Marty Fremlin is a brave man.
For more than 21 years, Fremlin has worked as an instructor with Young Drivers of Canada, teaching people of all ages how to stay safe when behind the wheel.
On Saturday, Fremlin was extra brave when he let this reporter drive the Young Drivers car during a snowstorm.
“Young Drivers is about driving proactively,” said Fremlin, who also trains instructors, in an interview.
“These types of courses are often called defensive driving, but we want to create a situation where students are recognizing problems well before they get to them.
“That way they can accommodate for those incidents early -- so it’s less likely to become a serious problem,” Fremlin said.
Since Sault Ste. Marie continues to receive more and more snow, SooToday asked Fremlin about the challenge of winter driving.
The first thing he tells students is to only do one thing at a time, which means no distractions like cell phones or other electronic devices.
“Mostly what they don’t realize is in the summer if you slow down late you can still be braking while you’re making a turn.
“In the winter you do not want to adjust your speed during the turn especially. You want to slow down earlier to a speed that will accommodate the turn and as you’re straightening up then you can start to accelerate.
“So maintain a steady, slow speed around the corners,” he said.
As for dealing with slippery roads, Fremlin said you should slow down a lot earlier so you won’t slide. Installing snow tires will also help prevent sliding.
“Thirty per cent of all crashes are in broad daylight with cars coming up behind you,” he said.
“That is your biggest concern when you’re coming up to an intersection that requires you to slow down or stop.”
Half a block back, check your mirror to see who is behind you and “understand if we get to the intersection and the road is slippery then we’ve slowed down plenty early.
“What’s the hurry to get to a red light?
“If we can avoid stopping at red lights by adjusting our speed early so we can continue through at a reasonable speed, we save energy, we save exhaust fumes and we save ourselves from getting hit from behind or us getting in too close with someone in front.”
Fremlin said in certain circumstances when the car goes into a skid, it can be helpful to put the car in neutral, take your feet off the pedals and steer.
“A skid is just your tires turning at a different speed than your car is moving. I tell the kids your car becomes a shopping cart and the wheels will find their equilibrium, which will bring back your traction soon enough.”
While Fremlin agrees that speed kills, he said so does space, or a lack thereof.
“I wouldn’t always blame it on speed,” he said.
“It’s more important that you know what’s ahead of you and around you. We try to drive with space around us at all times.
“If we don’t have somebody beside us, we can’t make a lane change into somebody. If we look and make our observations correctly, we should know where everybody is around us,” he said.
It’s about understanding things early, and understanding what’s going on within our space.
“We need space. Other drivers need space. We’ve all got to learn to respect each other’s space,” Fremlin said.
It’s also important to keep back three to four car lengths when coming up to an intersection, which will give you room to pull forward if someone behind you starts to slide.
“If you see a problem and know there is a crash, take a different route,” he said.
Fremlin said while seniors may have slower reflexes, they often have other advantages over younger drivers.
“I notice even in myself at 64, my physical capabilities and response times are longer than when I was 25 or 40 so we have to drive accordingly.
“The advantage at my age is we have enough experience that we can see a problem quicker, which makes up a bit for our physical capabilities,” he said.
Young Drivers offers lessons that include 20 hours in class, 10 hours online, and 10 hours behind the wheel.
For more information click here or call 705-759-4545 ext 101.