06/19/2023
In this no-nonsense guide to driving habits to be avoided, longtime book designer and debut author Reinhardt provides a roadmap for being a safe driver. “It has been 55 years and an estimated one million miles of driving since my last ticket, accident, or fender-bender,” he muses, noting that he is not a professional driving instructor. “Over the years, I have studied the art of driving and have kept notes about the bad driving habits I have seen.” And they are legion: cutting other drivers off, the dangers of rude gestures in the age of road rage, going straight in a turn-only lane, following a car through a red light, backing up on exits, and entering an interstate too slowly among them.
The author thoroughly proves that common sense isn’t often common, by using data to back up his points. For instance, tailgating (the author’s chief pet-peeve transgression) is among the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents in the U.S., and the top offenders live in Idaho, Georgia, Nebraska, Utah, and Virginia. A more sobering statistic notes that 805 children have died in overheated vehicles since 1998, with 88% of them age 3 or younger. Then there’s the mind-boggling: more than “80% of drivers admit to dangerous behavior while driving, such as changing clothes, steering with a foot, painting nails, or even shaving”—and, of course, the ubiquitous issue of texting.
In addition to offering best practices, Reinhardt also provides sage advice on how to deal defensively with those bent on violating the rules of the road—including by dangerous passing and blaring music so loud it causes the cars around it to vibrate and wearing headphones while driving. The result may avert accidents. Veteran and newbie drivers alike can learn (or re-learn) sensible and safe driving rules designed to keep everyone behind the wheel and inside the vehicle safe.
Takeaway: Sensible lessons on driving safely when everyone else refuses to do so.
Comparable Titles: Hank Wysocki’s How to Drive a Car, Karen Gravelle’s The Driving Book.
Production grades Cover: B+ Design and typography: B+ Illustrations: N/A Editing: A- Marketing copy: A
