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John Simmers
First – I’ll coattail Grace’s gratitude for Andrea’s update (thoughtful and perceptive encouragement and reasoning to attend for sure), and, Andrea’s recognition of Michelle’s work – while just yesterday I e-mailed our classmate Charles “Chuck” Gaidica to direct him to the website here, and, I told him how great the organization and site is (and, to visit the site in any case). (Chuck was the on-air chief meteorologist and a host of local programming at the NBC affiliate in Detroit for over thirty-years. He retired, but, is now recently back on air again with his own morning show.)
OK – so now for a contribution. While we’re remembering classes and instructors, since LTHS– over the years, I’ve gathered a small collection of automobilia, and, on a search (a few years back), I happened to see this on ebay. I didn’t buy it, but, it did catch my attention.
 
In case you don’t recognize “it” – this is a section of the LTHS driving simulators that at least some or most of our class used for driver’s education. I know there was a cutoff – I think I had driver’s education in the Spring of 1974 and this is what we used, and, some later classes had new simulators.
As I recall, the placards mounted on the vertical board in front of the “Lane Tech” steering wheels indicated the piece had at some point been in a museum (I think it was the Museum of Science and Industry(?)), and, I believe the placards noted the piece was a memento of the nation’s “first” driver’s education class.
So, you say – ‘no way’ – these are ‘too old’. I say - take a look at some pics from our yearbooks (72-76) showing them still in use at the time.
I remember the simulators were in a purpose built room and had just gas and brake pedals installed (the “clutch pedals” were gone – we all drove “automatics”). The seats were adjustable back and forth, and, after “getting in” and adjusting our seating, we each had to physically reach up and “adjust” our own pretend rearview and outside mirrors – that weren’t really there.
In order to “drive”, about 30 of us at these simulators all watched a movie projected at the front of the room and we would each "drive" along – as if we were the one driving the car in the movie (which was shot from a driver’s point of view). If there were too many of us in the class – the overflows sat in chairs in the aisle (see yearbook pics above).
When the car in the movie was started – we each had to physically turn a fictitious key on our dash and put the car “in gear” by moving a fictitious gear-lever that also was not really there (yearbook pics above – shows both).
Although, connected to ‘nothing’, when the car in the movie would “go” – we each pressed our gas-pedal, when the car turned a corner or curve – we would each turn our “Lane Tech” steering wheel, and, when the car would slow or stop – we would each press our brake-pedal. Without a real turn-signal lever, while “driving”, we used hand-signals for turning (and slowing down), and, beyond that, we were all on our honor to drive appropriately to what was in the movie.
Usually the movies were predictable, but I do remember that on a particular day, while we were all “driving” along in class, a person unexpectedly walked out from between some parked cars (in the movie), causing the entire class to simultaneously slam on our collective brake, and, because the pedals weren't really connected to anything, they all hit the floorboards at the same time with an incredible ‘thud!’. Thankfully, all of us avoided hitting that errant jaywalker (ok, that’s sarcasm), but (this is true), I think we all freaked a little when that person then also stopped in the street, turned and gave us all a dirty-look through our collective windshield, and then continued on their way.
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