Shift Above 2

Photo by  Devin Justesen  on  Unsplash When it comes to snow and winter driving make sure your “vehicle” is properly equipped to handle winter conditions as well as “you” ARE!   Winterizing your vehicle and having appropriate supplies on hand to protect yourself in worst-case winter driving situations.  According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration: 1,300 people are killed and 100,000 injured on snow-, ice-, and slush-covered roads every year.   900 are killed and 76,000 are injured driving during times of winter precipitation (snow/sleet). Safety during wintertime driving depends on your ability to maintain basic vehicle control (like braking and turning) and control during serve challenging winter conditions.   Tire Pressure .   Tire pressure fluctuates as temperatures rise and fall. A drop of 5 psi during colder months will affect traction, handling, and durability.  Make sure your tire pressure is to...

Photo by  Brent Cox  on  Unsplash As it gets closer to turning the clocks back, it will get dark earlier so its time to think about how the changes will affect your daily driving.  Road authorities agree that night driving presents unique challenges, increased risks and numerous deaths and injuries. Night driving involves more concentration, visual awareness and the ability to identify different hazards and make adjustments earlier than in daylight situations.  Fatigue  (drowsy driving). Knowing the signs of becoming drowsy behind the wheel is important and could potentially be lifesaving. Many of the signs are similar to distracted and drunk driving.  Alertness is drastically reduced and attentional resources become less available for driving. Just as it occurs with distracted drivers, for example, a driver interacting with a cellphone, cognitive resources are directed away from the task of driving...

An Au Pair is often a young person from another country, who helps with light housework or childcare in exchange for room and board. They typically stay for one year, during that year they drive the family car.  This can be a daunting task here in the US since our roadways differ from the ones in their country.   Maria an Au Pair here in New Jersey and, one of our students, shares her experience:  My name is María, I’m from Cali, Colombia. I came to New Jersey as an Au Pair. I have been driving for 5 months manual and automatic vehicles in my home country and here in the United States.  I have some concerns about driving in the US, for example, one of my chores is to transport my host kid frequently and with safety. Then, I was worried about a lot of differences between drive laws and street signs system between both countries. And the last one, pass both text and road test, to get my drivers license.  My concern with my driving is ...

In addition to nerves, lack of focus and small oversights with speed control, parking or even turning can add up during your road test performance and cause you to fail.   10 of the most overlooked reason why people fail their road test or get penalized. Here is our list of the most common mistakes you can make while taking the road test: Making rolling stops or quick stops Performing to slow (driving too slow) when demonstrating your basics.   Aggressive accelerating or hard braking. Not clearing both sides of the road when required to do so Moving the vehicle before they instructed you to do so Improper parking position or parking technique for road test acceptance. Too much stopping and starting while performing 3-point turn or parallel parking Overuse of the right mirror or back-up camera when allowed to use. Too much contact of the curb during parallel parking. Unnecessary or excessive movement of the wheel during straight reverse. CLICK ...

On December of 2018 Mike Moran   Ended his Affiliation with   Pro City Driving School Mike began to expand his services to work with doctors and physical therapist clients in need of specialized driving training as well as traveling to train individuals from other parts of the United States.   He continued to further expand his driving programs for Adults, International Employees & Au Pairs as well as ongoing instructing for individuals with Developmental Disabilities & various driving issues.   In April of 2019, he decided to open his own Driving School, called ShiftAbove2, which expresses Mike’s goal of going beyond driver's education, to provide a higher level of driving instruction to students of all ages and to help students to improve their driving skills and knowledge.  CLICK HERE TO ENTER Our Driving Programs Include: 6 Hour GDL & Novice Drivers Program Road Test Preparation  Au Pair Driving Program  I...

We train Students in a mid-size car because most families have mid-size cars or larger.  How to select the best driving school to suit your needs?   Consider the learning experience and goals you are seeking for your teenager as well as have an understanding about the program they will be using to teach your teenager especially if your teen has any level of a disorder.   The number of years a driving school has been in the business doesn’t necessarily mean they are one of the best nor does all the instructors combined years of teaching. Years teaching is not a gauge for quality instruction or indicates a quality instructor.   Affiliation with organizations doesn’t make that school great. It’s the driving schools’ programs quality and their instructor’s ability to provide quality training on a case-by-case for each student. Not every student learns at the same level. Certification and completed programs an instructor completed are not necessar...

AVOID Driving in water this DEEP Photo by  Wade Austin Ellis  on  Unsplash F looding    can happen any time thanks to the rain, blocked drains or burst water mains. Surface water depth from these can be hard to predict and be very deep. Manhole covers can get lifted and moved or a sinkhole opened up in the street that you can’t see. It’s best to avoid driving through water, especially if you’re not sure how deep it will be.  The safest thing to do is go around puddles when you can and NEVER EVER drive through moving water over 4” inches.   Most experts say not to drive through more than four inches of moving water! Fast-moving water is very powerful – take care or your car could be swept away.  Note: 1’ foot of moving water can easily push a car off the road.        Just driving through a few inches of water, better take caution. It’s not that deep, but if you drive through to fast, you risk sp...