Cathy's Perspective
March 2008 | Catherine Danola

For those of you who have a teenager, it is probably easy to relate to the stress that my mom endures during our driving lessons. At times, her anxiety has forced her to "use" an imaginary brake on the passenger side of the car. Every time I drive, she finds minor errors to point out, even though she makes them herself. She says that she is just getting me ready for the driving test.

Personally, I think that the whole driving thing has pushed her over the edge. But, by the time this article is published, I should have taken and passed my test. No longer will I have to have Mom in the car. I admit that learning to drive has been difficult. Driving looks easy, but it is one thing to read about it and another to do it. I want to be a careful and polite driver. After five months of driving, I am not sure that everyone else has the same goal. I have noticed that five or six cars are on my bumper on Crest just because I am driving the speed limit -- which is, by the way, 15 miles per hour. Many times adult drivers have passed and cut me off on that narrow road. Maybe that seems safe to them, but for an inexperienced teenage driver, it is scary. I find it strange that some of the worst offenders are moms driving with their kids in the car. It is ironic that I am more comfortable driving with all of my classmates in Carmel Valley than with the experienced drivers in Del Mar. So, if it wouldn't be too much to ask: Relax, be a good role model, and start out early so that you can be a careful and polite driver and I will do the same.