A Q&A With Leonard Hunter, Author of "Building a Good Driver"

Leonard Hunter

MarketingNewAuthors.com (MANA) welcomes Leonard Hunter to the MANA Family of Authors. Mr. Hunter is the author of Building a Good Driver, a manual that covers everything that drivers of all ages need to know before they get behind the steering wheel. 

Go HERE to read an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the book. 

Mr. Hunter has 20 years of successful experience teaching Driver Education to teens and adults. He has been certified by the state of Michigan as a Driver Education Instructor. Mr. Hunter is noted for his calm, effective, precise driving instructions.

MANA: Tell us about Building a Good Driver. What is this book about?
Leonard Hunter (LH): Building a Good Driver is a teaching guide for a driving instructor or parent who is responsible for teaching a new driver the physical skills of driving a vehicle.

MANA: What inspired you to write your book?
LH: The comments from my three daughters who pointed out that their driving instructors did not provide the detailed sequence of instruction that I provided.  Also, reviewing my training as well as other Driver Ed teachers, I realized that Driver Ed instructors are trained in the laws of the road, but not on guidelines of the physical skills in operating the vehicle.

MANA: You write about the mental state of mind of the driver. Tell us why the mental state of mind is important for the student? 
LH: The mental state is important because you want to eliminate distractions and focus on the learning process.

MANA: As a driving instructor, how do you combat fear in a student who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle for the first time ever?
LH: You combat fear of new drivers by putting them in a safe environment where errors can be made without harm to the student or vehicle (such as using a large parking lot and/or low traffic roads). A confident instructional tone is helpful.

MANA: Other than potentially being afraid to drive an actual car, what are some of the common problems that you have found beginning drivers to have (not familiar with the vehicle’s dashboard? “flooring the gas pedal”?)
LH: Beginning drivers often have to overcome the fear of other vehicles coming close to them on two-lane highways, steering, (and) staying in their lane on turns and curves. Controlling and learning how to gently accelerate or gently brake with the heel of the foot on the vehicle floor. Also, there is the overall confidence level of a new driver which can be too high or too low. The responsibility of the instructor is to moderate the highly confident driver and to encourage and build up the timid driver.

MANA:  You mention in the book that instructors should ask the student, “How do you think you did?” Then assign a “visual mental practice homework.” What is “visual mental practice”? And, how does it help the student?
LH:  “Visual mental practice” homework is closing the student’s eyes and them remembering the instructor’s feedback on the focused driving maneuver and practicing it using their hands and arm motions to complete the driving maneuver that you want the student to improve.  This helps the student become more comfortable and confident on the road.

MANA: You recommend that driving instructors should leave their problems “outside of the car.” How does a driving instructor’s problems influence or impact a student’s driving lesson? 
LH:  Driving instructors who have other concerns on their minds can miss errors made by the students in the beginning such as when to begin to turn the steering wheel on a turn, and when to let it slide through your fingers.

MANA: You mention driving examples in Michigan. However, do the driving principles you mention in the book apply to other states, too?
LH: The driving examples used in the book are universal.  However, terms like a “Michigan left” only refer to a divided roadway that provides a U-turn a short distance past an intersection to make a left turn or proceed in the opposite direction, which is a common road pattern in most metropolitan areas.

MANA: Is your book targeted only for driving instructors? Can parents who are teaching their teenagers to drive benefit from this book? 
LH:  This book is designed for driving instructors and parents who want a standard for building a new driver’s confidence and understanding of how to operate a vehicle on the road.

MANA: What do you want readers to take away from your book?
LH: The book is helpful in providing excellent tips and guidance to a student wanting to pass the driver’s license test. It does this by providing exactly what to say to a student learning the physical skills of operating a vehicle. A benefit of all of this can be reducing the stress of the person providing instruction or guidance to a beginning driver.

Click on the title to preview Building a Good Driver.