By Brent E. McCoy

My son, Jason, is just learning to drive. OK, you’ve been warned.

It seems that when I learned to drive it was a lot simpler. We just piled mom or dad into the car and took off. "Come to a complete stop", "Look both ways", "Don’t hit anything", and that was pretty much it. Sure, there was the clutch - and the heavy sighs and tooth grinding coming from the passenger until this was mastered - but basically, it was pretty simple. There just wasn’t a lot to do in the car other than drive and change the radio stations - at least while you were still driving with your parents.

Today, it is so much more complicated. Safety is a primary concern. In my day, you were only worried about your safety after you told your parents that you had wrecked the car.

I was determined to teach my son Jason everything today’s driver needs to master.

On the first day, we concentrated on safety. He pulled away from the curb without looking behind, so as not to damage his neck and back - this also gave me the opportunity to point out how efficient the automobile braking systems are today. Then, as we took the 23/118 Freeway from the New Los Angeles downtown area toward Moorpark Community College, I handed him the cell phone and instructed him to call one of his friends. He followed common practice and slowed to a safe 35 mph while dialing and then resumed speed while maneuvering the car back into a single lane.

The next morning, as we entered the freeway on the way to the high school, I again handed him the cell phone and, at the same time, I handed him the newspaper, (presentation, map, etc.), so that he could select a current event topic for school. He pointed out, "If I had found an event last night, it wouldn’t be current today, would it?"

There was no answer on the phone, so he concentrated on finding an event for his assignment. As he drifted over to the left lane, the other cars maintained a safe distance so that there were no moving shadows across the newspaper as he read. (Always remember, safety first and protect the eyes.)

Just as he found his topic he realized that it was time to get off the freeway. Deftly, he shot across two lanes of traffic and made the off- ramp in good order. (Otherwise, we would have been forced to go up to Olson Rd. and backtrack, which would have made him late for school.)

Of course I certainly do not advocate smoking, but we needed to prepare for any contingency, so on the way home from school, with the cell phone in one hand and the newspaper (see above) on his knee, I handed him a cigarette and pointed to the lighter. He carried it off flawlessly, but being a non- smoker, he did not quite understand the relationship between hot ashes and paper. This was a minor set back.

The next morning, we set off with the phone in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and the newspaper on his knee. As we pulled out, (always careful to protect the neck), and headed toward the freeway, I handed him a cup of coffee. Since he is a natural athlete, it was as easy task for him to transfer the cigarette to the hand holding the phone and then take the coffee from me.

He had done it! In less than a week, by adding one thing each time, Jason had mastered things I had never dreamed of. I could see the satisfaction on his face as we entered the freeway. He proudly sipped his coffee all the way to school, always slowing down before taking a sip and resuming speed as soon as he was finished - (remember, safety first). There he was, phone and cigarette in one hand, coffee in the other, and the newspaper on one knee while using the other knee and an elbow to steer the car. He had become a master of today’s driving techniques.

Next….hand signals.