Show Practice Fields for Beginning Drivers Where Can I Cities Believe Beli ve Street or Highway Is Poor Answer to Learn to Drive W Chicago Pioneers With Vilh Schools for Novices By Dy WILLIAM C. C UTLEY K learn to drive a aI acar acar TEY EY yuh crazy lug lue why HEY I 1 car This Irritable query often orten springing from in inspirations inspirations inspirations in- in other than mans man's fellowship with man habitually follows a little fender denting in traffic or a close shave on the highway But up to now there has been only one place to learn how to drive drive In in a street or highway Safety minded individuals and or- or organizations or or- are beginning to realize that this Is about as sensible as teaching leaching a person to swim by pushing pushing pushing push push- ing him of oft off the dock Even less Jess sensible perhaps for a man pushed of on oR the dock would seldom be endangering endangering endangering en en- the lives JIves of anyone but himself But Dut a novice driver let loose in traffic has the lives of hundreds hundreds hundreds hun hun- in his inexperienced hands Now in the larger cities notably Chicago there is a movement under underway underway underway way to correct this error through the construction of practice courses and schools for beginning drivers When beginners have finished the courses and passed all aU the tests they should actually be better drivers drivers ers era than millions who have bave piloted an automobile for years ears And they will wits have had a lot Jot of fun getting their education There are two of these fields now under construction in Chicago one of them a great acre 30 project on the lake front designed to meet the needs of any citizen who wishes to learn leorn and another at one of the large high schools designed primarily primar primar- fly ily for instruction of youth Presents Realistic Situations I The lake Jake front field one ono of the finest examples of the movement in inthe inthe I the nation Dation will be finished next sum sum- sumI I mer It is being built because for a I period of months about persons a I week have been thoughtful enough of the safety of others to ask policemen policemen policemen police police- men Where can I learn Team to drive The school being built in response to their queries is made possible through the co opera operation of the Works Progress administration Husbands and wives will be particularly par Interested if the driving driving- school idea becomes a national one as indications are it may Wives will no longer have hav to hear Tha a Tha a a ts t's right Strip the gears when their novice shifting Is not timed just right And the husbands will no longer squirm amid the tooting of impatient horns from behind behind behind be be- hind when their spouses Kill the en en- gine Virtually every situation that might be met in actual driving can be rehearsed on the lake front course when it is finished Every hazard known to the street or highway highway highway high high- way can be reproduced There will be three miles of road road- way in alL al There will be 2650 feet about half hall a mile mile devoted devoted to high speed road A large field will accommodate accommodate accommodate ac ac- ac- ac those on their first or second lessons Parking on a dime will be taught in a special area with all kinds of parking cons conditions conditions con con- reproduced Weather Conditions Simulated Enrollees in the course will be shown how to make a grade railroad railroad rail rail- road crossing and there will wIn be a areal areal real crossing for them to pass Synchronized Synchronized Synchronized Syn Syn- stop and go traffic lights will greet them at There will be a service station sta stat Lion tion where they may learn to order what's needed to seep Jeep the bus going and see lee that they get what they ask for Not even the weather will win escape being a lesson in the course There will be a dark tunnel for the reI reproduction re se- I production of night driving condi condi- Mechanical devices will simulate aim sim fog for and rain Beginning drivers are perhaps frightened b by nothing so 10 much as skidding on wet or icy pavements They'll be given an opportunity to try a little Utile skidding under skidding under safe sate conditions con con- In in the Chicago school A i skid bowl will produce all aU types of pave pavements menta for this purpose Most drivers ordinarily are told what they should do when the car starts taru skidding but skidding happens so 0 quickly and unexpectedly that they forget torget all their instruction until it is too late Here lIere the student will wIn be beable beable beable able to see just what his car wIndo will wIn do in a skid Few fortunately are acquainted with the terror that grips a beginner begin begin- ner when a small child suddenly darts cut in front of him on a busy street during his first or second I time out alone with the car In Inthis Inthis Inthis this school there will be another mechanical device which will simulate simulate simu simu- late a boy running across the street or child darting out from behind a tree or car Because it would happen hap pen when the student is not expectIng expecting expecting expect expect- ing it it he will be able to tell teU exactly exactly exactly ex ex- how he would react under thereal the thereal thereal real situation He can then concentrate concentrate concentrate con con- upon correcting his mistakes mistakes mis mis- takes U if there have been any According to Otto K Jelinek the park district engineer who Is in charge of the project this will be one of the chief advantages of drivIng driving driving ing course instructions The beginner begin begin- ner will have to act under typical conditions that he will run into when hes he's out on his own I Sixteen to Twenty Hours lIours Perhaps the most important aspects aspects aspects as as- of these schools will be be- bethe the attention which they will undoubtedly undoubtedly undoubtedly edly attract to the need for expert driving instruction which exists even among experienced drivers It is designed to provide so much sport in learning that many will signup sign signup signup up just for the fun of it it If theres there's one thing the American public likes to do that is take tests They I Ican can brag about their reaction I time just as boringly as they can about their golf goll scores The Ibe Chicago lake front school will instruct persons more than sixteen years of age free of charge The Ibe length of the course has been determined determined de de- with the assistance of the National Safety council counell which has aided with most of the plans Beginners Beginners Be De- will take 16 to 20 one-hour one periods of instruction Part of the time will be spent in classes in a building adjacent to the grounds There the driving aspirants aspirants aspirants ants will be shown many hypothetical cal cases by the use of dummy cars After that they will be turned into the field held to put their lessons in into into In in- to practice For those not owning One of the Safety Suggestions Is a Grating Surface for Bridges Which Permits Snow to Fall Through to the River Below wide Along this drive the pupil will meet many of the same things he would in the street or highway highway- signal lights S curves winding roads intersections alleys for backIng backing backing back back- ing practice banked curves and aUthe all aU the rest Courses in safe driving says the National Safety councils council's magazine magazine mag mag- azine Public Safety are being given given given en regularly in hundreds of schools throughout the country In Irs many of these courses automobiles are ue used to give the students actual practice training But this is the first time In Inthe Inthe inthe the United States that high school students taking a course in safe driving will have an opportunity to learn on a practice field especially constructed and maintained for the purpose Educational experts agree that the principle behind the method is I k Site of or practice driving school on Chicago lake front Here the driver would encounter every type of or street Intersection curve highway sign and stop atop and co go device that he would meet in actual The school will be designed to make driving cona conditions ns- ns competent drivers out of those who cannot operate cars their own cars automobiles will wIn be provided it 11 is the feeling of the sponsors that nearly every every American Amerl Ameri can whether he be owns a car or not some time finds himself in a situation situation situa tion that would be Improved if U he knew how to drive Students will of course be allowed to use their own cars if they prefer After completing the course the student is graduated and presented present present- ed with a diploma which he may wave thenceforth in the face of any who belittle his driving skill Exhibits of the developments In automotive and traffic engineering will be shown in the buildings at the school These will also house a testing laboratory a library of trat- trat fic tc and safety engineering engine and a public auditorium where accident prevention programs will be pre pre- In Lane Technical high school Inthe in the same city elty it was discovered that nine out of every ten students didn't really know how to drive a car Some could shift gears step on the starter tarter and make a car move If U necessary but there were only about 10 per cent who might have been classified as 81 good drivers High School Blazes Blares Trail As a result the high school this fall faU will begin to include in its in in- courses coures lessons in bile bUe driving Those who are in in- universally universally uni- uni dined to believe that youths are reckless behind the whee wheel wheel- statistics which they are not safety reveal hope that driving lessons will become a nationally standard course in the schools Driving the school feels cant can't be taught from a text book so a drivIng driving ing course similar to the one described described described de de- scribed above is being built It 11 will have a moving picture auditorium auditori auditori- automobiles and real um dummy automobiles There will be 1000 feet of real macadam roadway 20 feet F s i one of the soundest in teaching leaching prat tice Course Is Compulsory The course will feature graded crossings and ramps which will enable enable enable en en- able students to be taught the art of backing a car on an incline This will eliminate the excuse that a person can drive right or left but does not know how to tu back up William Sears instructor in airplane airplane air air- plane and auto mechanics will have charge of the course at the high school schools It will be a required d one one he s says says' It 11 Is 5 ift expected that about 2000 students will complete the fh Course each MCh semester That means that by the end of June 1937 Lane Tech will have turned out about high school students thoroughly thorough thorough- ly trained and firmly grounded in safe driving Students will be required required required re- re to explain the meaning of the different traffic signals how to turn into main highways how to pass other cars how to turn left and right properly how to start and stop on a hilL bill The actual demonstration tion rivIng drib riv Ing on the track will come only after an Intensive classroom instruction Instruction wh which has been carefully planned to lead logically to the final training outdoors We are now construct constructing nf dummy automobiles which will h be used Indoors e Newspaper Union |