Boxes. Blockers. 360s. Huh?

Slightly panicked, IB次元官网网址檓 brainstorming a number of last-minute reasons why what IB次元官网网址檓 about to do isnB次元官网网址檛 necessary. Call it nerves.

But since I have no idea what those words have to do with driving, it becomes clear there is a very good reason why IB次元官网网址檓 sitting in the driverB次元官网网址檚 seat of a Wallace Driving School training car, with owner and instructor Steve Wallace in the passenger seat.

IB次元官网网址檓 about to merge from my parking spot on Oak Bay Avenue when the 37-year driving instructor and former Mayor of Quesnel informs me I havenB次元官网网址檛 done a 360 before I pull out B次元官网网址� that is, a 360-degree visual check.

Wallace instructs me to glance over my right shoulder out the carB次元官网网址檚 rear window and check all three mirrors before looking to the blind spot on my left.

I suspected my driving skills, while not deadly, were lacking. After all, it has been 20 years since my driver training course and road test.

IB次元官网网址檝e asked Wallace to give me what is one part road test, two parts driving lesson, given the crush of news headlines relating to horrific collisions, drivers picking off cyclists and pedestrians, and the damage some senior drivers have done.

As I white-knuckle the steering wheel, Wallace relays a long list of driving rules IB次元官网网址檝e never heard of. The driverB次元官网网址檚 road test is also more difficult nowadays, he says.

B次元官网网址淚f you forget the 360-degree check three times or any portion thereof (on the test), youB次元官网网址檙e done,B次元官网网址� Wallace advises me as we crawl through a construction zone.

B次元官网网址淵ou would have failed before you left the parking lot because you have to do a 360 before leaving your parking space, a 360 on the first turn around the ICBC building (where the road tests start and end), a 360 on the second turn and a 360 left turn out of the (lot).B次元官网网址�

I know IB次元官网网址檓 not alone in my faulty habits. Evidence supports the need that all drivers should undergo refresher driver training, as well as mandatory road test re-examinations every 10 years if we are to become a more road-savvy nation.

Motorists in their golden years should not solely be targeted, considering our bad habits form long before our hair turns grey. With refresher courses, many of us would be better prepared for the road now, and in advance of reaching our senior years.

I cautiously pass a cyclist. Not only have the rules evolved and traffic levels are at an all-time high, whom we share the road with has also changed.

B次元官网网址淵ou havenB次元官网网址檛 checked your rearview mirror on a break since we started, so check your left shoulder. No, the other one,B次元官网网址� Wallace says patiently.

IB次元官网网址檓 nervous, did I say that already?

Refresher training, coupled with the pressures of undergoing a road test re-examination once every decade, would beef up our skills enough that we would be more deserving of our driving privileges. Our prowess behind the wheel would come in handy as our physical abilities diminish.

B次元官网网址淒id I pass?B次元官网网址� I ask Wallace hopefully, despite the number of times I asked him, B次元官网网址淲hat does that mean?B次元官网网址� during the unofficial test.

It was not without its challenges, but the point is that after an hour of instruction, IB次元官网网址檓 putting my new-found skills, such as 360-degree visual checks, into practice, along with my new blocking know-how.

DonB次元官网网址檛 know what blocking is? My point exactly.

Erin McCracken is a reporter with the Victoria B次元官网网址.

emccracken@vicnews.com