Last winter, Neil Prissick's son was driving a friend's car when it lost a tire on the Coquihalla highway.
But he knew what to do.
"It could have been much more serious. Luckily he brought the vehicle under control and eventually off the side of the highway. But had he panicked or steered or used the breaks at the wrong time it could have been disastrous," explains Prissick of his son's actions. "He's a pretty good driver."
Although he didn't teach his son to drive, Prissick did teach him how to operate a vehicle in the snow and gain control in a skid, and it appears that the lesson paid off. Teaching is nothing knew for Prissick, who has been a driving instructor at North Shore Driving School in North Vancouver for the past six years. He started out as an instructor for Class 5 and 7 learners, which are new drivers (either adults or teens), and he now instructs for the Class 4 unrestricted licence as well, so has a wide range of students. He is also an instructor-trainer so teaches others how to be instructors as well. Prissick recommends all new drivers take lessons.
"Today's driving environment has gotten so much more complex," he says, noting one of the main goals of instruction is to teach new drivers how to be defensive drivers.
There are many good adult drivers on the road, but many of them have picked up some bad habits along the way, says Prissick. Bad driving habits can often be passed on to kids from parents.
Not long ago, Prissick says he saw a mother run a red light while talking on her cellphone, and she had two daughters in the car. As well as the obvious danger that it presented, Prissick says that type of driving could rub off on the daughters as well. Kids learn by watching, and unfortunately in that case those two girls may have learned that driving distracted and rolling through red lights is okay.
While distracted driving is a serious problem these days, there are many other errors that are common to new drivers.
Not shoulder-checking blind spots, not seeing particular signs to obey, and performing rolling stops are just some of the common errors Prissick sees with new drivers.
"A lot of the common errors are habits they may have picked up from an adult or a co-pilot," he notes.
When giving the official road exam, testers are looking for a variety of components such as observation skills, the speed at which the student drives, the space in which they drive, how they communicate with other users (including pedestrians), and how they steer the vehicle, explains Prissick. So there's a lot to learn.
Basic safety that new students are made aware of at the school include proper seating position, making sure their seatbelt is properly put on so it's not twisted, and making sure the head rest is at the correct height. Some students are more confident than others when first starting out and some are "very, very nervous," reports Prissick.
All students learn at different paces and in different ways, so his teaching includes demonstrations and a hands-on approach depending on the student. Sometimes he even has to draw diagrams.
As well as practical driving lessons, Prissick also teaches theory courses at the school, which include information about engine components, vehicle systems, the physics of driving and more.
"Often a new driver just gets in their car, puts the key in, puts it in drive but doesn't know all the meanings of the lights and what the different components are in the vehicle," explains Prissick.
The theory courses are meant to give them a better idea of what is under the hood and where. They learn general mechanics, how the vehicle works, how the coolant system works, how the electrical system works, how the exhaust system works and more.
"It's important that they understand how the vehicle works," explains Prissick. "In the car itself, quite often when we turn the key to the 'on' position there are a number of lights that come on the dashboard. It's important they know the meanings of those lights so if they're driving along and a warning light comes on they know what to pay attention to."
Although he hasn't experienced any major surprises over the years as a teacher, Prissick says he is surprised by the amount of new drivers who don't use the emergency brake when parking.
Offering the example of an average 3,000-pound car parked on a hill, and you take your foot off the service break, all the weight of the vehicle rolls onto the pin in the transmission.
"That's a big strain on the transmission," he notes.
