Jungle Terms
Jungle Terms: Naming Other Drivers On the Road
At Jungle, we don't just hit the road, barreling by speeding hunks of metal - we enter the jungle that embodies Michigan roads and highways.
To help maintain the attitude of staying alive, Randy and the other members of the Jungle team have devised a categorization of the types of cars and drivers students will see on the road. Students will often take these terms to heart, referring to them well past Segment 1 and Segment 2. Take a look!
Apes, Monkeys, and Chimps: Gawkers who stare at an accident or something off the road. They point their fingers and think many different things are funny and interesting.
Bull Elephants: Semi-Trailers that aren't about to move or get out of they way for anybody. They dominate the asphalt Jungle so make sure to be wary of their wide turns.
Butt Sniffers: Animals who follow too close and do not drive with adequate space around them.
Cats (Tigers, Lions, Panthers, Cheetahs, and Leopards): The best drivers on the road. Cats are proactive defensive drivers who are always aware of all things going on around them. They glide through the highway jungle signaling and changing lanes properly. Since they are always prepared for the unexpected, they are never taken by surprise, anticipate the uncertain actions of the other animals and recognize doubtful situations. Students learn to drive like these cats here at Jungle and even drive in them during practice drives!
Elephants: Large trucks.
Gators: Drivers waiting to pull out into traffic from parking lots, side streets and driveways. They can take you by surprise if you don't drive the "Jungle Way."
Gazelles: Four-wheel passenger cars driven like a pack of animals. They follow each other's speed, whether above or below the speed limit.
Hippos: Older SUVs and Minivans that teenagers think are uncool and would rather not drive.
Hyenas: People who think they're good drivers when they're actually the worst on the road. They butt sniff (tailgate) all the other animals but demonstrate jungle fever (road rage) when others do it to them. They are also known to cut people off, fail to use signals, and do just about everything else wrong. When other animals criticize them, they become extremely defensive.
Lemmings: Most people drive like lemmings. They react entirely on the brake lights of the cars in front of them. They'd follow another car into an intersection (or off a cliff) and when the traffic light turns green, they go without looking.
Parrots: Drivers who squawk on their cell phones while driving and cause a large number of accidents.
Rhinos: Massive SUVs like Hummers, Escalades, X5s and Denalies or any other cool SUV that a teenager would want to drive.
Sidewinders: Like snakes, drivers weaving in and out, moving from lane to lane without signals or looking over their shoulder to check traffic. They speed without any concerns about the consequences.
Swamp Rats: Rusted out, beaten up and dirty vehicles that look like they just crawled out of the swamp.
Tortoises: A slow driver who is not aware of his or her surroundings. They don't pay attention nor are they alert. They drive in the passing lane 20 miles under the speed limit with one of their turn signals on and won't move over for anyone. These animals especially anger Wild Dogs and Hyenas. When they are taken by surprise - which is often - they close their eyes, tuck their heads and hope for the best.
Tree Sloths: Older drivers with very slow reactions; they drive methodically and think they are the only animal on the road.
Wild Dogs: Drivers who take a lot of chances, drive over the speed limit, roll through blinking red lights and stop signs, and don't care the least bit what the other animals on the road think. They are so bold and overconfident that they will admit they're bad drivers and are actually proud of all the things they do wrong.
Jungle Names!
Jungle Names are another fun aspect of the Jungle experience. To learn your Jungle name, simply take the sound of the first part of your first, middle (optional) & last name.
For example:
Randy Rand the Jungle Man becomes "Ra Ra Ju Ma."
Tyrus Woods becomes "TyWoo"
