gives you a really wide angle so you can see basically everything.

Do you remember where you bought the mirror? I'd like to check it out. Thanks.

[Sherie]

I let Sheena drive for the first time today. I took her to the empty parking lot at school. She didn't want to at first but I talked her into it and she did fine. I'm going to ease her into it so by the time she starts driver's ed, she'll have some practice. It was strange to see her behind the wheel.

[MATJESNIC]

Sherie,

Good for you. And for Sheena. As Parents we usually love the milestones. But it is one milestone I have always hated. I still am not used to my two kids driving. The best part about them going off to college is that they don't have their cars with them.

[Aussiemum]

Ahhhh yes true Melissa but....... worse!!!!!!!! I would rather my child (once she gets her full license) to be behind the wheel and in control than a passenger in one of her friends cars and out of control. I dread MORE the friends getting their licenses and offering Tarlia a lift than her driving!!!

The joy of the teenage years!!!


Del

[Snoopy]

Del,

I agree completely! Most of Jamie's friends are already 17 and have been driving for a year, but Jamie won't be 17 until August. I've always told them I have to give my permission when it comes to riding with other teenagers.

She called me one day from school and asked if she could ride to the store (maybe six blocks from school) with her friend Cathy and I told her she could. Not five minutes later, I got a call and before I even answered the phone, I knew it wasn't good news. It was Jamie. Cathy had rear-ended a car not a block from school! Thank goodness they had just left a school zone, so they weren't going much more than 15 miles per hour.

I was so proud of Jamie for both calling to ask permission to go and also for calling me at the accident scene. Thankfully everyone was okay, but boy was my heart racing! I'm not happy the accident happened, but it did teach Jamie a valuable lesson! She understands that I'm looking out for her safety and not just being a mean mom.

By the way, Jamie got a car Wednesday night.

Mary Lou

[Aussiemum]

Wow!!! She purchased it or it was a gift?? My girls are presuming I'm buying them a car for their 17th birthday - And Pigs May Fly!!!!!!!!

There go your nails!!!!!

[Snoopy]

No, it was NOT a gift. You'd be surprised though how many parents hand their kids a brand new car the day they turn 16. The kids don't even have a job so they hand them gas money, insurance money, money for inspection and repairs. I've always told my girls that their dad and I bought our own cars and they would be expected to do the same. Having said that, Jamie has worked from the time she was 14 y.o. and saved a good bit of money, but it was almost impossible to find something reliable for the amount of money she saved. Her dad loaned her the money to get the car (it's used by the way). Poor kid, between paying her cell phone bill, her car payment to dad and gas, she is going to be broke, but she is very happy!


If I see a pig flying, I'm taking a picture to send to your girls!

Mary Lou

[CurvySAT05]

I bought mine from Pep Boys. I'm sure they should have them at any local auto supply store. I know that they DON'T have them at Wal Mart (I looked there first, lol).
This is the one I have: http://lanechanger.com/Merchant5/mer...duct_Code=LNC1. It takes a little while to get used to using it (since you will in essence have 2 rear view mirrors), but it is really useful. Since the lanechanger makes things appear smaller than they are I often use the regular mirror to estimate distance, and the lanechanger to see my blindspots.
Felicia- I purchased a back up camera today on ebay for less than $40-. It is a wireless system, so it won't take much installation and the screen can mount on the dash or air vents. The screen works when plugged into a 12v (cigarette) adapter. The camera automatically works when the car is in reverse, and some back up cameras have a function where you can have the camera on at all times. Something like this might be helpful. Just a thought.

[trulyaries]

Curvy: Thanks for the info - I'll look into all of it.