Driver Education

I definitely got more than I bargained for when I signed up to take the Defensive Driving class at our local high school, through their continuing education program.  I just finished the second half last night (two three-hour chunks of time).  The sessions were led by a retired police officer whose father and brothers were also officers, and whose son is a firefighter.  There were only a few other people in the class, and one of them works for the military and is also a volunteer firefighter.  We had some real eye opening personal accounts, given in between the standard dry course material.  Topics included:  federal vs. local law enforcement jurisdiction; what happens if you receive a federal traffic ticket; how "red light" cameras work; current strategies for deploying traffic cameras locally (including EZPass); why you should not fight a traffic ticket received via camera technology; tales of pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles ignoring railroad crossing gates; types of lighting on emergency vehicles; and what to do (and not to do) when a police officer pulls you over.  

Quite the education!  Now I shall have to remember to smile for the camera...