Congratulations on the purchase of THE CONTROLLER™.

Used in combination with ‘The 7 Essential Lessons,’ this program provides an excellent course that teaches valuable driving skills. It is assumed that students will be thoroughly versed in the laws, regulations, and driving practices of the states where they will be licensed. We have provided convenient diagnostic material at the end of this guide as a supplement to the skills-based information in this book. Students and teachers must be familiar with the laws governing driving before beginning this course. The CONTROLLER™ program cannot substitute for legal and technical knowledge to drive in your area. The information provided in this guide will help you develop valuable driving skills without the stress and danger associated with going it alone.

IT IS SUGGESTED THAT TEACHERS READ ALL SECTIONS OF THIS MANUAL

The information provided in this guide was developed for both the teacher and student to read all sections of this manual. The teacher must read the in-car "Guide for Students," and the student should read the in-car "Guide for Teachers."  Both of you will therefore get a better understanding of what the new student has to learn and what the new teacher is learning from the student.

TEACHER'S GUIDE
INTRODUCING YOU TO THE CONTROLLER™ PROGRAM

Well, you have now learned how to install THE CONTROLLER™ on your car and practiced using it with another licensed driver. You have learned how easy it is to use The Controller™, practiced all the maneuvers you would use during a normal driving situation, and feel totally comfortable proceeding to the lesson stage.

Learning to teach someone how to drive can be a fun and rewarding experience, especially since you have the total confidence that comes with knowing you are always in control of the car.

So, let us get started...

A WORD ABOUT SCHEDULING LESSONS
If you are teaching a family member, any time is a good time to practice driving, even if it is just a quick trip to the corner store to get some milk. Since installing The Controller™ is so easy, all you have to do is attach The Controller™ to your brake, complete your routine safety checkout, and proceed.  When you are first beginning the instruction process, do not exceed a half-hour per driving lesson. Learning how to drive and teaching driving skills can be demanding for both the student and the instructor. You want the student to absorb the skills and learn in a relaxed atmosphere.

Teaching and learning to drive can create stress because driving is stressful and potentially dangerous. However, the more prepared you are, the less dangerous and stressful teaching driving becomes.

DRIVER EDUCATION, THE EMOTIONAL DIMENSION

Teaching anyone how to drive can create lots of anxiety, both in the student and in the teacher, especially if your student is a member of your family. If you, the teacher, lose your cool and become angry or impatient with your student, you will lose control of the situation. Positive self-control and control of the driving situation go hand in hand when building student confidence and their ability to learn the material effectively without mishap or panic. If you are teaching a relative, avoid bringing other family issues into the driving education environment.

Your communication skills are essential to ensure the driving education experience is fun and rewarding. You want your student to learn well, whether they are a family member or friend, or whether they are older or younger than you. A calm, confident attitude will increase your students' respect for you. Yelling at your student if they make a mistake will only make matters worse. Remember, you are always in complete control of the car, so you must be in control of yourself too.  Assume your student is doing their best.  You must set the emotional tone for the lesson—calm, confident, and in control — you can make the difference between a successful learning experience and a bad one.

Chances are, your student will already be nervous. Keep reassuring your student that everything is all right. If the student makes a mistake, assure them that this is part of the learning process and is expected.  NEVER lose your temper, ridicule, or yell at your student. When you are too harsh, critical, or demanding, your student will emotionally cut you off and stop learning. If you feel you are uptight and about ready to lose your temper, stop the lesson and call a time-out!  You can always return to the instruction process when you cool off, but you can never return to a good learning situation if you lose your patience and alienate your students' goodwill.

REMEMBER, YOU ARE THE TEACHER!

If your student does make a mistake, repeat the material missed as soon as possible in as emotionally neutral a way as possible, offering gentle guidance and support. Remember that you are the teacher. You are the one who has control of the situation. You have the edge and the confidence to react to any potential hazard thanks to The Controller™.

FOR SAFETY’S SAKE

As I said at the beginning of this guide, “The teacher is responsible for everything that happens during vehicle operation.”  Before getting into your car for the first lesson, make sure your student has thoroughly read and understands the material contained in the STUDENT GUIDE. Ask the student if they have any questions before you enter the car. You will probably want to ask the student a few questions to make sure they have read the material. Take as much time as you need to ensure your student has reached a “comfort level” with the material and that no lingering doubts or problems remain before going on to your lessons. Before each subsequent lesson, you may want to have a brief review session on the material covered during the previous lesson to ensure comprehension is as complete as possible. It is also a good idea to summarize the material to be covered in the current lesson so the student is clear about exactly what will be covered.

• Be sure the student understands that you are the teacher and that anything you tell the student to do is essential.
• If an emergency arises, react immediately. Let us say you are driving with your student down a quiet residential street when a child suddenly runs into the street, chasing a large rubber ball. DON’T wait for the student to react. You cannot read the students' minds. You do not know that the student even saw the child or the ball. YOU, THE TEACHER, MUST REACT FIRST.
• That is why there are so many accidents: dangerous situations can happen very quickly. You are the one in control. Use the CONTROLLER™ to stop the car, without waiting for the student to react.
• Tell your student that if you grab the steering wheel or use the CONTROLLER™ to slow or stop the car, it simply means you see something they may not see, and you cannot take the chance of a potential accident occurring.  Do not blame the student. You may wish to demonstrate, while the student drives, how The CONTROLLER™ can stop or slow the car. Be sure to prepare the student in advance of stopping the vehicle, so the student feels what happens is predictable and that there are no sudden surprises. In fact, nasty surprises of this kind should be strictly avoided.
• Learning how to drive is an exciting process. Your student is bound to feel excited and maybe just a touch apprehensive. Put your students' anxieties to rest. Plan a few minutes at the beginning of each lesson to sit and relax. Take a few deep breaths before starting.

Teaching Your Student How to Steer

Steering is such a crucial driving skill. Yet many people do not learn to steer the correct way, as professionals do, so that the car always remains in maximum control. It is well worth the effort of learning how to steer correctly.

Have your student picture the steering wheel as a clock. Your student holds the steering wheel at the 10 and 2 o’clock positions. The student’s shoulders should be relaxed, not hunched and tense. The hands and arms should exert equal pull on the wheel, so there is no steering bias to either the right or left sides.

 

HAND-OVER-HAND & PUSH-PULL

The Professional Turning Methods

Some people learn to turn by placing the palm against the wheel and using it as a fulcrum to execute the turn. While such methods may “look cool,” they are dangerous as the driver can easily lose steering control. By far the most effective method for turning is the hand-over-hand technique.

For Left Turns, the students should:

• Release the left-hand grip on the wheel.
• Move the wheel to the left with the right hand.
• The left hand then crosses over the right hand, grips the top of the wheel at about 1 o’clock, and continues turning to the left.
• Repeat the cross-over procedure until the turn is complete.
• Most beginning drivers look down at the hood or a short distance in front of the hood when turning. This common mistake can lead to steering misjudgments and panic when the car appears to be heading in the wrong direction.
• First, tell your student to “AIM HIGH IN STEERING.” Never look at curbs, painted lines, or the pavement when you turn.
• Here is a clever trick: from the passenger side where you are sitting, you can tell the position of your student’s eyes by checking in the mirror to verify if the student is looking high or low. So, check your students' eyes to see if they get the message. If not, repeat, “ALWAYS AIM HIGH IN STEERING!”

 

TURNING WITH YOUR STUDENT

Learning to turn does not have to cause panic. First, practice in an empty parking lot until you and your student feel confident that basic turning skills have been mastered. When you do make it to the street, and you are turning left or right, watch for traffic from all directions. Unless a traffic sign or signal gives you the right of way, always tell your student that they must yield to vehicles crossing the path from the left, right, and traveling in the opposite direction as well.

The teacher must give the student plenty of time to consider whether to make a left or right turn. Give your student at least a block to prepare for the turn. Better yet, tell your student they will be turning in three blocks. When the turn approaches, remind the student that they will be turning in one block.

NEVER SUDDENLY TELL THE STUDENT TO TURN AND EXPECT THEM TO REACT INSTANTLY TO YOUR INSTRUCTIONS.  When learning to drive, every move is unfamiliar and strange. Give plenty of warning that a turn is approaching so the student can set up what they will do in response. Always tell the student, “A GOOD TURN IS A SLOW TURN.” Remember, relaxed repetition is a key to efficient and effective learning.  Be consistent and patient.

If a good turn is a slow turn, telling the student to slow down BEFORE the turn is equally essential. The student should not slow down as the car begins the turn. The teacher, because of their own driving experience, is the best judge of whether the vehicle is traveling at an appropriate speed to negotiate a turn.

If the car is going too fast to make a turn, the teacher MUST IMMEDIATELY USE THE CONTROLLER™ and use the left hand on the steering wheel at 4 o’clock to correct during the turn. Of course, you and your student will have used the CONTROLLER™ previously during driving practice in a more deserted location, so when the student senses you are taking over for reasons of safety, they will not fight you for control of the vehicle or panic.

It is usually most effective to break down any complex maneuver that your student must master into discrete learning steps. These steps are provided in a slightly different format in the student guide. Let us recap and add to the skills and knowledge necessary for teaching turns: 

RIGHT TURNS...

• Signal for a right turn at least 100 feet before the turn.
• Brake smoothly before the turn.
• Check the intersection for vehicles and pedestrians. Look ahead… left…right…left again, then look right to start making your turn.
• DO NOT LET THE STUDENT START TURNING UNTIL THE FRONT BUMPER IS EVEN WITH THE CURB OF THE STREET INTO WHICH YOU ARE TURNING.  Also, remember to use hand-over-hand when turning.  Turning too soon will cause the rear wheels to hit the curb as they pass.  Remember not to swing wide to the left lane before turning.
• When turning right, always turn into the right lane.
• Always look well ahead into your lane. AIM HIGH IN STEERING.
• Straighten the steering wheel using the hand-over-hand method. If you turn the wheel three turns, you must straighten the wheel back three turns.

LEFT TURNS...

• Signal for a left turn at least 100 feet before the turn.
• Brake smoothly before the turn.
• Check for vehicles and pedestrians. Look left…right…ahead…left…right…ahead…left.
• Keep your car wheels straight.
• Turn the steering wheel using the hand-over-hand or push-pull method. Wait until the front bumper is almost to the center of the intersection, and then turn two turns on the steering wheel.
• Remember to stay to the right of the centerline of the street into which you are turning.
• AIM HIGH IN STEERING. Straighten the steering wheel using the hand-over-hand or push-pull method. If you turn the steering wheel two turns to the left, you must straighten the wheel back two turns.

 LANE WANDERING—A TYPICAL STUDENT PROBLEM

Many driving teachers observe their students wandering, swaying, swerving, or moving from side to side while traveling in a street lane. Lane wandering is not unusual when one is beginning to learn how to drive. Here is how to correct this problem as soon as it arises.

• The students' hands are correctly placed on the steering wheel at the 10 and 2 o'clock or 9 and 3 o’clock positions, holding the wheel with a light grip.
• Is the student hunching their shoulders and exerting unequal stress on either side of the wheel, causing the car to wander? If so, tell the student to relax their shoulders and place equal arm weight on both sides of the wheel.
• Is the student looking down on the car hood, or at the white pavement lines, or at the curbing? Check your student's eye position by looking into the mirror to see whether the student is looking high or low. Visual misjudgment and misaiming the car are two of the most typical faults for beginning drivers. Correct this problem by telling the student to AIM HIGH IN STEERING. The student should look far ahead while driving. In city traffic, looking far ahead means aiming about a block away.
• On highways and expressways, looking about a half mile ahead will correct for visual miscalculations. Always look “through” hills and curves.

 

WARNING!!!!

Never allow the student to wander in a lane or weave from side to side, whether in city or highway traffic. The instant you note the student weaving, you must take control of the steering wheel and keep the car on a straight course. Never allow the student to remove their hands from the steering wheel. Tell your student you are going to correct for lane wandering. Tell them to relax and let you control the car, but not to take their hands off the wheel. Remember, the teacher’s hand positioned at the 4 o’clock position on the steering wheel monitors steering. Hold the wheel lightly and feel with your fingertips whether the student is keeping the wheel straight or moving it. Correct for movement. Do not let your student be a traffic hazard. Remember that you are responsible for everything that happens in the car.

 TEACHING STANDARD SHIFT DRIVING -- NOT TO WORRY

Many amateur driving teachers feel that instructing the student to use a standard transmission will be difficult, if not impossible. Well, take heart. Teaching standard shift driving is not as difficult as you may think, if the student has FIRST LEARNED HOW TO DRIVE ON AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION VEHICLE. Using the left foot to depress the clutch and the right hand to shift gears are both new to students, of course, but everything else must be operated the same as in a car with an automatic transmission.

TEACHING YOUR STUDENTS HOW TO SHIFT FOR THEMSELVES

 IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK

 Doing all those moves you must make to drive correctly while still shifting can seem confusing and awkward to many students. You want to show the student how to shift by driving the car yourself and having your student observer watch you from the passenger seat.  You can choose whatever driving location feels comfortable, either a traffic-free parking lot or a residential street.

Again, if you break down the learning process into simple steps, your student will grasp shifting skills more quickly and thoroughly than if you try to force-feed too much information at once to your learning driver.

Now, with you in the driver’s seat and the engine running, explain to your student how each shifting position functions. The gears shift more easily with the engine running than with it turned off. For your convenience, here is some information to help you explain to your student what each gear does in the standard transmission:

FIRST GEAR: engages the engine to begin forward motion to around 10 to 15 mph, depending on your car. First gear can also be used to drive up or down extremely steep hills, to drive in mud, snow, and ice, or to pull heavy loads, indeed, in any situation requiring greater traction.

SECOND GEAR: provides forward motion to about 15 to 25 mph. This gear may also be used for steep hills. Starting in second gear instead of first on snow and ice helps prevent fishtailing and provides steady, smooth acceleration.

THIRD GEAR: accelerates for steady forward driving speeds above 25 or 35 mph. In four-speed transmissions, third gear will take your car to traveling speeds of 35 or 45 mph.

FOURTH GEAR: provides highway travel above 35 or 45 mph.

FIFTH GEAR: is a cruising gear for highway, freeway, and expressways.

REVERSE: backs the car, obviously. Tell your student to NEVER shift into reverse when the vehicle is traveling forward.

GETTING STARTED USING STANDARD SHIFT

The following steps describe how to engage the gears and move forward. The student should look ahead out the front window to verify that the car is moving forward. The student should never look down at his foot or the clutch. You may read these steps as you perform the actions required, or you may describe these steps in your own words as you engage the gears.

1. First, press the clutch pedal to the floor. Put the gearshift lever in the neutral position. Then start the engine.
2. Move the gearshift lever from neutral to first.
3. Depress the foot brake and release your parking brake.
4. If your car is by a curb, signal to leave. Check for traffic in both mirrors.
5. If clear, release the clutch slowly. If you release it suddenly, the car will lurch forward, and the engine may stall. When the clutch is anywhere from a third to halfway released, you will feel the gears engage, and the vehicle will begin to move. The FRICTION POINT is when the gears take hold, and the car starts to move.
6. Now, hold the clutch momentarily at the friction point. Gradually press down on the accelerator. Let the clutch up slowly at the same time. If you let up on the clutch too fast, the vehicle will jump and jerk forward and may stall. When the car is moving smoothly, always move your foot off the clutch pedal and onto the floor.

Continue to show the student how to start and stop. Go about 20 feet forward, then stop and start again. Do this series of maneuvers until the student has a good idea of how to operate the clutch when starting from a dead stop. Have the student repeat and practice these steps until they can start the car smoothly, without jumping and jerking or the car dying.

HOW TO SHIFT STANDARD TRANSMISSIONS

Once your car moves smoothly in first gear and you reach the appropriate speed (usually 10-15 mph), you must shift to second gear. Tell your student that you must maintain the required speed or the engine will lag, possibly causing severe engine stress. Make sure to tell your student to watch the road and traffic ahead. Do not let the student watch the gear shift levers when they shift. Show the student how to use the palm of the hand in shifting. The gears are quite delicate and must never be forced.

Instructing the student to “get the feel” of the gears is essential. The student driver must never grab or hold the shifting lever too tightly, nor should they attempt to force the gears into position.

Shifting to third, fourth, and fifth gears repeats the procedure outlined in shifting from first to second.

1. Accelerate until a shift from first to second is required.
2. Let up on the accelerator. (Gas Off)
3. Now press the clutch pedal to the floor. In time, this sequence will become so automatic that you will be able to let up on your accelerator and, at the same time, press your clutch to the floor.
4. Shift into second gear.
5. Let the clutch pedal up SLOWLY all the way out.
6. Depress the gas pedal to accelerate for third gear acceleration.
7. Make sure the right hand returns to the steering wheel and does not stay on the gearshift lever.

In other words, GAS OFF / CLUTCH IN / SHIFT / CLUTCH OUT / GAS

A HELPFUL NOTE ABOUT CLUTCHING

One of the toughest lessons a beginning standard shift driver must learn is to use the clutch properly. Shifting will seem awkward at first because the student must do so many things at once. Clutching can seem particularly clumsy. When first learning how to clutch, a student may remove their left foot from the floorboard. The student may also use the center of the foot on the clutch pedal, instead of their toe. Floating their left foot can make a beginning driver insecure, because they have lost the sense of the relationship between the control foot and the clutch. The student may panic and look down at the floorboard, searching desperately for the clutch with their foot.

Never fear! Remember that keeping their left foot grounded will give your student a relative sense of distance and position between foot and clutch.

Show your student how to use the heel of the left foot as a grounding point from which to position the toe on the clutch.

The ball of the foot should contact the clutch pedal for maximum control. Show the student how to pivot from the ball of the left foot, slowly off the clutch pedal. Observe the student’s feet and, early in training, correct clutch problems.

DOWNSHIFTING AND TURNING IN A STANDARD SHIFT

• Approach the turn in fifth, fourth, or third gear, while decelerating until second gear speed is attained.
• Depress clutch...
• And shift down from any gear to second. Remove the foot from the clutch. Execute the turn with the right foot covering the brake pedal.
• Remove the right foot from the brake pedal and position it on the gas pedal. Begin accelerating until the third-gear range is reached. Shift up while resuming legal speed.

HERE’S A POINTER

FEEL FOR THE GEARS WHEN DOWNSHIFTING

The most significant problem a standard shift student will encounter when learning how to turn is finding the right gear range when completing the downshift. Nothing can be more alarming (to say nothing of the damage done to your car) than grinding gears when you downshift at the extreme upper end of second gear range.

The student often tries to force the car into second. This maneuver requires solid practice in a safe location until all the moves needed to downshift are mastered.

Another noisy, though less frequent, problem occurs when the student downshifts too low in second-gear range, and the car lurches and bucks around the corner.

Teach your student how to use the shift stick to “feel for the gear.” As they decelerate and reach second-gear range, the student should exert light pressure through neutral to second, until resistance at the second-gear position fades and the gears relax into position. Remember that a light touch in shifting puts a student in touch with the car’s performance.

 

FOLLOWING DISTANCE, WHAT’S REALLY SAFE?

DEBUNKING THE OLD FOUR-SECOND RULE

For years, some driver education programs taught their students the “four-second rule.” The student had to fix their eyes on a target object ahead, such as a signpost, tree, bridge abutment, or even a shadow. When the car ahead of the student vehicle passed the target, the student began counting, “one-thousand-one…one-thousand-two…one-thousand-three…one-thousand-four” until the student vehicle passed the target.

This method of gauging a reasonable following distance to allow safe braking and avoid accidents had a couple of distinct disadvantages. First, instructing students to fix their gaze on a target point can have disastrous consequences. Second, what happens when the student must drive at night when targets cannot be seen?

It only takes 1/10 of a second for a crash to occur. While your student was concentrating their attention on the target for four seconds, lots of potential accident-causing situations could have time to develop. Clearly, driving instructors needed a better way to judge safe following distance.

So, what is a safe following distance? The faster you are going, the more distance you need to maintain between you and the vehicle ahead.

Here is the simple rule that you can apply day and night to judge a safe following speed.  For each 10 mph increase, allow one car length between your car and the car ahead.

For example, if you are going 20 mph, leave two car lengths. If you are traveling 65 mph, leave 6.5 to 7 car lengths.

Under poor road conditions, allow for more room so you can stop safely without colliding with the car in front of you.  Following at a safe distance can help you get the big picture and, should an untoward event begin to signal danger, you can react quickly, based on more information than you would have if you were following too closely.

Following at a safe distance is just one part of the driving philosophy called “Defensive Driving.” Defensive Driving is not just a hackneyed phrase but an entire way of approaching the driving situation.

THE HEART OF THE MATTER -- DEFENSIVE DRIVING

Driving defensively really is the heart of driving. After all, defensive driving is the attitudinal dimension of driving. You have the responsibility to drive safely to protect yourself, your passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians.

Defensive driving means driving to protect yourself and those around you from any hazards present in any traffic situation.

Anticipating developing dangers, the defensive driver expects the unexpected and drives at a safe speed. A safe speed is a speed that allows you to stop your car safely under any conditions.

Many drivers manipulate their cars as if they were weapons… and they can be as dangerous as any weapon. These drivers lash out at others and seek to even the score. These angry drivers are just looking for trouble. They will try to hook you into their tension-and-anger games if they can.

When someone blasts by you at 100 mph, or races up behind you, tailgates and pushes you down the road, or passes you on the right, all these situations require you to use the utmost patience to control anger and hostility. You never know who those other drivers are or what their motives are when they try to hook you into a confrontation on the road. Suffice it to say, the student driver must be especially alert to these dangerous situations.

You, the driving teacher, must also instill in your student an attitude that always emphasizes COOL-HEADED defensive driving to counteract the madness of the road.

Please continue to The 7 Essential Lessons

Driving Success, Inc.

The Controller - Driver Training Brake

62 years

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PURCHASER/USER DISCLAIMER

Purchaser agrees that neither the inventor of the CONTROLLER™ nor Driving Success, Inc. shall be held liable if an accident occurs while using the CONTROLLER™. At the time of purchase, the buyer accepts and understands all responsibilities for the safe use of the CONTROLLER™. While every effort has been made to ensure safe use, no assurance can be given that the CONTROLLER™ will be used in accordance with the recommended safe operating procedures outlined in this book or in any instructions or materials provided with this product or separately, in writing or verbally. The inventor and Driving Success, Inc. shall be deemed free and clear of any liability in the event of an accident, injury, death, or misuse of the CONTROLLER™. The user assumes all liability for any vehicle accident arising from the use of the CONTROLLER™.