Asian Tiger

Curiosity got the better of me after my previous post about my cousin getting a drivers license having coached by her dad. As I have mentioned, Malaysia driving students need to get professional driving education and lessons unlike citizen in the United States.

So, I checked around the Internet and found out that California driver education course allows teenagers to take lessons at their own pace via their computers. After completing the course and attaining the age of 15½, the teenager can then apply for their learners permit. From here, parents can then coach and teach their children to drive. I really like the California driver education methodology as it allows parents to spend quality time with their teenage children and at the same time, act as a mentor. Comparatively, back here, we are behind time in terms of drivers education methodology.

As I was browsing around the driving sites, I found and couldn’t resist this Driver Education Quiz and attempted it — I passed. 🙂

One of my cousins in the US is going to get her driver’s license soon after completing her Texas driver education course. What surprised me was that my uncle was the one who supervised and taught her driving lessons. Apparently, in Texas, you are allowed to coach your children after the parent taught driver education program was launched. Unlike here, we are required to register with a accredited driving training school and drive some old junk around before sitting for our practical tests.

Those of you who remembers the driver’s exams are going to shiver just thinking back. First, there was the hill test, then the parallel parking test, then the 3-turns test and finally the treacherous on-the-road test. Fail any of these and you can kiss your driver’s license goodbye. If I’m not mistaken, you can only apply for a re-test after 3 months.

The next thing that surprised me was when my cousin told me that you can start your Texas driver education at the age of 14, get a learner’s permit at 15 and get a full driver’s license by the age of 16. Wow!! That’s pretty young to start learning driving, in my humble opinion.  Well, cuz, good luck to you and when I get there, you’re gonna be my chauffeur. 😀

Your auto air-conditioning seems not as cool as before. Your car seems stuffier than usual and the first thought that comes to mind is that your car is low on refrigerant or commonly known as air cond gas. Beware that changing your air-conditioning refrigerant means emptying the remaining and filling it up again. You’ll be charged for what may not seem to be the problem (air conditioners have lots of places that could cause loss of coolness).

If you want to be sure that your car’s air conditioner is low on refrigerant, pop open your hood and peek inside. Make sure that your car engine is running and the air conditioner (set to maximum coolness) is switched on.

Locate a tube that has a glass opening for viewing. If needed, wipe the glass clean so that you get a good view of what’s inside. If you see bubbling liquid similar to boiling water, it means that you have sufficient refrigerant. If not, you need to top it up.

The picture below demonstrates what I saw under the hood this morning when I checked. The liquid is bubbling alright which means that I have enough refrigerant.

[tags]refrigerant, gas, auto air, air conditioner, air conditioning, air cond,[/tags]