http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989 As I am coming close to my 16th birthday [august 23rd!!], I am also coming very close to another milestone in my life; my drivers license. Now, I know the&nbsp;typical adult response, &quot;EVERYONE&nbsp;STAY&nbsp;OFF&nbsp;THE&nbsp;SIDEWALKS&quot; and &quot;Looks like I will not be driving after THAT&nbsp;date&quot;. Haha, very funny parents. As a &quot;responsible&quot; teenager I wanted to respond to a recent question I saw posted in the Bakersfield Californian that caught my attention. They asked of the laws regarding blinkers, and as a new driver, I now&nbsp;know the frustration when people do not use the blinker or do not preform the other responsible acts of driving. But mainly what I wanted to tap on is this question; If the majority of drivers in Bakersfield are &quot;too lazy&quot; or &quot;forget&quot; to use their blinkers and/or follow all the other laws in connection with driving, then why should they tease a teenage driver? I don't know if they realize it or not, but we pick up our bad habits from our parents and others we observe on the streets. It's almost like &quot;when you point fingers at someone, you have three more pointing at yourself&quot;. I remember at Shafter Driving School, where I attended, the instructor said to us &quot;Make sure you space out your appointments so that we can catch and correct all your habits you learned from your parents&quot;. And, isn't THAT&nbsp;the truth. I know that from my own mom, I picked up the 'let's slam on the brakes 20 feet from the stop sign instead of easing on to them 200 feet away like I am taught'. I just feel like if parents and non parents practice what they preach and follow the laws as they want the &quot;stubborn teenage drivers&quot; to follow them aswell, we'd have much safer streets. I applaud that person for posing that question. Also, I want to thank my own parents, as well as all those parents out there who dug their fingernails into the armrest, grabbed the 'holy cow' handle tighter than ever, and pushed their feet into the imaginary brake as hard as they could, but however DIDN'T&nbsp;scream at the top of their lungs or grab the wheel or scare the bajibbis outta us. Sometimes, it's just like kindergarten, you gotta let us do our own thing and just be ready when we fall... or in this case, when we&nbsp;are 2 and a half inches away from the yellow pole at the gas station.... thank you for the english language lesson, mom. &nbsp; As I am coming close to my 16th birthday [august 23rd!!], I am also coming very close to another milestone in my life; my drivers license. Now, I know the&nbsp;typical adult response, &quot;EVERYONE&nbsp;STAY&nbsp;OFF&nbsp;THE&nbsp;SIDEWALKS&quot; and &quot;Looks like I will not be driving after THAT&nbsp;date&quot;. Haha, very funny parents. As a &quot;responsible&quot; teenager I wanted to respond to a recent question I saw posted in the Bakersfield Californian that caught my attention. They asked of the laws regarding blinkers, and as a new driver, I now&nbsp;know the frustration when people do not use the blinker or do not preform the other responsible acts of driving. But mainly what I wanted to tap on is this question; If the majority of drivers in Bakersfield are &quot;too lazy&quot; or &quot;forget&quot; to use their blinkers and/or follow all the other laws in connection with driving, then why should they tease a teenage driver? I don't know if they realize it or not, but we pick up our bad habits from our parents and others we observe on the streets. It's almost like &quot;when you point fingers at someone, you have three more pointing at yourself&quot;. I remember at Shafter Driving School, where I attended, the instructor said to us &quot;Make sure you space out your appointments so that we can catch and correct all your habits you learned from your parents&quot;. And, isn't THAT&nbsp;the truth. I know that from my own mom, I picked up the 'let's slam on the brakes 20 feet from the stop sign instead of easing on to them 200 feet away like I am taught'. I just feel like if parents and non parents practice what they preach and follow the laws as they want the &quot;stubborn teenage drivers&quot; to follow them aswell, we'd have much safer streets. I applaud that person for posing that question. Also, I want to thank my own parents, as well as all those parents out there who dug their fingernails into the armrest, grabbed the 'holy cow' handle tighter than ever, and pushed their feet into the imaginary brake as hard as they could, but however DIDN'T&nbsp;scream at the top of their lungs or grab the wheel or scare the bajibbis outta us. Sometimes, it's just like kindergarten, you gotta let us do our own thing and just be ready when we fall... or in this case, when we&nbsp;are 2 and a half inches away from the yellow pole at the gas station.... thank you for the english language lesson, mom. &nbsp; en-us Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:33:40 PDT <p>This is great! You bring up some good points. But I have a point, too:</p> <p>This is very important:&nbsp; Before you go slamming us parents too badly, let us remind you who LETS you drive the car in between those appointments!&nbsp; It isn't your Shafter driving instructor... it's good ole Mom or Dad, risking life and limb so that you get those required hours behind the wheel.&nbsp; Don't forget that!&nbsp; :)</p> <p>Happy first day of school!!&nbsp; GO STARS!!&nbsp; :)</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_294092 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_294092 <p>This is great! You bring up some good points. But I have a point, too:</p> <p>This is very important:&nbsp; Before you go slamming us parents too badly, let us remind you who LETS you drive the car in between those appointments!&nbsp; It isn't your Shafter driving instructor... it's good ole Mom or Dad, risking life and limb so that you get those required hours behind the wheel.&nbsp; Don't forget that!&nbsp; :)</p> <p>Happy first day of school!!&nbsp; GO STARS!!&nbsp; :)</p> <p>haha. i know. that's why it was all out of pure sarcasum.</p> <p>i just didnt want to add in &quot;lol&quot; everywhere. haha</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_294614 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_294614 <p>haha. i know. that's why it was all out of pure sarcasum.</p> <p>i just didnt want to add in &quot;lol&quot; everywhere. haha</p> <p>How's the first week of school going?&nbsp;&nbsp;:)</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_296687 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_296687 <p>How's the first week of school going?&nbsp;&nbsp;:)</p> <p>Avoiding basic driving responsibilities, such as turning on signals before turning, seem quite common. Common courtesy is nearly as rare as common sense! It's good that you've noticed the difference between how we're supposed to drive and how people actually drive &mdash; I'm betting you'll be a more conscious and polite driver.&nbsp;</p> <p>Good luck with your driving!&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_300603 http://www.bakersfieldvoice.com/home/Blog/bakerstowngirl/31989/#c_300603 <p>Avoiding basic driving responsibilities, such as turning on signals before turning, seem quite common. Common courtesy is nearly as rare as common sense! It's good that you've noticed the difference between how we're supposed to drive and how people actually drive &mdash; I'm betting you'll be a more conscious and polite driver.&nbsp;</p> <p>Good luck with your driving!&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p>