re: Drivers Ed taught by high school coaches

I taught Drivers Ed in the classroom & behind the wheel during many years of summer school. Quite a few took it then so they wouldn't have to give up an academic class & stay ahead in order to have a lighter load their senior year.

My first day of drivers ED, he had me go over the old Huey P Long bridge. I still can’t believe he trusted me to do that.

Just slap a "student driver" magnet on the back like the Asians do in Houston, and it's an instant excuse to not pay attention to any traffic around you, ever.

I tried telling my 12 year old to remember what he sees in Top Gun movies. What are Mav and his RIOs doing, all the time? Looking everywhere for situational awareness. Maybe that'll stick in a few years.

Yep. Our football coach. One day a week we go get a hamburger for lunch somewhere.

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took DE from a coach that read the paper when I drove,

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Me too! Was he a track coach from Livingston Parish?

I took Drivers Ed in the 9th grade and was taught by Coach Rick Huckaby (RIP). My Dad had me driving months before I took the class (I think it was required to get your license at 15). One of the guys in my group lived in Erwinville, so I had the added pleasure of driving across the Old Mississippi River bridge to drop him off at home, my a-hole puckered the whole way. Nothing phased Huck.

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by DuffnshankI took DE from a coach that read the paper when I drove, back when you could get your license at 15

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Sounds like my experience driving with Coach Becker back in the 1990s

My DE teacher in HS was the head football coach. The only thing I remember about it was him being very impressed that I loosened my grip on the steering wheel after a turn letting it release back to normal.

Fun fact: his son is now the head coach of the FL Gators.

DE for us was completely independent from the school.

For us, at 15 you got the book to study and then you took a silly test on a computer to get your driver’s permit.

Then before you turned 16, you had to take a class (5 two hour sessions) and then a certain number of “behind the wheels” with an instructor.

Then once you turned 16 you could take the driving test. Drive all over town, parallel parking, 90 degree backing, the works.

I think there should be some sort of program where you have to prove you can drive every few years. At least a test of some sort just so you can see the material in front of you.

People on the roads in Cenla either don't know the rules or they don't care or both. For instance, I've gotten into the right of way argument more than once. Someone says the right of way means that they get to decide if they want to go or not. They pulled up first, so they can wave on the person who pulled up next. Which is just not true.

If you have the right of way in a situation, it means that you are supposed to continue driving under normal circumstances. The law is quite clear on this.

RS 32:123:

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At a four-way stop intersection, the driver of the first vehicle to stop at the intersection shall be the first to proceed. If two or more vehicles reach the four-way stop intersection at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.

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It does not mean you get to play traffic control. When you do this, you are being a danger to everyone around you. Driving is dangerous, yet people drive on public roadways as if they are on a side by side out in the country. It's insane.

It's the same thing with drunk driving. It's so normal around here.

And people will inevitable read this and tell me to lighten up. To which I will respond I'll lighten up when my car insurance rates drop to the national average.