Our Philosophy

Our philosophy is that the difference between good driving and bad driving is not skill, but consistently good decisions based on safety.

We do not teach you emergency evasive maneuvers; we teach you how to avoid getting into a situation where you are surprised and find yourself reacting to an unexpected emergency.

Driving does require skill. Simple and basic skills. Students need to learn how to steer and start and stop. They need to learn how to control the vehicle. But driving a car is likely easier than the games teenagers play on the computer.

The difference between a good driver and a bad driver:

Good driver-- obeys traffic laws, follows rules of the road and correct procedures. A good driver respects the police who are tasked with enforcement of laws for public safety, and therefore shows respect for the community and fellow travelers. A good driver communicates to other drivers on the road and behaves in a predictable manner. A good driver looks ahead and stays focused on the task of driving. A beginner driver-- a student driver with very little experience-- can easily be a very good driver. At least a diligent beginner is trying to do what is right and what is safe.

Bad driver-- ignores traffic laws, rules of the road and procedures. Considers himself a good driver while increasing the risk and the danger for innocent people who are unfortunate enough to be sharing the road with him. Shows absolute contempt for traffic laws, law enforcement personnel, and the community in general. The attitude is stay out of my way or I will kill you. My job is to break the law and your job is to stay out of my way. The police's job is to catch me breaking the law and my job is to endanger the community as much as I can without getting caught.

As you can see, skill has nothing to do with it, once the basic skills are established. There is no reason to test your skill by betting the lives of those people close to you on the road. Irresponsible and immature. Do you want to share the road with such a driver? Do you want your driving school instructor to teach your child to drive like that? Do you drive like that?
Does it seem appropriate? Should the driving environment on the public road be an orgy of unrestrained law-breaking? Should we have an us-versus-them approach to law enforcement officers? As citizens of the road, we should all desire a safer driving environment.

The way to accomplish that is for drivers to show at least some respect for the traffic laws. Young drivers should be taught to obey traffic laws. They should be told that submitting to traffic safety laws is their responsibility and the only way to be a good driver.

After all, every time someone crashes, it is because someone did something wrong. Almost without exception, a crash is the result of someone ignoring traffic laws, rules of the road or correct procedures. If everyone drove correctly at all times, there would be no crashes.

We can all do our part. Parents, please set a good example and carefully choose a driving school that will actually teach this.

At Better Drivers, we teach defensive driving and risk reduction strategies, not how to break the law with skill.

Even if you or your child went to a different driving school, you are welcome to peruse our information so that you can pass the tests and be a safe driver. I have small children in my car and sincerely hope that you will be mature and responsible on the public roads of Guam and wherever you drive.