When it comes to driving, we can learn much from watching the actions of others. Unfortunately, this is not always a good thing.

I've had the following conversation with my permit-carrying son repeatedly: "10 o'clock and 2 o'clock, son. If I have to tell you to drive with both hands on the steering wheel again, you will not be getting your license until you are 32."

Then, for emphasis, I'll give him the "mother glare" and add, "Any questions?"

His glib reply is exasperating: "Yeah, I have a question. How come YOU get to drive with only one hand on the wheel?"

Does my son notice that I obey all traffic laws to the letter and make pillow-perfect stops? No. He notices the one teensy-weensy bad habit that I have when driving: driving with one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand resting motionless in my lap.

In my defense, my single-armed method was not cultivated from some deep-seated desire to slouch in my seat, bob my head and raise and lower my car hydraulically at stoplights. The one-handed method was born out of necessity when a stubborn rotator cuff injury made it difficult for me to raise my right arm for more than a year.

My teenage son can claim no such injury. He insists on trying to drive with one hand on the wheel because he has learned to do so from watching me.

Lee Sulaeman, of San Bernardino, likes to have eye contact with the people he's conversing with, even when he's driving, and even when the people that he's conversing with are in the back seat.

"I picked up that habit from my brother. I turn my head and look at the people in the back seat when I am driving. I end up taking my eyes off the road for more than a couple of seconds."

Then Lee thought about what he'd said, and added slowly, "That's bad."

Clifford Chan, of Fallbrook, feels like he picked up a bad driving habit from his friend, Bob Hayes, of Canyon Lake.

"I crossed the double yellow when I was following Bob Hayes after he crossed the double yellow," he said. We both laughed as he told me this, since Bob was standing right next to him. When I asked him if perpetrating this illegal act made him feel guilty, he laughed again and said, "I just felt like Bob Hayes was a really bad example."

In fairness to my son, I explained to him that I had also learned some poor habits when I was first learning to drive. My best friend, Julie, was a year older than I was, and therefore was the designated driver for the year prior to my getting my license.

Julie always drove her forest-green Volkswagen Beetle like she was an hour late for her own wedding. Back then, Julie's driving style could only be described as tense, terse and impatient. She would lean as far forward as she could in the driver's seat and ferociously jerk the stick from one gear to the next as she bobbed and weaved through traffic lanes.

When I got my license, I found that I drove the exact same way. Only years later did it occur to me that driving wasn't some sort of contest that I had to win every time I jumped behind the wheel.

I am making an effort to retrain myself and get that other hand back up on the wheel. I've also found myself driving even more cautiously lately.

After all, you never know who is watching - and learning.

Michelle Groh-Gordy is the owner of InterActive! Traffic School Online at www.trafficinteractive.com , and writes a syndicated weekly column on driving for the publications of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.