Vehicle Controls & Essential Responsibilites

Learning Objectives

1. Identify and operate 8 primary vehicle controls.
2. Perform complete pre-drive inspection sequence.
3. Review safety belt & texting laws

Timed Lesson Plan

1. Steering Wheel: three hand positions; engineered to go straight.
2. Accelerator Pedal (throttle): controls acceleration, sustained speed and weight transfer.
3. Brake Pedal: cannot be pushed to floor; offers resistance from brake fluid under pressure.
4. Gear Selector (P-R-N-D-L): automatic or steptronic; neutral disengages the drivetrain from the transmission, terminating the link between the motor and wheels that drive the vehicle forward or backward.
5. Turn Signal Lever: a "sign" to others of driver intent; promotes safety through courtesy and active communication.
6. Windshield Wipers: single pass, intermittent, low, high
7. Headlight Control: important to check if set to "auto."
8. Emergency Flashers (Four-ways): alert others of peculiar driver behavior, e.g., stopped or frequent starting and stopping, e.g., mail delivery.
9. Parking Brake (Emergency Brake): secondary braking system required by law in the event of a failure of the primary braking system.

1. Tires: pressure (usually 32-35 psi), tread, damage. What is tread for?
2. Lights:  left & right turn signals front & rear, brake lights, headlights: high & low beams; emergency flashers; lens cleanliness.
3. Windshield: cracks or chips; cleanliness inside & out; wipers operate without streaking; washer fluid tank not empty.
4. Mirrors: rearview, left and right sideview; properly adjusted to ELIMINATE BLIND SPOTS; clean. Turning of head only required if mirrors are NOT adjusted properly. 
5. Seat position:  full pedal control; slight knee bend; clear view of gauges; no loose objects on the floor, mat secured with no elevated edges.

1. Safety Belt Law: (HB. pp. 27-28, FS 316.614(4)(a))  All drivers, front seat passengers, and passengers under the age of 18 must wear safety belts or be in a child restraint device pursuant to FS 316.613. NHTSA reports that in 2021 45% of passenger vehicle occupants who died in a crash were not wearing a safety belt. Data also shows that a greater percentage of unrestrained (no safety belts) fatalities occur at night than during the day.
2. Texting Ban: (HB p. 34, FS 316.305(3)(a)) No manual typing while the vehicle is moving (being operated). Texting while operating a vehicle is "distracted driving" and particularly dangerous because it meets the standards of three types of distractions:  visual (taking your eyes off the road), manual (taking your hands off the steering wheel), and cognitive (thinking about anything other than driving).  
3. Distraction Test:  from passenger seat, the student counts street signs while texting.
4. Other Distractions: talking on a cell phone, watching an object, person, or event outside of the vehicle, reaching for an object, interacting with passengers, eating or drinking, unsecured pets, grooming, adjusting radio or climate controls, lighting a cigarette, daydreaming.
5. True or False:  It is not illegal to send a text message while stopped at a light or stop sign because the vehicle is stationary. True: the vehicle is considered stationary. However, this does not apply in construction or school zones. It is still best to pull into a safe parking area, put the vehicle in park, and then send the text message. 

1. Eyes-Closed Drill: turn on the left turn signal; turn on the emergency flashers within three (3) seconds; sound the horn.
2. Eyes-Open Drill: Put the vehicle's transmission in drive; then reverse, then neutral. Put the vehicle in Park. Apply the emergency brake. Adjust the three mirrors while maintaing "driving posture."

1. Demonstrate three steering wheel hand positions: 9&3, 8&4, 10&2
2. What is the tire pressure range of most tires? (32-35 psi)
3. Can a driver be issued a traffic citation by a police officer if passengers in the vehicle under 18 are not restrained by a safety belt or by a child restraint device? Yes. The driver receives the citation.
4. Is it legal for a child under 13 to be a passenger in the front seat? Yesh, but it is not recommended because air bag deployment can injure or kill young children in the front seat.
5. Can a rear-facing car seat be used in the front seat? Yes, but it is not recommended because air bag deploymmet can injure or kill a child in a car seat. 
6. True or False: Children ages 0 to 3 must be in child restraint devices of a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child seat. True. 
7. True or False: Children age 4 through 5 must be in a separate carrier, integrated child seat or booster seat. True.
8. True or False: You are stopped by the police who notice that a passenger in the front seat over 18 years of age is not wearing a safety belt. As a result, you the driver receive a traffic citation. False. The driver is only responsible for passengers who are minors under the age of 18. 

Learning Objectives

1. Identify and operate 8 primary vehicle controls.
2. Perform complete pre-drive inspection sequence.
3. Review safety belt & texting laws

Activity Breakdown

• Identify by touching
• Explain what each does
• Bonus 1: identify the location of the speedometer and gear indicator display
• Bonus 2: Explain how to turn on the rear camera

• Identify the five (5) things to inspect
• Explain about each why it is important to inspect them
• Explain why blind spots are a widely believed misunderstanding
• Bonus 1: Explain why headlights not listed as a primary control
• Bonus 2: Explain why checking tire pressure is widely ignored.

• Adjust the seat and explain what proper driving position aims to achieve.
• Set your mirrors to eliminate blind spots.
• Check to ensure that all occupants are wearing safety belts.
• Bonus 1: Why is the importance of locking the doors widely ignored?

• Explain safety belt law (FS 316.614(4)((a))
• Explain the Texting Ban law (FS 316.305(3)(a))
• List three types of distractions.
• List other distractions.
• Whiled driving, name vehicle colors of cars in the parking lot.

• Question and answer