Just so you don’t forget me while I’m on sabbatical, here’s a little something I wrote awhile back. Be sure to click the “fog lights” link in the post – you’ll be glad you did!
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I bet if I speed up, I can get onto the expressway before that truck! Who cares that the on-ramp is only one lane wide?
The car insurance bill came in the mail. I nearly had a heart attack – the premium was going up by $75 a month (an additional $600 per year)?! WTF? I hadn’t received a ticket, hadn’t had an accident, hadn’t even been pulled over. By calling my agent, I learned that my premium had gone up because my 3-year defensive driving course had lapsed. If both my husband and I take a renewal course before June 15, we can drop the premium back to what it was.
The agent asked, did we prefer to take the course on-line or at a physical location? Well, duh – if I take it on-line at home, I can get up and do other stuff while the state-regulated timer is counting down. Heck, I’ve taken this course before, and it never changes.
So here I am on a beautiful spring weekend, renewing my defensive driving skills.
I was able to skip the first chapter because there were technical problems which required help from the on-line chat representative – nearly half an hour lost, so she credited me for the time.
After the second chapter, it was time for lunch – that darn timer said I still had 15 minutes to spend on that chapter, so off I went to make some soup. Which I ate while finishing the third chapter.
I had forgotten that it is a comedy course:
STOP means stop – of course, but not if you’re on a real city street with real city drivers. And especially not if you’re on an especially bad section of town where stopping might get you shot. (Don’t worry about a ticket – cops won’t stop there, either.)
The law requires you to signal a turn or lane change – I still do that, but then I’m old enough to have been taught it. For everyone else, it seems to be ok to make a right turn from the far left lane whenever you damn well please.
Chapter 4 – 30 minutes on speeding? Heck, I already know how to speed. Time to clean the bathroom.
Chapter 6 – 50 minutes? Sheesh. Come on, Cody, let’s go outside and play awhile.
Play time over. Both pooped out. Let’s take a nap.
***
[Much later]
Oops. The Course! Damn, now I’ll probably have to log back in. Sigh. Hope I don’t have to do on-line chat again! (Sounds a little naughty, doesn’t it? Whoever said defensive driving courses couldn’t be fun?)
Chapter 7 – adverse conditions. Love those fog lights!
Winter driving tips – Remove now and ice from all vehicle windows, mirrors and lights prior to driving.
(Or you could just scrape off a 2-inch square directly in front of your face and just take your chances like other people do).
5:00 p.m. Cody needs her walk before dinner.
Now dinner – still 2 more chapters to go.
[Much later]
Chapter 9 – Driving Under the Influence. Hmm, time for wine.
[A little later]
Chapter 10 – Final Chapter! Yay! Time for more wine!
Taking the on-line defensive driving course was not my favorite way to spend a Sunday, but it will save me $600 on my annual car insurance premium (assuming I can get hubby to take it, too). Woo-hoo!
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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com
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Images by Cordelia’s Mom
$600, or actually $1800, isn’t too bad for a day of work. But it sounds like a pretty boring Sunday. I would have had my car racing computer game on the other window.
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I never claimed to be a math person. Whatever it comes to per year, I wasn’t willing to pay it when there was such an easy way to avoid it! (Unfortunately, I’m also not a computer nerd – I have no idea how to run two programs at the same time and on different windows.)
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It’s easy. You can practice it on your smartphone while you’re driving.
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Ha, I’m such a non-nerd that I don’t even have a smart phone.
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Now THAT is my kind of defensive driving class!!!! 🙂
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I figured you might agree with me. I think I get to re-take it next year. Woo-hoo!
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