“No one is above the laws of physics” said Patrick Barrett, author of the popular Driver Ed in a Box® course that teaches parents how to teach their teens to become collision-free drivers. (www.driveredinabox.com)

This is the second time this year that an HPD officer has been involved in a fatal crash while not wearing his seat belt.

The most recent crash killed Dr. Estela Medrano, who worked at the Baylor College of Medicine. The crash occurred around 12:45 a.m. in the 7600 block of South Braeswood. Police said the Medranos, who were returning from a trip to London, were making a left turn into their apartment complex when HPD Officer Kyle Dozier T-boned their car.

The HPD office was speeding in response to a call. He did not have on his siren or flashing lights.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Driver Ed in a Box® President, Patrick Barrett,(www.driveredinabox.com) a leading authority in collision-free driving, noted that “it may be a challenge for law enforcement officers to practice safety habits when engaged in responding to a call, but they cannot escape the laws of physics.”

Mr. Barrett also stated “Most collisions are preventable and it’s tragic that non-offending drivers are injured or killed when an officer, responding to a call, crashes into them.”

For more information about how Driver Ed in a Box® guarantees teens to drive their first year collision-free, go to www.driveredinabox.com

Patrick Barrett with his Fox Patrol SR356 001 small

Patrick Barrett, former Scouter, and President of Driver Ed in a Box® (http://www.driveredinabox.com), the course that guarantees new drivers that their first year of driving is collision-free, said:

“We love to contribute to the Boy Scouts. This specific donation was directed to the Scout’s Wood Badge program – one of the highest levels of training the Boy Scouts offer to their adult leaders.”

The famous, or infamous, Fox Patrol of the Wood Badge class SR 356 is pictured here (Mr. Barrett is holding the patrol flag).

The Boy Scouts are celebrating their 100th year and Mr. Barrett recommends that any parent who wants to see their son or daughter blossom into a responsible adult consider joining scouting.

“All three of my sons went through scouting. It’s a great experience for both the young people and the parents.”

Scouting also provides the parents the opportunity to participate as a volunteer. Mr. Barrett and his wife, Frances, invested decades volunteering for various scouting programs and Mr. Barrett said “It still amazes me how much my wife and I benefitted from being involved as Scout leaders. We joined initially to help out the Pack for our son and then we continued to volunteer even after the boys were no longer in scouting.”

Baden Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, once said that scouting is “a game with a purpose.” When Patrick Barrett created and developed Driver Ed in a Box® (http://www.driveredinabox.com) he included a lot from his scouting experiences.

Parents interested in getting their young ones into scouting can contact their local Boy Scout council. Parents and teens who want to learn more about how Driver Ed in a Box® guarantees their first year of driving collision-free or their money-back can go to http://www.driveredinabox.com or call 1-800-562-6405.

George Foreman w Pat & John

George Foreman was a big hit when he met with Driver Ed in a Box® executives Patrick Barrett and John Barrett. George, a legend in his own time and recently featured on CNBC’s Bizography, dispensed his wisdom about business and life. (http://www.driveredinabox.com)

Patrick Barrett, President of Driver Ed in a Box®, and author of the popular Driver Ed in a Box® course that guarantees teens users will drive their first year collision-free (http://www.driveredinabox.com) said “Here’s man (George Foreman) who’s achieved amazing success – two-time world heavyweight champ, a minister, an author of thirteen books, a legendary entrepreneur and yet he considers his marriage and his family as his greatest achievement.”

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It’s not just the risk of alcohol that concerns me (although that alone would justify using a limo). For many, a lot of emotion gets wrapped up in this event and that also can impair your ability to drive safely.

Relax, enjoy the dance and take a limo and avoid the worry.

Yes, the difference may only be a few seconds, but those seconds can determine whether or not you get trapped or have an escape route. Seconds matter. This is an important discipline to continue to work on even after your student has his license.

“Look left, look center, look right, look left again.” While in theory this sounds good, I’ve seen student’s almost get dizzy from trying to look quickly and then quickly look again. Granted, when traffic is intense, it may be necessary to make sure you’re on your toes and ready for anything - almost to the point of where you are leaning slightly forward, moving your eyes every half-second or more because so much is going on around you simultaneously. But in light or modest traffic, you can be attentive and scan effectively without feeling like you’re holding your breath.

Three things you can do to help you make your search pattern more fluid:

1. Increase your following distance - this gives you more time to read and respond to what is going on ahead. If you have at least four or five seconds, you significantly increase your odds to control the situation.
2. Target farther ahead. You’ll discover that this goes hand in hand with increasing your following distance.
3. Conduct your search pattern in flowing movements - eliminate the jerkiness. You can do this at intersections by imagining that you are “sweeping” the intersection to make sure that it is clear to go. As you sweep left to right and right to left, you notice any threats not only from the sides but also in the center. Also, you can use a figure-eight pattern for your normal search. You look to the front, then scan to the left (up ahead), then sweep to the right (again, still up ahead), then glance in the inside rearview mirror, then to the left outside mirror, then to right outside mirror, then back up front. Drawn from an overview this pattern creates a figure eight.

Of course, at any time you may interrupt your figure eight search to dispose of and respond to what is going on in the traffic scene. What you can gain by practicing the figure eight search pattern is a more comfortable movement of your eyes, the pattern of moving your eyes every few seconds (which breaks the fixed stare) and the sense of controlling the space around your vehicle.

That’s all for now Folks,

P.S. Remember, “Practice driving like your life depends on it…because it does.”

Breaking the fixed stare is a challenge for all drivers – not just beginners.  Remember, if you look at an object for longer than two seconds, you begin to lose your peripheral vision (the vision that enables us to detect movement from the sides).

So, how do we break the fixed stare pattern?  There are several ways.  Here are some that you want to coach while you are in the vehicle with your teen driver.

Turn your head slightly as you before you enter and pass intersections without lights or signs.  (The tendency here is to stare straight ahead – never assume that the other drivers will yield or stop.)

1. Check the mirror before slowing, changing lanes or turning and again after turning.
2. Use S.M.O.G. for your lane change sequence.
3. Turn your head to scan the intersection while you are counting 1-2-3 after the vehicle ahead of you has started to move (this occurs when you are back in the pack at a light and the light turns green – wait until the vehicle directly in front of you moves before you start your count).
4. Use commentary while clearing the intersections.

Yes, there are more things you can do to break the fixed stare and in the next ezine, I will discuss how you can develop a figure eight search pattern to help make your eye movements more fluid.

Then repeat that process with your student.  You want to discover what her “comfort zone” really is.

If either of you are not feeling threatened at just under three seconds, then your comfort zone is too small.  Expand it.

Note:  It is very likely that your personal comfort zone is different when you are behind-the-wheel versus when you are in the coaching/training position.

If you email me by clicking “Reply” to this email you may not hear from me in a timely manner.  I simply do not schedule checking this email on a regular basis.

I admit that I am sort of “anti-tech” in parts of my life. I have a cell phone, but I only turn it on when I want to make a call.  I rarely take incoming calls on my cell phone.  I relish the days when my fingers do not touch a key board (Yes, I prefer the days when I can wrap my fingers around a golf club.).

I remember life without cell phones, emails, computers, etc.  Yes, no doubt there are some wonderful benefits to all these inventions.  I find that I could spend all my time answering emails, checking the websites, surfing the web for relevant items.  But, if I did that, I would get nothing done.  My day would be over and I would still have even more emails to respond to (somehow, they seem to never end) and I would have created nothing.

Staying connected to you, our customers, is important to me.  That is why I will respond to every email sent to me if it is something I can handle (meaning, if it is a “tech” question, I will forward to someone who can help you).

If there is a problem with our customer service, by all means contact me.  If it is extremely urgent here is my home phone: 713-780-1558.

According to a DPS response we received from an inquiry we made to the DPS, you can go to any driver license office and that office should be able to assist you.

The direct line to the parent-taught office at the DPS headquarters in Austin is 512-424-5623 if you need to contact them directly.  I hope you have better luck than I do when calling them.  I have had trouble getting to speak to someone, so don’t be surprised if you don’t get through the first time.