Episode 63 • Driving
Run a red light
Driving instructor
Pull to the curb
Brake
Flat tire
Story
Girl: Hey? What’s up?
Boy: Good! You? So, how did your driving test go?
Girl: What? You haven’t heard?!
Boy: No, what happened?
Girl: The whole town knows! So… I got there a bit late.
Boy: How late?
Girl: Like 20 minutes, so my driving instructor was already mad at me… I was so nervous, I promise, I was shaking the whole time… Anyway, I get in the car and things seemed to be going fine until…
Boy: Until what?
Girl: Until I ran a red light…
Boy: Agh!
Girl: Wait… That’s not the worst part! My driving instructor told me to pull to the curb and I tried but… for some reason, I couldn’t brake! I don’t know why! There must have been something wrong with the car… My instructor kept shouting at me and that only made me more nervous! After 30 seconds of pure panic, the car finally stopped.
Boy: Oh my goodness, so in the end you were able to brake?
Girl: Not exactly… There was a piece of glass on the road and I got a flat tire!
Boy: What a story! So you didn’t pass, uh?
Girl: I did, actually. My instructor said he never wanted to see me again so he let me pass!
Questions
That could have actually been me in the story. I'm going to tell you what my relationship is with driving in a second.
Run a red light
'Things seemed to be going fine until I ran a red light...'
• If you are approaching a traffic light and then run a red light, do you stop or do you keep going?
That could have actually been me in the story. I'm going to tell you what my relationship is with driving in a second.
• What are the consequences of running a red light?
Well, obviously, the consequences can be pretty dire. They can be pretty serious. You could get into an accident. You could hurt someone if someone is crossing the street, so definitely that's not something that you should do.
• Have you ever run a red light?
Yes, guys, I have. Okay. The times that I've done it, it wasn't on purpose, obviously. It was when you're approaching the traffic light, and then it turns yellow, and then you really don't have enough time to brake. I don't think that's really a big deal. Actually, when I was in California and I took my driving test, I actually had to take it twice, and guess what? I failed both times. One of those times was because I ran a red light. I didn't know. I turned right and I thought I could, but apparently at that intersection with a red light I couldn't turn right, so yes, I ran a red light and I failed my driving test. Woo, not a great driver.
Driving instructor
'My driving instructor told me to pull to the curb.'
• Where does a driving instructor sit? In the front seat next to you or in the back?
A driving instructor needs to sit in the front right next to you because he needs to be there. He's got his own pedals. He needs to be there in case anything happens because the driving instructor is the person that's supposed to teach you how to drive.
• Can a friend or a relative be considered a driving instructor?
Not really. Even though you can practice with a relative, maybe your parents or a friend sitting next to you while you're learning how to drive, a driving instructor is the person that is assigned to you by a school and whose job is to teach you how to drive.
• Did you have one or multiple driving instructors? Did you like them?
I had one main one. Let's say he was easily irritated. If you would make even a tiny mistake, that would make him really angry and he would start shouting at you. That made me nervous. I don't know. I think he was a pretty good teacher, a pretty good instructor, but-- I don't know. Just the atmosphere-- I wasn't very relaxed when I was in the car with him because I was getting yelled at all the time.
Pull to the curb
'My driving instructor told me to pull to the curb.'
• If you pull to the curb, do you get closer to the side of the road or do you drive towards the center of the road?
If you pull to the curb, you are getting closer to the side of the road. The curb is basically the side of the sidewalk.
• When pulling to the curb, do you need to do it slowly or fast?
You definitely have to do it slowly otherwise you may damage your car, and I don't know, even the curb, who knows?
• Have you ever hit the curb when pulling to the curb?
Only a thousand times. Yes, of course, every time I park. No, I think I'm not a great driver, but I'm all right at parking. It doesn't happen a lot, but I do hit the curb every now and then when I'm parking.
Brake
'For some reason, I couldn’t brake!'
• If you are driving and then brake, will your car’s speed increase or decrease?
If you break, your car speed is going to decrease.
• Which is usually recommended? Braking gradually in order to stop or stopping suddenly?
Definitely breaking gradually. The other one is terrible. If you stop suddenly, it's super annoying, especially for the passengers.
• Do you think you brake smoothly when driving?
I feel like I do all right when I break. It's not too bad. My aunt though, every time I'm in the car with her, and that's actually one of the reasons why I don't like being in the car when she's driving, is that she brakes so fast and so suddenly that every time I feel like I'm going to fly out of her car.
Flat tire
'There was a piece of glass on the road and I got a flat tire!'
• What materials are car tires usually made of?
A car tire is that rubber thing that covers the wheel of the car, so it's made of rubber.
• How many tires do cars have?
Well, the last time I checked, I think it was only four. I think, even with these futuristic cars, I think if it's a car, it still only has four tires.
• If you have a flat tire, is it because there is too much air in it or not enough air?
If you have a flat tire that means there's not enough air in the tire.
• What can cause a flat tire?
Well, just like in the story, it can be a sharp object. Maybe you're driving, you don't see that there is a nail or a piece of glass, and you drive over it, and then you get a flat tire, or even heat. If it's really, really hot, then your tires might deflate and you may get a flat tire, for example, but that's never happened to me. I don't drive enough for that to happen.
• If it happened? Would you know what to do in case you got a flat tire?
Absolutely not. I don't know the first thing about changing a tire. In all honesty, if it were to happen to me, number one, I would cry. Number two, I would call someone. I'm talking like a friend or someone who I think knows about these kinds of things. Three, maybe I will watch a tutorial on YouTube because that's what you're supposed to do in 2020. If you've got a problem, you just look it up, and YouTube or Google is going to solve your problem.
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