For some reason, I cringe because I feel the need to address this topic.

How stupid can you be to think that you can “beat the train”. But, the other day that is just what happened here in the Houston area. A 20 year old young man drove around a crossing guard that was blocking his vehicle.

Obviously, he thought he could “beat the train”, but guess what? He didn’t and guess who won that battle – of course, the train.

The 20 year old driver was killed – his 16 year old passenger was!

That’s right. Once again, a young teenage passenger paid the ultimate price for a friend’s stupid mistake.

This was a completely avoidable tragedy. The driver could have waited. And when he didn’t, the passenger could have protested and possibly stopped his action. Apparently, that didn’t happen either.

Two lessons here:

1. You should never drive around a railroad crossing arm that is in the down position – it’s there for a reason. If you are tempted to do so, then you need to take a deep breath, blow it out s-l-o-w-l-y, then repeat that process. You’re probably in too much of a hurry and you would do well to ease off a bit.
2. If you’re a passenger, take responsibility for your own life. Speak up if you need to. If necessary, tell the driver to stop and let you out. It’s your life – protect it.

Because of their size, trains appear to be moving faster than they are – it’s an optical illusion. We’ll discuss that in more detail next week.

Recently we had some early morning fog roll in and it created an interesting learning experience for some unprepared drivers.

On one patch of highway, just east of Houston, 22 separate crashes involved over 50 vehicles.

Why? Fog.

So what do you think is more dangerous? A lot of fog or a little fog? Okay, they’re both dangerous.

The advantage with a lot of fog is that the driver walks out to his car or truck and can see that his visibility is very limited. At that moment, he can choose to not drive. And at that moment, it is an easier decision to make. Of course, some folks are still foolish enough to think “Well, I’ll just use my low beams, drive a little slower and it’ll clear up as I’m driving” – WRONG!!!

That is setting yourself up for a collision. Even if you do drive slower, even stop because you can’t see, that doesn’t mean that the fellow behind you is going to slow or stop. You’ve put yourself in a position to get tagged.

I suspect that you could argue that a little fog is more dangerous if you go out to your vehicle and there is no fog. Then, as you are driving (to work, school, church, the store, whatever your destination is) you come up over a rise or around a tree lined curve and there it is – a patch of fog, and now you’re driving blind. That is scary!

When you know you’re going to have to drive the next morning, wouldn’t it be a good idea to check the weather forecast – either on your TV news channel, the Weather Channel, or online.

You can check it the night before and check it again in the morning. It may only take a few seconds or minutes, but it can save you a lot of grief.

What are the six conditions? You know, that’s the question you ask your student each time she gets in the vehicle. Then you follow that question with “and what adjustments do we need to make?”

Yes, that’s part of your pre-drive check. Make sure your student does that – every time.

As we approach New Year’s Eve, many folks turn their attention to the party (or parties) they will attend or host. It’s a good time to note that the most important element of avoiding a situation leading or causing a DWI has to do with WHEN you make the decision.

Many folks talk about making that decision after you’ve had a few drinks. That’s too late. Especially, since the first area of the brain that is affected is judgment.

The decision needs to be made BEFORE you drink. In fact, it’s best if that decision is made BEFORE you leave for the event. Plan in advance where you will spend the night, how you will get there (a sober friend or a taxi), and who will assist you (if you need assistance).

Personally, I haven’t had an alcoholic drink in decades, but I know a lot of folks who like to drink on these special occasions.

If you’re one of those who likes to imbibe to bring in the New Year, consider structuring your night so no one is at risk – not you, not anyone else.

Watch as Patrick Barrett takes on the Shark!

The interesting part is that it is actually quite simple to pick the proper lane. Its also easy to determine if you’re still in the correct lane. This should be taught and properly emphasized in drivers ed although it appears that many driving schools do not emphasize this rule. Also, most states have laws around driving in the proper lane, usually worded as “slow drivers keep to the right”, but I’ve never heard of anyone getting a traffic ticket for this offense.

The rule is very simple – “slower traffic move to the right”. It can’t get much simpler so how come this seems to be violated in virtually every city in the United States? Having been one who has driven in most areas of the country, there is a definite difference in how well various areas perform with this rule.  The best metro area for following the “move to the right” rule is Los Angeles. The drivers in L.A. really seem to intuitively understand this rule and the rest of the country is a poor second. Drivers in the Northwest states are among the worst and people seem to have no clue that they are not in the correct lane. In my, albeit limited European driving experience, drivers in Europe seem to be much better in general to anywhere in the U.S. with regards to this rule. Part of it is the greater level of drivers ed required, but also it seems that a higher level of etiquette is built into their psyche.

Now let’s go over the three reasons why people don’t seem to be able to follow the “move to the right” rule and some potential solutions:

Move to the right was never taught in drivers ed. All driving schools should be required to not only instruct to this rule, but also emphasize it multiple times throughout their driving lessons. Additionally, it would be great to discuss this rule when performing behind the wheel instruction where the students can actually get a chance to see why this is so important.

Drivers are not paying attention. My guess is that most people fall into this category. They forgot what they were taught in driving school and are thinking about dinner that night. Or they’re on the cell phone, which is yet another problem. Or maybe singing to their favorite song. I very seldom advocate this, but this is a situation where a citation from a police officer would help. Additionally, more signage stating “0 fine for failure to move right” or similar. I’m not aware of good statistics, but I’d be willing to bet that more than a few collisions occur because someone is passing on the right around a slower driver and then have that driver turn into them at an exit.

Bad etiquette. This one is a shame as everyone on the road is within a community and having poor etiquette is just asking for trouble. Driving 3,000 pounds of vehicle at 60 MPH or faster deserves a due amount of respect and having bad manners can cause serious issues, up to and including death.

Last, but not least, how can you tell you’re in the wrong lane. First off, staying to the right is always the easiest and almost always correct. Secondly, nobody should ever be passing you on the right. If they are, you are in the wrong lane and should move to the right. Lastly, if someone is quickly gaining on you from behind and/or flashing their lights, move to the right if there is space.

Bottom line is that following the “move to the right” rule is not only good manners, but can alleviate potential road rage and make the roads safer for all.

Hilarious video “portraying” Chopper Reed, a former Australian murderer who’s now quite famous.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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Modest or Significant External USB Drive?

The size of the a USB external hard drive is what is most impressive about the actual drives themselves. The USB drives tend to be smaller, and could easily be considered pocket sized. These types of external hard drives are recognized for being incredibly modest, but do not be fooled. They can still work just too as any other type of external difficult drive.

Storage Capacity

The storage space accessible on a USB drive is actually larger than many people think. Men and women expect these drives to be tiny since when they were first available, they typically failed to break the 1GB mark. The space offered for these drives continues to grow, however, as these drives could be a “mid sized,” 6GB USB hard drive or “medium size,” including a12 GB USB tough drive. You will find some tiny USB difficult drives that may hold even 10 times this significantly data. These drives may be employed to move significant files, rather than just replacing floppy disks. These drives can even replace CD drives.

Basic Connectivity

Those who are thinking about an external difficult drive need to know that they will be able to take their drive with them wherever they will need to take it. Before you can move the actual drive, nevertheless, you have to be able to connect it in an effortless manner. External hard drives and external USB drives have wonderful connectivity, as they can connect to any pc that has a USB port. There is no software which is needed, so the connectivity of the USB drive is simple and effortless.

Portability is Appealing

The portability of a modest external difficult drive is fairly impressive, as several individuals take a look at this for the major reason to have the drive inside the first place. USB drives are no distinct, but truly have an even greater portability use. Those who have USB drives have found that they can take their USB drive anywhere, hide it anywhere and can use it anywhere.

Most USB drives drives these days are is incredibly small. Modest sufficient to fit into most pockets, purses, backpacks and bags. Numerous men and women buy smaller USB drives for this exact purpose. While they want to take their critical files to various locations, they don’t need to worry about bulky external drives or big cords. Most USB drives are incredibly discrete, and might be ridiculously simple to move and use.

There are multiple advantages to USB external difficult drives that several men and women do not understand. The sheer size of the USB challenging drive allows you to move the difficult drive wherever you want, and to hide the hard drive however you would like. The space of the challenging drive allows you to move more than just little files. The connectivity and portability of a USB external hard drive is rivaled by none, giving people the tool that they will need to move what they need to move in a quick and efficient manner.

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Texas Online Drivers Permit Tests

The driver’s education course that you choose should cover a number of different subject areas, first to make sure that you will be able to pass your Texas drivers license test and second, to make sure that you are well prepared to be a safe driver. The course should cover all the material that is in your Texas driver’s license test. Some of the subjects that should be included in the course are: Texas rules and regulations for drivers, how distractions can cause you not to be a safe driver, what impaired driving means, how to maintain your car, what the different signs and symbols that you will see on the road while driving mean, how to deal with different driving conditions, and how to prepare your car before you take a road trip.

The best online driver’s education course will have a number of different sections, and may take a while to complete. This isn’t something that you can really learn in just a day or two, which is why classroom based courses, tend to take a number of different meetings before they are completed. One thing that an online course can’t help you in preparation for your Texas drivers license test is actually a live practice driving. Some classroom based courses have simulators you can use for practice purposes that will evaluate your skills. You will have to spend a decent amount of time practicing behind the wheel of a real car in regular driving conditions before you will be able to sufficiently pass your Texas drivers license test.

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Taking drivers education online offers students the freedom and flexibility of any other online course, mixed in with multi-media fun! Using videos, interactive case studies, and informative text, drivers ed online is sure to help students turn into successfully safe drivers. Online drivers ed means students learn at their own pace, on their own time. Study in the computer lab at lunch, or wake up early and study at home over a cup of hot chocolate. As long as you have internet access, you can study for your learners permit with online drivers education.

Like driving, online drivers ed also comes with responsibility. It’s up to you, the student, to make sure you log in the hours of learning and studying required to pass the learners permit test. Drivers education online is sure to be interesting, but only you can make the time to read and retain the rules presented. Taking online drivers education successfully is a great way to demonstrate to your parents that you’re ready for the responsibility of driving.

Ready to learn to drive? Well, the internet is ready to help you! Check out LearnersPermit.com for answers to all your online driver education questions, and start learning drivers ed online today!

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Of course, computers most certainly do have internal hard drives, but even the largest internal drive is subject to some issues, including:

• Not easily connectible outside of the host computer
• Limited portability
• Limited amounts of storage

No matter how large that internal hard drive might be, there will come a time when you have to delete stored items to make room for new data.No matter how portable your computer might, be, accessing the data stored on that internal drive is not always a simple matter.However, there is an innovative solution to these problems – an external hard drive.What do these drives offer consumers?What options might you find here?Actually, there are numerous benefits to be gained from using an external drive with your computer system.

Better Data Storage Solutions

In the modern world, it’s more important than ever before that you have the right data storage solutions.In the past, only businesses really had to worry about backing up their data.The story is different today, though.With the proliferation of viruses and malware, it is all too easy for an internal hard drive to be compromised.This puts all of your information at risk.

At the same time, consumers are storing more and more types of data.Most people store personal photographs, home movies, tax information, work information, work projects and personal projects on their home computers.This information is important; therefore, it should be protected.

The best way to protect it is to back your computer up to an external hard drive.This ensures that your data is copied over, and kept safe from viruses and other external threats.Of course, this also protects your data from hardware failure.How many people have sat in stunned disbelief when they realized the hard drive of their computer was no so much useless metal and plastic?

In addition, having an external hard drive allows you to save space on your internal drive.When an internal hard drive reaches higher than 50% capacity, it slows down.As data builds up further, the slowing becomes more and more noticeable.Keeping an internal hard drive free of nonessential data is a good way to keep your system running at peak efficiency.

Better Convertibility

As mentioned previously, internal hard drives are difficult to connect to from another computer.This is an important consideration, particularly considering the latest trends of storing photos, home movies, music and other information on a hard drive.This can be overcome by using an external hard drive.

With an external hard drive, all you have to do is take the device to another computer and connect it.Then you can access all the information held on it.This is much simpler than trying to copy everything over to CDs or DVDs.It’s also simpler than trying to email any of those files to another email address and sharing them that way.You will find that it is even simpler than using a thumb drive, as more data can be stored and shared this way.

One innovative factor here is the increasing number of home routers that are connectible with external hard drives.This development allows an enormous amount of convenience for computer users, as well as for many others.Even if you don’t care much about using a computer or getting on the Internet, an external hard drive connected to your router offers numerous benefits.In this setup, the hard drive acts more like a server, allowing computers and other connected devices to store and share content from the drive.

For instance, a connected TV, DVD or Blu-Ray player might be able to stream music, movies and pictures right from the hard drive.This eliminates the need for burning discs, but it also increases enjoyment of multimedia files.The convenience factor is impressive, particularly with larger files that are simply too bulky for the average DVD or thumb drive to handle.

Increased Portability

The need to transport information from one place to another has grown by an incredible amount. This is obviously apparent in the computer usage of students. College and high school students certainly have an incredible need to be able to carry their information with them.This allows them to transport their data from school to home or the dorm room, or any other computer, for that matter.However, considering the trends in education, even elementary school students will find the benefit of portable information.

Of course, not all external hard drives are truly portable.For instance, desktop drives are made to stay in one place.While they can be moved relatively easily, the fact that they need an external power source and that they are usually a bit bulky (larger than the average paperback), makes them somewhat less easily transported than other designs.

For this, there are specific small form factors available.These are often called netbook-grade external hard drives.Their capacity is somewhat less than what you’ll find with a high-end external desktop drive, but it makes up for that in other ways.Most of these require no external power source whatsoever.In addition, they are small enough that they can easily fit in a coat pocket.Some can even fit in the pocket of your pants comfortably.

A Summation of the Benefits

In summation, it is easy to see that the development and spread of external hard drives has made it much simpler to enjoy your data no matter where you might be.Greater portability, security, and ease of access are just some of the more important benefits offered by these devices.The fact that some models can work directly with a network router means that the possibilities with this sort of setup are truly limitless.

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Here’s a list of common teen driving mistakes, and how to potentially avoid them:

They don’t wear safety belts.  Now a standard when building cars, over 170 million vehicles on the road have them — so why do teen drivers still forget to strap on their safety belts?  One of the worst teen driving mistake is assuming they are invincible while driving.  Safety belts, coupled with air safety bags lessen the risk of accidents being fatal.  Be the example — get them used to strapping up before even starting the car.  Ask them nicely to do the same.  Also, it’s the law.

They panic or over-correct in emergency situations.  When teen drivers face something new to them on the road, their first instinct is to step on the brakes.  Hard.  Thankfully, anti-lock braking mechanisms help prevent skidding.  Another is when a car loses control, say, while driving in rain-soaked streets, they tend to oversteer/over-correct, which only throws the car even more out-of-control.  Teach them that sometimes, it is better to speed up a notch to avoid collision.  Then gradually slow down after.

They drink and drive.  A common teen driving mistake: they think that “don’t drink and drive” means a bottle of alcohol won’t hurt.  Some states have zero tolerance for this kind of behavior — even if they don’t meet the state limit, they might find themselves spending the night in jail, with a lot of financial trouble to wake up to.  Fortunately, various groups have, for years, been advocating the seriousness of this message. 

They drive too fast for conditions.  A common teen driving mistake is not being able to gauge the situation of the road before hitting the gas.  Sometimes, they assume that cars are built for any kind of weather — that it can cut through ice and have electronic stability controls take care of the rest.  Have them drive 5mph slower — in any kind of condition.  It gets them where they have to go in almost the same amount of time, minus the risk of accidents.

They ride with other teens.  Not that we have anything against teen drivers having friends, but seriously, other teens present in the car, more than texting, is a lethal teen driving mistake.  Distracted driving follows DUI/DWIs as the leading cause for teen driving accidents.  Teach them to focus on the road, and only on the road when driving.  

The only way to avoid the common teen driving mistakes is to be the best example/teacher when it comes to driving.  Consider reviewing a driver education guide specifically created for the parents teaching their teen to drive.  Have them understand that driving is a privilege that carries a lot of responsibility.  Let them become the best, confident and competent drivers on the road by starting early.

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