Student Driver

FTLComm - Tisdale - Thursday, February 14, 2002

Each year Woodlands Community College holds courses to prepare people for work in the transportation industry. Learning to drive a big truck is a bit more involved than handling a four wheeled vehicle with an automatic transmission as prospective drivers have to master the complexities of air brakes. First and foremost learning to stop and keeping a machine in a condition that it will stop is pretty important. So the Community collage offers both air certification courses as well as a practical hands on driving and maneuvering operational course. See a high school student in a car downtown with a bright yellow sign that says "Student Driver" is one thing but a semi with a highboy and a "student driver" sign on it gives one definite pause. No doubt the figures vary from year to year but some years ago I recall that 27% of all highway fatalities involved accidents with big semi units. Considering the number of these things on the road and the continuing demand for them to provide almost all commodity transportation that percentage may not be all that bad. But keep your eyes peeled around Tisdale for the next month as there are four big units working their way around and each has that scary sign, "Student Driver."