|
|
|
 1. Where to look: - a.
Look high and far, not down at the road. The further ahead you look the
more notice you are likely to get of an upcoming problem and can
therefore react sooner and smoother rather than a last minute emergency
brake.
- b.
Watch every car around you, looking for indicators and brakes. This
will give you the ability to plan ahead because you'll start to be able
to predict what's coming.
- c. Watch the
traffic lights, if they’re red take your foot off the accelerator, this
slows you down gently and will save your brakes. You'll also find
you actually have to stop less often.
- d.
Look past the car in front of you to see what other traffic is doing.
You can also look through the windows of the car in front to see what’s
going on further ahead.
- e. Keep an eye
on your mirror and the traffic behind. You'll be able to see dangerous
drivers before they are in your space and can move to protect yourself.
- f.
Don’t forget to check the side streets. A quick look to see if there
are any cars that don't look like they are going to stop, you should do
this at level crossings and round-a-bouts as well.
The
more you know what is going on around you the less likely you are to be
involved in an accident when it happens. Think about it; accidents that
involve 2 cars typically only have 1 person at fault so 50% of the time
it's the other driver. So watch for that other driver and you're less
likely to be involved.  2. How fast to go: - a. Unless sign posted otherwise the speed limit is 50. Speed limits are a not just a guide, they save lives.
- b.
Do not drive faster than the car in front. It sounds like common sense
driving but you'd be surprised how often the other driver will do this.
- c. In wet or poor visibility conditions you
must drive slower. Your brakes do not work as well when it is wet and
neither does the grip on your wheels, slow down, brake earlier and
gentler.
- d. Drive according to what you can
see, if you can’t see round the corner slow down a little. If you
struggle to see much in front due to fog slow down a lot and consider
using your head lights (fog lights are better if available).
- i.
It’s helpful to know that in foggy conditions your head lights will
reflect off the fog back at you making the fog brighter rather than
illuminating the road ahead, though not helpful to you it is useful for
other drivers to see you earlier.
- ii. Fog
lights are usually lower on the vehicle and so overcome the reflection
issue and are somewhat more helpful at lighting up the road ahead.
 3. Road Position:- a.
Ideally the car should be in the middle of your lane. If you want to
look around the vehicle in front then move over to the right, but do
not cross the line, don’t forget to come back to the middle though.
- i. Too far to the left will have the wheel going in the dips where the drains are.
- ii.
Close to the dividing line put’s you too close to traffic coming the
other way and prevents the car behind from looking around your car.
- b.
REMEMBER you are now in the driving seat; you are used to seeing things
from the passengers point of view. It is normal (though not
health for your passenger who is probably used to the driving seat)
when first getting in the driving seat to drive too far to the left,
try to be aware of this and adjust your position appropriately.
 4. Positioning the seat and mirrors.- a.
First sit in the car and move the seat so you can fully push the clutch
without fully extending your leg (keeping your leg bent a little will
help reduce muscle fatigue).
- b. Stretch your
arms out and rest them on the steering wheel, ideally you should have
your wrist resting on the wheel, you can use the seat tilt to adjust
this or you can move the seat back and forward, but remember this
changes your legs on the peddles position.
- c.
Now look into the middle mirror, the one on the windscreen. Adjust this
so you can see straight out the back window, you should be able to
frame the window just inside the mirror.
- d.
The side mirrors are bit harder; you need to be able to just see the
side of your car, but not much. The less of your car you can see the
smaller the blind spot, but it’s good to see your car to better judge
what you are seeing. As for the vertical positioning you need to be
able to see the road behind you in the bottom 25-30% of the mirror and
see clearly into the distance behind you in the rest.
- e.
REMEMBER to adjust your mirrors after you’ve positioned the seat, if
you move the seat afterwards the mirrors will be out of place. You also
need to make sure you are adjusting the mirrors with you head in a
natural driving position, I have seen many students move closer to the
mirror when adjusting it, to see better, and when asked to check it
again they realize it’s in the wrong spot.
- f.
No matter how much of the blind spot you’ve eliminated it will still be
there, you MUST always look over your shoulder when changing lanes,
merging with traffic or pulling out!
If you have any questions you would like answered that are not on this page contact me and ask. If you have any tips you think other drivers may appreciate e-mail me and let me know. If your question or tip is added ask me for a discount!
|
|
|