Remember Inchme and Pinchme?  They were on a boat, and Inchme fell overboard.  Who was left?

Pinchme.  Then you got pinched.

Ipdee and Sipdee (I.P.D.E. and S.I.P.D.E.) were also on a boat.  They both fell in, and nobody cared.  I.P.D.E. (Identify.  Predict. Decide. Execute.) and S.I.P.D.E. (Scan. Identify. Predict. Decide. Execute.) have long been fundamental to high school driver education. They appear very scientific.  They are not.  They are nonsense.

I.P.D.E. teaches that when a driver identifies any given traffic situation, his next step should be to predict its consequences.  After that, he should decide what to do about it.  Finally, he should execute his decision.

Neat, huh?  A guide to live by in all driving circumstances.  Come on!  We all know that once any given traffic event is perceived, its consequences as well as any actions required of us are instantly obvious and automatically executed.

Then they added “Scan.”  Hurrah!  It’s the only point that matters.  If you don’t see trouble, you can’t do anything about it.  Noticing things is the biggest part of driving.  Just keeping in a lane or on the road requires knowing where the lane or road are.

But driver ed. did not supplant I.P.D.E. with S.  It kept all the other nonsense, as if it were just as important.  Above, I said that when I.P.D.E. and S.I.P.D.E. fell overboard, nobody cared.  I was wrong.  I’d be delighted!