He’s cute, isn’t he? And legend has it that he’s wise, as well.
But the reason we chose him as our mascot is – can anyone guess?
We chose him because we want our students to mimic his way of seeing:
“Although owls have binocular vision, their large eyes are fixed in their sockets, as with other birds, and they must turn their entire head to change views. Most birds of prey sport eyes on the sides of their heads, but the stereoscopic nature of the owl’s forward-facing eyes permits a greater sense of depth perception necessary for low-light hunting.”
Depth perception! Did you know that many people lack the necessary depth perception to distinguish which of multiple oncoming vehicles is traveling at a faster rate? And most will be unaware of this fairly common vision deficiency until it’s too late. It’s not tested in most states when you go for a license. That explains why some drivers will turn right in front of you when it’s too late for you to stop in time. Even many commercial drivers’ licenses don’t require this test, so that means there are thousands of bus, tractor trailer and taxi drivers moving at high speeds who are going to misjudge and screw up in a potentially fatal manner.
Turning your entire head – we call it a “head check” – to see that blind spot on either side of your vehicle is a critical skill for changing lanes, but do you know how many drivers think that their mirrors are all they need to maintain a proper space cushion? (It’s an easy answer: Too many) And some of them are adamant on this point. I had a former manager who drove like this; it wasn’t the only thing he was stupid about, either.
Wiki does a decent job of making the case for the head check:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_spot_%28vehicle%29
Check it out! And the next time you’re changing lanes, maybe give it a whirl. You can follow the move with the TEAM Driving theme song: “HOOT! HOOOOOOT!”
