Very helpful. It has been a very good review for me on driving techniques -- sometimes you forget. I do disagree with him on two points. I would not ever get out of a car to pick up something on the freeway or get involved in dealing with an accident on a busy freeway that I was not a party to. Also, you should not get out of your car and approach the patrol car if an officer pulls you over -- the officer needs time to finish checking your plate on the radio and does NOT want to deal with you yet! Yes, it does meander off-topic sometimes; yes, it is a very personal style; yes, it is VW-centric. But these aspects do not materially detract from the tremendous amount of thought and collected information in the book. And it is very readable.Well worth the money. Thank you, Mr. Pease!
My Teenager Likes It.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I've kept this book out in plain veiw. My teenager, who is about to start driving picked it up and started reading it. After a chapter or two, she said, "I like the way he writes." This has led to some good discussions about driving. Excellent. I couldn't ask for more.
An extremely readable guide to smarter driving
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
I love this book! Lots of books are full of good information, but what good are they if you can't stay awake reading them? That's NOT what "Accidents" is like -- it is jam-packed with great information about smart driving, and about how cars work in general, plus it is fun to read.I got this book because I've read lots of magazine articles by Robert Pease and I knew he was a writer that could keep me interested in just about any topic. I wasn't especially looking for a book on driving, since I've been driving for over 20 years already. The author claims this book is for teen-agers, to help them to avoid accidents by teaching them to think while they are driving. Maybe so, but after reading only a few chapters, I found myself looking at the way I drive all in a brand new light. If you were learning to drive all over again, who would you rather learn from -- the rule-spouting Drivers Ed teacher you had in high school, or that friend of your dad's who's good at spinning stories, plus has over 1 million driving miles under his belt? The author writes like he's your best buddy talking to you over a cup of coffee at the diner, sharing what he's picked up over the years.It's no collection of rules to memorize. The book even recommends that you practice getting into skids (away from traffic) so you can learn how to handle them.It's a good read. Plus the stuff in it makes sense. I might argue a couple points with him, such as whether it's better to back into a parking lot space or do it the "right" way, but overall I strongly recommend getting this book if you have a teen learning to drive, if you want to learn about smart driving, or just how cars work in general. It was worth every penny to me!
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