Preparing our children for a lifetime of safety…Priceless !

By Alison Hobbs, MA, CPRP (Mom)

The nearly 25 years of driving on Arizona roads increased my fear of the impending driving preparation of my then 15.5 year old Maddy. Let’s face it, the roads are filled with drivers who run red lights, never stop before turning on a red light and tail gate so closely that the accidents are just minutes from happening. The underfunded schools no longer offer driver education and I knew that although I consider myself a safe driver, the rules are many and my habits are not perfect. I researched the best driving schools in Arizona and came to DrivingMBA hoping that this might be an education worth every dime. Let’s face it the safety of our children is our job as parents.

Maddy completed a thorough program of classroom, simulator training, on-road lessons, advanced simulator training, Bondurant teen clinic and 100 hours of practice with me. This training instills the rules of the road in ways we parents just aren’t trained to do. One never really knows until the skills are put to the test the value of this training. Recently Maddy was pulling out of our driveway on Hayden road directly across from a public golf course with no barrier. Upon heading south on Hayden Road, a golf ball came hurtling off the golf course shattering the entire driver’s side of her windshield. She was scared but stayed calm, slowed and pulled off the road to call me. I am so grateful that she utilizes what she learned daily. She doesn’t use her cell phone while driving. She doesn’t speed, tailgate or run even a yellow light. She remembers that it’s far better to be late than to never arrive. She has encountered out of control trucks in California, Monsoon storms at night in Chandler and the above mentioned randomly falling golf ball. Each time she stayed calm, both hands on the wheel and focused.

It’s a daily fear for me as she leaves the house, perhaps because she is my only child who I raised alone for 17 years. As she ventures off to University of California, San Diego in September I do feel confident that she knows that driving is a privilege that should not be taken lightly and distracted driving can truly end very badly. This program is a gift of life, which we all agree is again, priceless.