Originally Posted by JustEd
I couldn't disagree more with your opinion and horrible advice and example.
The best advice I've read here is from those that advise seeking a driving school, or someone that has not only the experience ....but who knows how to teach.
I also learned how to drive 5th wheel type vehicles all over Europe, and England while serving there. Hauling everything from bombs, bullets to medical supplies.
I will agree with you on point though. "Driving is more than turning a steering wheel and pressing the gas pedal".
I spent 10 years as a Truck Driving School instructor and director. I have the awards to show for it, and the hundreds of drivers safely driving out on the nation's highways.
I have turned away would-be instructors from my school because they didn't know how to teach, what they knew. Granted they were great drivers but lacked the teaching skills necessary to pass along their driving skills. Being a great driver is not good enough alone, to teach others how.
Smart husbands know to turn the teaching over to someone else.
I'm retired now, but still, get called to teach others how to handle the intricacies of not only 5th wheels but travel trailers as well.
Those that tell others that driving and backing trailers, is simple and easy, usually are only speaking from their own experience. Not everyone is suited to the task, and it's a 'teacher' that will focus, 'not on what you as a driver know, but what the student is having difficulty grasping.
Ask yourself this one question. 'How many ways are there to teach someone to back a 5th wheel trailer' ?... If you answered with any number other than, infinite, then you probably shouldn't be trying to teach.
For those that would contemplate a school, talk with and question your instructor. Ask him/her questions that you might already know the answer to. See how they answer, and/or explain their answer. Not all driving school instructors know how to teach. It's important, so that you get the training you want, and don't waste money if you are paying.
As a teacher/instructor with hundreds of students gone through my classes, I told every student this: If you can't grasp the subject, it is not your fault...it is mine.
In 10 years of training students, I only had 2 that didn't obtain a license.
One that had narcolepsy and fell asleep during his drive test.
The other completed the class but was too eager to join her boyfriend in his truck, that she skipped the DMV test. She even had the nerve to call me and ask me how to illegally run more than one log.
Nuff said.
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