Friday, February 17, 2006

Colorado Driving Insititute

It looks really bad when you have a car advertising a driving school and you drive like an idiot. Example:

I was going down the Diagonal Highway (Colorado SH 119) from Longmont to Boulder today. The total distance along this highway is less than 10 miles (16 km). At 60 mph it will take you about 10 minutes to go this distance. At 70 mph it will take you 8 1/2 minutes.

Traffic was moving smoothly at about the speed limit, 55 mph (90 km/hr). The highway was reasonably clear, but there were still plenty of slick, icy spots, especially along the dashed lines delineating the lanes. This morning, a driver lost control on the ice and plowed into three pedestrians on this stretch of highway, putting herself and the pedestrians in the hospital.

I look behind me and see a little car weaving between the two lanes, cutting across traffic in an attempt to move forward. I could see a yellow "STUDENT DRIVER" sign on the hood (bonnet). As the car passed, I saw a single occupant (the driver) and a sign on the side of the car advertising Colorado Driving Institute in Boulder.

If you operate a driving school, please follow the advice given by Colorado Driving Institute: "Set a good example." By driving like a jackass and discrediting his school to the 6000 people who will read this article, the driver saved two minutes at the very most, though in all likelihood he saved about 30 seconds of time.

2 comments:

  1. Don't even get me started on idiot drivers. I'm amazed some days that people even are able to get to work.

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  2. I'm Ed Overfield, owner of Colorado Driving Institute. I assure you, and all those 6,000 people who will read your article, that in no way does our driving school endorse people driving like jerks. Obviously, we encourage safe, courteous driving practices from all those on the road. I just arrived at work this morning to find this article on my desk. I appreciate you bringing this driving behavior to my attention. I have not had an opportunity to meet with my staff about your concerns, but will do so today. I assure you, we have an excellent driving school, evidence by Boulder County teens being amongst the states highest seat belt users in 2005 (State Patrol Study).
    Although, we have never had such a report as yours in our 12 years of service, there's always a first time, and we will do all we can to make sure it's the last time. Thanks again for letting us know.

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