3.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1: Driving Idioms I

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Don Bissonnette
South Seattle Community College

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Driving Idioms I

1. To hit the gas: To accelerate quickly; to go fast immediately

When the bank robber saw a policeman following him, he hit the gas and tried to speed away. Young teenage boys like to hit the gas when they are driving with their friends.

2. To hit the brakes: To stop very quickly by stepping on the brake pedal in a vehicle

When I saw the young child run in front of my car, I hit the brakes. I hate to hit the brakes on my car because it is bad for the car.

3. Sunday driver: Someone who drives very slowly and looks at the scenery while driving

In the Ballard area of Seattle, there are a lot of old people who are retired and when they drive, they are usually Sunday drivers. The other day, I got behind a Sunday driver on my way to work and as a result I was late to work.

4. Driver education: A course of study where people learn the rules of the road as well as how to drive a car

When a person takes a driver’s education course, their insurance premiums are cheaper. I took a driver’s education course when I was 16 years old.

5. DWI: Driving While Intoxicated or Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs; (sometimes called DUI); drunken driving

When a person gets a DWI (or a DUI), they usually spend one night in jail, pay a very big fine, often lose their license, are unable to enter Canada, and need to take a safe-driving course. A DWI is not fun to get.

6. To take someone for a spin or to take a car for a spin: To go for a ride either for pleasure or to try out a car

The other day I went for a spin in my friend’s 1968 Buick convertible. When gasoline was cheap, people often went for a spin in the evening.

7. To tailgate: To follow very closely behind another vehicle

It is very dangerous to tailgate another vehicle because if the vehicle in front stops suddenly, the person tailgating can rear end the car in front of him or her. It makes me nervous when an idiot driver tailgates me on the freeway.

8. To step on it: To go quickly, in a hurry; to accelerate quickly; to hit the gas

When firemen go to a fire, they step on it so that they can get to the fire right away. When the man got into the taxi, he told the driver to step on it to the airport because he was late for a flight.

9. To stop short: To stop suddenly without any warning; when one hits the brakes, the car stops short

When I saw a man lying on the street, I stopped short so that I would run him over. When I was talking to the man and got angry, I stopped short of telling him off.

10. To pick someone up: To go somewhere in your car to get someone or to give someone a ride somewhere

Every morning, I pick up my friends Roger and Sara and drive them to work. When my son arrived at the airport from Japan, I picked him up.

11. To drop someone off: To let someone out of your car at a particular place while you are on your way somewhere else

I used to often pick my sons up from school and drop them off at music lessons when they were young. I dropped off three friends of mine this morning at the train station so that they could catch the train to Canada.

12. To hang a right or to hang a left: To turn right or left; to make a right turn or a left turn

I told the cab driver to hang a right at the next corner. To get to my house, you hang a left off Aurora Avenue North at 100^th Street, then go five blocks and hang another left on Phinney Avenue North.