Car Safety Driving Tips:

A few years ago when I was living in the south, and attending Middle Tennessee State University, I signed up for a safety driving course through State Farm Insurance. I was kind of surprised that most people didn’t know these safe driving tips, and, as far as I know, these aren’t taught in any driving school.

To make a long story short, I completed the course, only to find they wouldn’t give me a reduction in my premiums for taking the course as I had already had an accident (actually I knew that, but I thought I’d give it a whirl anyway, right?). Anyways, here’s a few of these tips that I will share with you freely. Now, I can’t guarantee you’ll get a deduction on your premiums, BUT, it will definitely keep you accident-free longer, and hopefully THAT will keep your premiums low.

Here goes… Always add an extra second of distance per condition, starting with a three second following distance during normal driving conditions. For example, if I’m on the highway with no traffic, I always try to maintain a three second, not a two second following distance, as most driving schools would maintain. If it’s dark out, I’ll shoot for four seconds.

Here’s another one, this one’s good. Always look a mile ahead. Most truck drivers, as they know they have to have extra braking distance because they’re carrying such heavy loads on the trailers they’re pulling, always make it a point to look a mile ahead when they’re driving. Practice this too. Look ahead to gauge what’s going on with traffic conditions ahead.

Here’s another one that’s not from the State Farm safety course, actually I don’t even know if they offer it anymore, always leave yourself an out. On the highway, if there’s no traffic, I always try to keep myself equidistant from all the cars. I avoid travelling with “packs” so to speak, so this way I’m well spread out away from other cars. If there are no cars in the middle lane for example and there are cars in the left and right lanes in a “pack” with the say the left lane being way ahead of me, and the “pack” in the right lane being way behind me, I will go in between the two “packs”, and drive in the middle lane. Make sense?

Fire side chat:
Usually most people who know me here in the car business are surprised by my age. Yes I’m young, I’m a wee young lad, and sometimes full of enthusiasm.
Most people want to hear “my story” as they usually ask me at some point “Gee, you’re pretty young? How did you end up in the car business, shouldn’t you be in school?”

Well I’m flattered that everyone thinks that I look young (or like Zach Braff, but that’s another story for another day.)

I ended up in the business, not by bad circumstance or any other ill-suited factor of life (most people seem to think that’s why people get into the car business and it’s not true. My grandpa worked in the auto parts business for years as a successful auto parts store entrepreneur, including a few of my relatives).

I ended up in the business actually by good circumstances, and would argue, by very good luck.

So here’s the story for most of you who want to know.
A few months ago I was out to dinner at a local sushi restaurant in Bethesda with some friends. At some point we were discussing what I was upto, at the time I was in school (and still am, just for those of you who’re wondering what a young buck like myself is doing away from school, and for the record I’m going for my 2ND degree, I’m a lot smarter than you think, which most folks realize very quickly), anyways, we’re at this sushi restaurant and this guy and I are talking and I’m talking about how I’m looking for sales or marketing work as I’m getting bored simply studying day in and day out and how my life is consumed in textbooks, which in most cases don’t teach you much about the real world (but that of course depends on your major – whatever happened to the apprenticeship system?).

So as we’re right next to a car dealership, I explained to the friends I was with that evening, that I had applied to the dealership next door (and if you live in Bethesda this is a dead give away as to which dealership I’m talking about), as well as another one right down the road not too far from the sushi joint we were eating at a few years prior.

And let me tell you, I got the SAME response at both of these dealerships: “You? You look too young. You must be crazy.” And to his credit a gentleman by the name of Jack Cullota who interviewed me at one of these dealerships told me a few years before I applied when I was negotiating the purchase of a new car for myself he told me a few words I’ll never forget “Son. I get the feeling you’ll be running a business one day.” Jack, it’s a shame you left the business, but wherever you are thank you for instilling a lot of confidence in 20 year old many many years ago; you certainly were among the among the early few to portend great things in my future.

Anyways, after a few minutes of people asking me what type of new job I was looking for (previously I had my own music teaching business, as well as tried my hand at consulting other music teachers to help them grow their business with good results), one guy at the table realizing I was talking about how I wanted to work in marketing and sales said “Tony, do you want to sell cars?” I said “yes.”
The rest is history. To be honest I was surprised I was even hired. I guess it helps when you have an entrepreneurial background; something I realized scared the daylights out of most interviewers when I hand them my resume. It probably also helps that I speak three languages. C’est vrai!

Nonetheless, I’ve been here ever since. I can’t take as many classes as I’d like to because I work longer hours than most folks, and at the same time I’m getting more out of working here than being in school.
Anyways, that’s enough out of me. I’ve got to help some people get into their new car, and then get home, shake off my boots, and play some of Ligeti’s “Piano Etudes” on the keyboard before hanging up my hat and calling it a night. Hope you’re all looking forward to this cooler Fall weather that’s coming up.
The heat in June and July this year have been brutal. At least I hope this next winter will be mild compared to this previous winter where we had two major blizzards aptly named Snowmaggedon, and Snowpocalypse.

Be well,

Tony Goicochea
Internet Sales Consultant
Criswell Chrysler Jeep Dodge
84 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20878
301-212-4445 direct
888-472-0754 toll free
tgoicochea@criswellmail.com
www.criswellauto.com