The advice I gave to to my granddaughter when I taught her to drive:

"Every day that you drive, expect other drivers to make stupid decisions that could endanger you."

Now that she has racked up her first 4,000 miles, she says that was the best advice of all training.

As she put it, "They haven't disappointed me!"

quote:

Originally posted by StorminNormin:
Turn into the direction of the skid to regain control.

know how your car's "autopilot" features react - they may fight against you when trying to drive in snow...

When stopped at a red light, when the light turns green- Wait a moment before proceeding.

Hardly a day goes by I don't see some one running a red light. Especially early in the morning.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Nobody else can see you.
Everyone wants to kill you.
We can drive it home, with one headlight.
I can't drive 55.
I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac, a little voice inside my head said: "Don't look back, you can never look back."
Never pay too much attention to the radio when your driving.
Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?
bendable is my co-pilot.

With sigmonkey having bendable as a co-pilot, I am reminded of the old saying: "When the blind lead the blind, they will
both end up in the ditch." Maybe so, but I would bet it would be an adventurous journey!

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Two second following distance is the absolute minimal....make it even more when pursuing a suspect

How does that compute to "one car length for ever 10 mph that you are driving"? That is what was taught when I was learning to drive.
My personal opinion is most people tailgate these days.

quote:

My truck moves in gear if my foot isn't on the brake. Rolling up to a stop sign or a stoplight, the transmission never fully disengages unless I put it in neutral. […] Is it something I should have checked out?

No, all automatic transmissions do that. I think what he is talking about is reducing the sudden shock or load. The brake pedal only needs to be depressed enough to activate the brake lights, but not the brakes themselves, to disengage the shift lock.

This has been making the rounds on the internet.

If you rarely drive on snow, just pretend you're taking your grandma to church. There's a platter of biscuits and 2 gallons of sweet tea in glass jars in the back seat. She's wearing a new dress and holding a crock pot full of gravy.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
When stopped at a red light, when the light turns green- Wait a moment before proceeding.

Hardly a day goes by I don't see some one running a red light. Especially early in the morning.

always look both ways...TWICE

Never trust someone else's turn signal.

quote:

If parked on an incline or decline on the curb of a street, turn you wheels towards the curb.

on a decline, away from the curb

quote:

Never trust someone else's turn signal.

When in a driveway or street that you think another driver is signaling to turn into, wait until the other driver has committed to the turn before pulling out. He or she may suddenly decide to go straight, is actually pulling into another driveway down the street, or simply left the damned turn signal on.

When turning left from a street into a driveway and there is another car ahead of you making the same turn, let that car get clear of the driveway before you make your own turn. You never know when somebody is going to stop in the middle of it and dawdle around. If they do and you make the turn anyway, you'll find yourself sideways in the oncoming traffic, an engraved invitation to getting T-boned.

If your car has an automatic transmission and you have two good feet, I recommend not left-foot braking. Your foot will naturally want to rest on the pedal, which will activate the brake lights but not necessarily the brakes. This is distracting, annoying, even dangerous to people behind you.

For backing a boat down a ramp:

If the ramp is slippery, put your parking brake about 1/2 on. Makes it much easier to to control the vehicle and trailer. I have found that if I just use the normal break, its easy to lock up the wheels and slide.

For pulling a boat up a slippery ramp with a 2WD with an open diff. Also put the parking brake about 1/2. It creates a little bit of a limited slip effect and can allow for more traction.

Driving in winter conditions on slick, snowy roads, if I’m in 4wd, then I take the transmission out of OD. My truck has a six-speed automatic, this means dropping down to 5th so that if I take my foot off the accelerator I get some engine braking. Drop the transmission down further if the steepness of the mountain (and road conditions) warrants it. I am in total disagreement with Skull Leader on his tip to put a vehicle into neutral going down a slick hill (pg. 1). Total.

“Slow is smooth; smooth is fast” is a saying about learning licks on a guitar. It may apply to driving in the sense that a smooth driver looks well ahead (as mentioned), rarely gets trapped in the right lane on the multi-lane highways because he’s scanning ahead and mirrors constantly, anticipates signal light changes and brakes smoothly. Less wear and tear on the vehicle, perhaps less time idling at lights.

ETA: For some time now, whenever I come to a stop behind another vehicle, I stop such that I can see the rear tires all the way down to the pavement. This provides adequate room to swing out from behind that car, if for any reason I need to. Obviously, if i’m boxed in by traffic in other lanes, there’s not much I can do. Still, I’ve done this for a long time now and it makes sense to me.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TMats,

Dash "idiot" lights:

YELLOW means have it checked as soon as practical.

RED means stop the car RIGHT NOW, something is really wrong, either from a safety standpoint or you're going to damage the car severely.

(I have a story about an ex-wife, an old VW Beetle, the RED overheat light, and a flaming carcass of the vehicle in the underground garage at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.)

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Two second following distance is the absolute minimal....make it even more when pursuing a suspect

How does that compute to "one car length for ever 10 mph that you are driving"? That is what was taught when I was learning to drive.

After a little math, for a car length of 29.33 ft, they're exactly the same. Since the average car is ~15 ft long, I'd use the 2s rule.

Driver's Ed Flashback here..

IPDE

Identify the object/issue
Predict what the object/issue may do/move
Determine your action
Execute the plan

Keep your head, or at least your eyes, on a swivel. Be aware of what's going on around you and always assume that the other driver may be about to do something really stupid.

Look both ways when crossing a one-way street.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Look ahead...far ahead.

If you're on a multi-lane road/interstate, coming up on an interchange, note on-ramp traffic ahead, and get a sense of how they will feed into what's in other lanes going your direction. Anticipate rude and stupid, minimize your involvement.

If not impeding faster traffic, stay left, eliminating one direction rude or stupid can interact with you.

Never drive with the palm of your hand facing you as your hand is on the steering wheel.

My Sister does this and it drives me crazy.

Grip the steering with with the top, or back, of your hand facing out.

Many people, to make a turn, reverse their hand grip and reach under the top of the steering wheel to grip it with the palm, and thus their finger tips gripping the steering wheel with their finger tips facing back towards them over the top of the wheel. I hope this is understood, a bit hard to describe.

The problem is, if the air bag goes off, it WILL break your wrist, at the minimum.

Because your fingers are under the top of the steering wheel, gripping forward and back over the top of the wheel, the violent impact, acceleration and power of the air bag, you will sustain major damage to your fingers, hand, wrist and up your arm.

If you grip your wheel in the "normal way" by placing your hand on top of the steering wheel so your fingers curve down the front back side of the wheel, if the air bag goes off it will push your hand backwards to you. You may still have damage but nothing like the other way.

Sorry, this is a bit hard to describe, I hope it makes sense.
.