You don't know how to drive: as important as car seats

[dimsumdaddy]

I chose a more "sensationalized" topic title just to get people's attention. The sad reality is that driver's ed does not teach you emergency handling, or vehicle dynamics at the limit (which is what happens in emergency situations).

I'm researching this topic for myself so I'm just getting into this topic but would like to start a discussion on it.

One great problem appears to be swerving. No one seems to understand why this is a problem. And to top it off, in traffic situations on my commute and a sudden stop occurs (at lower speeds) Instead of straight line braking, I see people suddenly turning off to the side of the road, apparently thinking that they are "preparing for emergency avoidance". The reality is, if they did this exact maneuver at speed in a true sudden stop situation, this would result in a swerve, skid, and possible roll over.

[JerseyGirl'sMama]

I haven't ever taken any additional driving classes (though I think it would be great!)

Just last week while driving 60 mph on the freeway, a car cut another car off, which was about 6 up in front of me. It caused an immediate slam on brakes situation. Two cars collided, and 3 cars (including me) sweved off the side onto the shoulder to avoid collision. Of course, it was really more like slam on brakes, and swerve over to shoulder when speed was greatly reduced. I just did what seemed 'natural' to me. It would be helpful to know what you 'should' do.

[southpawboston]

dimsumdaddy,

i've been preaching here for a while on the importance of understanding how to control your car in an emergency. driver's ed doesn't teach squat about this. you need to go to a professional driving school like skip barber for that. you have to learn by taking your car into an emergency situation and applying certain principles... basically you learn "by the seat of your pants".

if i can afford it, i'll be sending my daughters to professional driving school when it's time for them to learn how to drive. i never took a course, but i've been making my cars do "doughnuts" and other tricks since before i had my driver's license ;). i once parallel parked my car in a tight spot in front of a restaurant in the densest part of boston (the north end) during a snow storm by sliding into it sideways. i got out of the car to a standing ovation :). i also auto-X'd a bit, which really taught me a lot about how to control a car at its limits.

[scatterbunny]

I've been in a couple of those, "slam on breaks and swerve to the shoulder of the road" situations because of dumbasses who cut people off doing 60 mph. :mad: What should I have done? If I didn't swerve to the shoulder I would have rear-ended the people in front of me.

Guess I shouldn't be traveling so closely in the first place, huh? :o

[dimsumdaddy]

I haven't ever taken any additional driving classes (though I think it would be great!)

Just last week while driving 60 mph on the freeway, a car cut another car off, which was about 6 up in front of me. It caused an immediate slam on brakes situation. Two cars collided, and 3 cars (including me) sweved off the side onto the shoulder to avoid collision. Of course, it was really more like slam on brakes, and swerve over to shoulder when speed was greatly reduced. I just did what seemed 'natural' to me. It would be helpful to know what you 'should' do.

Sounds like you did the right thing. You first did "straight braking" which is the most efficient way of slowing the car (and allows ABS to work its best). When you got to slower speeds, you could maneuver to avoid contact. That's good.

What I was referring to in the OP was the swerve as the first move. This is apparent when the car practically does a hand stand on the one front outer wheel... (and a recipe for flipping over things like SUVs).

I haven't gotten to Skip Barber (would love to) but I have done a couple of high performance driving courses, autox, and rallyx which allow you to safely explore your car's limits in a relatively controlled environment. Autox is more accessible to people, so I highly recommend people try it at least once just to experience the reality of what they don't know. :)

[dimsumdaddy]

Recently, I was driving my whole family and we came to a red light (1st car at light). We got a green before we arrived at the intersection, but I was situationally aware that although the rest of cross traffic had stopped... another cross traffic car was not going to stop (going about 35 mph). By the looks of it, the car was not accelerating, which suggests it was the driver's unawareness and not someone speeding to make the "fresh red". (sounds similar to the Kyle Miller situation to me)

The light was green for so long for us that it would have been easily assumed safe... and the violator was hard to see because he was in the far row, hidden by other cars.

I am convinced that increasing driver skill and awareness addresses the most important safety preparation: accident avoidance.

[lovinwaves]

I am convinced that increasing driver skill and awareness addresses the most important safety preparation: accident avoidance.

You are preaching to the choir here :)

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing drivers proceed through an intersection without even looking for cross traffic.

Then again, I am a big proponent for modern roundabouts.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

[scatterbunny]

Oh, yes, I am hyper-aware of traffic around me when I drive, not only paying attention to my signs and signals and traffic in my immediate lane(s), but all traffic that I can practically (and safely) keep an eye on. You never know when someone else will fly out of nowhere into your path. We have lots of crazy intersections and two-lane roads that turn into one-way roads in my town, plus we're a big tourist area, so I'm always on the lookout for unsafe drivers coming my way. I never trust someone's signal; too many times they've signaled left and go right, or vice-versa.

[TXAggieTech]

DH used to road race motorcycles and has went to several different driving schools. I really want to go, I think that would be a great anniversary week!

[southpawboston]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

OMG, they're all driving on the wrong side of the road!!! :eek: :p :D

[dimsumdaddy]

You are preaching to the choir here :)

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing drivers proceed through an intersection without even looking for cross traffic.

Then again, I am a big proponent for modern roundabouts.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

My personal anecdote about roundabouts: I went to UC Davis for college and they had roundabouts for bicycles... people couldn't get it through their heads that if it's too crowded to get through the first time GO AROUND AGAIN. :rolleyes:

[lovinwaves]

OMG, they're all driving on the wrong side of the road!!! :eek: :p :D

I will admit...I would be the one to cause an accident in that roundabout. I had a hard enough time driving STRAIGHT on the other side of the road in Grand Cayman :rolleyes: There were a few times I would drive a good 100 yards then go "Oh %@*# wrong side" :o (thank goodness there was no oncoming traffic).

[southpawboston]

My personal anecdote about roundabouts: I went to UC Davis for college and they had roundabouts for bicycles... people couldn't get it through their heads that if it's too crowded to get through the first time GO AROUND AGAIN. :rolleyes:

remember national lampoon's holiday vacation? "i can't get right!!!" lol...

[Starlight]

You are preaching to the choir here :)

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing drivers proceed through an intersection without even looking for cross traffic.

Then again, I am a big proponent for modern roundabouts.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif
Have you ever driven on a roundabout lovinwaves?

[Synchro246]

I want to take a professional driving course SO badly!
One day. . .



Then again, I am a big proponent for modern roundabouts.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

Uhhh. I don't like them They built this REDICULOUS one in Clearwater, FL that had a GIANT thing/statue/building/fountain that was the center and you couldn't see well & accidents increased dramatically.
I don't know about roundabouts without stupid things in the middle though.


OMG, they're all driving on the wrong side of the road!!! :eek: :p :D
Hehe, It's all good as long as everyone's doing it, right?

[lovinwaves]

Have you ever driven on a roundabout lovinwaves?

Yep. I sure hope so considering I "like them" LOL! We have a few here where I live. One of them I drove daily getting to work :)

[Starlight]

We lived in Europe for quite a number of years... roundabouts suck. I saw more accidents on those roundabouts than I did anywhere else, and we're talking about legal speeds of 80 plus on the freeway. LOL

While I'm confident in my abilities to drive on one, they do have their own issues.

You know that red light in town that no one can get through during rush hour? And people go through anyway and block the intersection? It really, really sucks, right? Picture rush hour on a roundabout. It's blocked. Like completely. So if you just need to cut across, to go the OTHER way. You're stuck. Ugh.

[Judi]

I got to drive on the DPSST closed course in several fire trucks. We had all the trucks on the course, blocking the way, driving stupid, just to give us a chance to act correctly. It was fun.

[jen_nah]

Dh & I have been racing cars for a long time (dh over 20yrs & myself 13yrs). I started out as a drag races but once dh and I started dating he introduced me to road & auto cross. I have gone to many racing school and I can say that was the best thing I ever did. You do learn by the seat of your pants with a trained instructor in the vehicle with you. We will for sure be putting our girls through driving school no questions asked. While I think drivers ed is good to teach basic driving skills but a real driving school should be a must for young teens.

[tjham]

.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

Is this in another country? :confused:

We have two new roundabouts by my house with access to the freeway and I don't like them! And the ramps to the freeway aren't even open yet!

[lovinwaves]

Is this in another country? :confused:

LOL! well the cars are just on the other side of the road.

[southpawboston]

massachusetts has rotaries everywhere. in fact, if you google "massachusetts rotaries", you'll get the wikipedia entry for rotaries which includes the gif graphic that lovin linked to :).

funny thing is, in massachusetts, they're everywhere yet no one seems to know what they're for. :shrug-shoulders:

[Defrost]

I've always hated roundabouts - add traffic and it's just confusing!

BUT... well, they just put one in at the base here, in the housing area where traffic is light. Typically, this intersection would have been a 4-way stop. I was so pissed when I first saw it.

I :love: that roundabout. Because it's a light-traffic area, when you get four cars approaching the intersection - no one has to stop. We all just get in and go around. SO NICE!

As to the original topic - I totally agree. I learned how to drive in Alaska, in the winter. My dad would take me to an empty parking lot for practice, and we practiced all kinds of fun stuff. I don't intend to turn my kids loose to drive until they've had the same practices!

And PLEASE can we just get it into people's heads to follow the 2-second rule??? That's one of my worst pet peeves!

[Morganthe]

Okay -- it's 'Backwards' because it's originally from a Brit site.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

My eyes were all messed up for a moment.



Then again, I am a big proponent for modern roundabouts.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif/180px-UK_Roundabout_8_Cars.gif

The problem with Roundabouts or 'Circles' in the US is that no one knows what the hell to do or they just don't care. (That's the case here on base where there's a slow speed & clearly marked one)

The international rule is -- YIELD to those already INSIDE.
That doesn't mean stop, just yield. You can still enter as long as you're matching speeds or sticking your vehicle nose into one.

In a double or triple roundabout, those on the outer edges are usually exiting on the next turn. The more to the middle you are, the longer you have before you're leaving.

I love roundabouts in Europe. A great way to make U-Turns or allow dh to catch up on the map while I slowly drove around the inside of the circle.
I even freaked out some visiting friends from England because all of a sudden, they were circling 'wrong ways' to them :p

I recently read a NY Times article discussing the mess of NJ Traffic because they're switching from their old 'circles' to modern roundabouts with absolutely no information for drivers to know what's going on for the yield rules. No wonder there are accidents and messes. :( I ended up with a couple of people angry & yelling at me because I was following rules I'd learned overseas and there was nothing marked in NJ for right of way. :rolleyes:

[ThreeBeans]

Rotaries are all over Massachusetts.

(Random question; I got DH a TomTom for Christmas. We used it the other day and it mentioned a rotary ahead. Does it say rotary because it knows we are in Massachusetts? Is it really that smart? LOL.)

I took an Advanced Driver's Course as a teenager (after, um, I totalled my mom's brand new car, trying to dodge a hoity Stow squirrel :o). I've also completed and am certified in EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Certification). I used to whip a big ol' ambulance around Boston, so I'm pretty comfortable driving my mom-car on the back roads of western MA. LOL.


My kids will all take Advanced Driver's training before they get their licenses. Regular driver's ed is laughable.

[beeman]

I'll agree that you should have to take a course for handling of the vehicle and how to react in situations after you've had some practice driving (ie. license for 3 or 6 months). Drivers ed teaches the basics, but unless you've been driving a grain truck on the farm since you were 12, you're more concerned about keeping the car in your lane rather than driving. I haven't taken a course since drivers ed yet, however I do take my truck out in one of our fields once we get 4 or 5 inches of snow, and practice taking it to the limits and getting a feel for how it handles.
As for the traffic circles, we used to have one in toon town, but nobody could figure out how to use it, so it got replaced with traffic lights :rolleyes: .

[southpawboston]

the rule of thumb in massachusetts regarding rotaries is "never make eye contact!". if you do, you forfeit the right of way ;)

[mommy4girls]

ITA with advanced driver's training. I'm going to insist our girls take something like that. I didn't get my license till I was 21 (Johannah was telling me awhile ago how unfair it was that dh and I got our licenses at 16 and the law was changing and she'd be 18, I shut her up real fast when I informed her I was 21:p). I didn't have anything but just driving my parents and dh places (we were married 2yrs before dh convinced me to take my test!). I spun my car out on a oily road last month and went across both lanes of traffic, I'm thinking I could use more driving training.

As far as roundabouts (aka rotaries, I've always heard them called roundabouts) - I HATE them! I don't think anyone here knows how to use them. We don't have many in our county (I don't think we even have one). But there's a few in Sac and I always get stuck:eek:

[skaterbabscpst]

fwiw, IMO it's a terrifically BAD idea to increase the driving age to 18. Yeah, let's give LEGAL "adults" a 2 ton murder weapon and no parental oversight.:thumbsdown:

[Patriot201]

I had a bad experience on the way home from work this evening and I wish I had had the insight to say, "This is how I should react."

It was a little after 6:00 p.m., so it was already dark. I was driving on a two-lane road (one lane each direction) that dips a little bit and curves in parts. The speed limit is 35 mph, but most people seem to go 40-45.

I was driving about 28 mph and came around a tiny curve (more like a small bend in the road) to see a car coming STRAIGHT AT ME. The headlights were RIGHT in my eyes. The driver must have noticed that he was in the WRONG LANE because he suddenly swerved to his right (away from me). I, however, also swerved to the right. There is no shoulder on this road, so I slightly went into the grass.

We did miss each other, though.

Perhaps I should have responded differently, but I didn't have time to even think. What would have been the appropriate way to react?

[Defrost]

Perhaps I should have responded differently, but I didn't have time to even think. What would have been the appropriate way to react?

Personally, I nearly always hit the brakes first. Then swerve, or whatever. In any case, I want to be going as slow as possible in case we do wreck!

(That said, I was in a wreck once where it could have been avoided had the guy who pulled out in front of me hit the gas rather than the brakes. He was just completely shocked - he hadn't seen me. But I did nearly manage to stop in time, so I'm sure that had he just hit the gas we could have avoided the whole mess.)

[mommy4girls]

fwiw, IMO it's a terrifically BAD idea to increase the driving age to 18. Yeah, let's give LEGAL "adults" a 2 ton murder weapon and no parental oversight.:thumbsdown:

ITA. MOF, I'm worried because ALL my girls will have graduated from High School before they can drive (well, Ilana MAY have graduated, it depends on what day graduation is).:thumbsdown: Laura will be away at college with no way to go anywhere unless she has good friends or public transportation:eek: It's not ideal at all. I would rather them learn to drive and have experience when we're nearby.

[skaterbabscpst]

Exactly.

[CRS]

funny you guys talk about roundabouts - are there not many in the states? they're a dime a dozen here

[Jeanum]

Roundabouts are becoming more common in the U.S. but still a new fangled thing in many areas. I think they're more old hat on the east coast and/or in major urban centers. Roundabouts have been constructed or are in the process of being constructed at several intersections in my area. I have yet to drive through any of them and I'm really in no hurry to try because of the general confusion they have caused. :o

[twokidstwodogs]

Around where I live (in the U.S.), roundabouts are used instead of four-way stop signs. There's good evidence to show that they reduce accidents in intersections not controlled by traffic signals, which is why they're in use around here. (I'm talking small roundabouts here, not the eight-lane ones, which often need traffic signals to make them safe.)

Personally, I like roundabouts. I certainly prefer them to multi-lane four-way stops, which even fewer people seem to get right!

[dimsumdaddy]

I had a bad experience on the way home from work this evening and I wish I had had the insight to say, "This is how I should react."

It was a little after 6:00 p.m., so it was already dark. I was driving on a two-lane road (one lane each direction) that dips a little bit and curves in parts. The speed limit is 35 mph, but most people seem to go 40-45.

I was driving about 28 mph and came around a tiny curve (more like a small bend in the road) to see a car coming STRAIGHT AT ME. The headlights were RIGHT in my eyes. The driver must have noticed that he was in the WRONG LANE because he suddenly swerved to his right (away from me). I, however, also swerved to the right. There is no shoulder on this road, so I slightly went into the grass.

We did miss each other, though.

Perhaps I should have responded differently, but I didn't have time to even think. What would have been the appropriate way to react?

It's hard to say without being there; but thank God you came out just fine!

Obviously, since you got through it unscathed, you did enough to avoid the head on collision... possibly at the expense of "coming close" to other problems like rolling over or colliding with obstacles on the side of the road, cliffs, etc. Luckily you guys instinctively followed American right-hand drive and both went to your respective rights. Good thing this didn't happen to you in a left-hand drive country.

I'm no instructor and I'm learning the stuff myself, so please take what I say with a grain of salt. From what I understand, a common mistake is to over compensate for the situation.

If a car is coming head onto you, you want to change your heading enough to avoid collision. That is, just enough and no more than necessary... let both your driver side view mirrors smash if need be. The idea being to change your direction with a little angle and get straight on that angle. This reduces the amount of lateral work your tires need to do in order to change the direction. While it's nice you get a lot of space between you two, you're making the tires work that much harder to change your vector. Also, realize that as little as there is, there IS time to use so you must use it wisely. Instinct/fear makes you panic and want to get out of the situation as quickly as possible. But your best bet is to use all the time available to you to execute a plan to escape the danger.

Before you turn to angle your vector, you somehow need to make sure you are going slow enough such that the tires can perform the action you need; IE slow down. You don't have much time to do this, but (depending on the situation) you must be slow enough for your intended turn or you will start sliding and lose control. The most efficient way to stop fast is to slam the brakes (using ABS) while driving straight.

With hard straight braking, the car's nose will be "diving" into the ground... this actually helps your turn... if you release pressure on the brakes as you turn. You are essentially transitioning the tires from using all their ability to brake, into turning their ability into changing your direction. And since the front suspension is compressed from the braking, it will help prevent the weight of the vehicle from over shooting the tires (especially on high center of gravity vehicles like SUV's and vans which is what causes the rollover) or sliding you straight into the deadly object you are trying to avoid.

Unfortunately, there are some accidents you can't avoid no matter what you do. And the situations vary so much that there is no formulaic method for avoiding them. You need driving instincts, and some of that can come from taking a driving survival course.

From the brief description you gave of your incident, it sounds like you didn't have any time to brake. You now have the opportunity to analyze what happened, what you did, and consider what you can learn from the experience. Do you think you needed to steer as sharply as you did?

As for the other driver, I might guess that he was trying to drive the road faster than he should and ended up needing to cut to your lane in order to make the turn at his speed.

[ThreeBeans]

the rule of thumb in massachusetts regarding rotaries is "never make eye contact!". if you do, you forfeit the right of way ;)

Ain't that the truth! You gotta drive like no one else is on the road. Making eye contact is an admission of defeat :ROTFLMAO:

[Kleine hexe]

I never trust someone's signal; too many times they've signaled left and go right, or vice-versa.

I don't either. I get honked at because I don't pull out in front of someonw even if they have a right signal on. One too many times I've done so and the car coming did *not* turn right.


remember national lampoon's holiday vacation? "i can't get right!!!" lol...

I was thinking of that movie!

fwiw, IMO it's a terrifically BAD idea to increase the driving age to 18. Yeah, let's give LEGAL "adults" a 2 ton murder weapon and no parental oversight.:thumbsdown:

I disagree. It gives teenagers a couple more years to mature (not that many are mature at 18) before getting behind a wheel. Now, of course the 18 year age limit would work out much better if we had better public transportation overall in the US.

[skaterbabscpst]

I disagree. It gives teenagers a couple more years to mature (not that many are mature at 18) before getting behind a wheel. Now, of course the 18 year age limit would work out much better if we had better public transportation overall in the US.

In countries in which the driving age is higher, the death rate isn't really lower. The ages just change. Instead of 16-21, it's 20-25. Give them a DL while they're still at home and mom or dad can still take the keys if they behave irresponsibly.

I don't know how much experience you have with teenagers, but I have quite a bit. You do not want an 18 with no parental control behind the wheel. They need those two years.

Raising the driving age is just another example of not allowing parents to parent their children.

[beeman]

fwiw, IMO it's a terrifically BAD idea to increase the driving age to 18. Yeah, let's give LEGAL "adults" a 2 ton murder weapon and no parental oversight.:thumbsdown:

Just 2 ton? You are legally allowed to operate a vehicle with a curb weight of anything less than 10,000lbs up here with a basic class 5. Increasing driving age to drinking age seems to me like a really stupid idea. Giving people alcohol and a drivers license at the same time is a recipe for disaster. Oh thats right too, thats the age where you can buy tobacco, so now you get to smoke when you're filling your vehicle up with gas :thumbsdown: .
BTW, I'm from a rural area so public transportation is less than non existent, and riding a bike on our highway would be suicide.

[skaterbabscpst]

Precisely my point.

[jen_nah]

the rule of thumb in massachusetts regarding rotaries is "never make eye contact!". if you do, you forfeit the right of way ;)


LOL! We don't have rotaries and it sounds like it might be a good thing. But, All us Texans would probably get p*ssed about having to keep going around and just drive right over the center of the rotary in our big trucks. LOL!! j/k! Well for me anyways I am sure a lot around here would drive right through it.

[joolsplus3]

Giving people alcohol and a drivers license at the same time is a recipe for disaster

Drinking age in the US is 21 (that didn't stop a drunk 16 yo from killing someone last year in our city...she just drove right into him :()

Annnyway... Roundabouts do save lives...they probably need to start with single lane ones in the US to get us used to them, though, lol.

And yeah, we should probably all sign up for advanced driving courses. In the meantime, everyone (no one HERE, right? :love:)needs to put down their cell phones and drive carefully (My DH is always like, Oh, let's call so-and-so, they are driving home from work now and it's a good time to talk... :eek:)

[mommy4girls]

In the meantime, everyone (no one HERE, right? :love:)needs to put down their cell phones and drive carefully (My DH is always like, Oh, let's call so-and-so, they are driving home from work now and it's a good time to talk... :eek:)

My MIL is always trying to get me to call extended family, but I don't have time. So, MIL tells me how my SIL calls people while she's driving and it's perfect for her:eek:

[Misty-Bug]

I myself would love to learn. My husband has taken me out to teach me how to control a skid in a snow storm.

dimsumdaddy,

i've been preaching here for a while on the importance of understanding how to control your car in an emergency. driver's ed doesn't teach squat about this. you need to go to a professional driving school like skip barber for that. you have to learn by taking your car into an emergency situation and applying certain principles... basically you learn "by the seat of your pants".

if i can afford it, i'll be sending my daughters to professional driving school when it's time for them to learn how to drive. i never took a course, but i've been making my cars do "doughnuts" and other tricks since before i had my driver's license ;). i once parallel parked my car in a tight spot in front of a restaurant in the densest part of boston (the north end) during a snow storm by sliding into it sideways. i got out of the car to a standing ovation :). i also auto-X'd a bit, which really taught me a lot about how to control a car at its limits.

RADDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!111

[singingpond]

This sounds like a very good idea (i.e. learning better how to react to emergency driving situations). I am pretty sure my own instincts are NOT correct for some emergencies.

In case any of the more knowledgeable posters are still reading this thread, do you know if the training is done in your own vehicle? I'm wondering, since our cars are all old enough not to have ABS, and I'm assuming the proper braking behavior would be different than in a more modern vehicle with ABS.

Katrin

[southpawboston]

In case any of the more knowledgeable posters are still reading this thread, do you know if the training is done in your own vehicle? I'm wondering, since our cars are all old enough not to have ABS, and I'm assuming the proper braking behavior would be different than in a more modern vehicle with ABS.


you're right that proper emergency braking techniques differ depending whether or not you have ABS.

most professional driving schools use their own cars. they are usually sports cars which are very easy to teach on, since they can be driven hard while retaining the feeling of predictability, and they are also excellent cars for teaching how to regain lost control. skip barber school uses BMWs. i'm not sure what other cars are used at other schools.

[sirrahn]

LOL! We don't have rotaries and it sounds like it might be a good thing. But, All us Texans would probably get p*ssed about having to keep going around and just drive right over the center of the rotary in our big trucks. LOL!! j/k! Well for me anyways I am sure a lot around here would drive right through it.

They put one in at the "new" Firewheel mall in Garland. It's kind of funny...people just sit there at the yield signs like they can't figure out how to get around it. I haven't yet seen signs of anyone going over the big flower bed though!

[Gena]

Personally, I don't like roundabouts. They always make me nervous.

However, I am a huge fan of the Michigan left turn. If you are not familiar see here:

http://www.michiganhighways.org/indepth/michigan_left.html

My only problem is that now that I don't live in Michigan anymore, I keep trying to make Michigan lefts in places that don't usually have them.

[dimsumdaddy]

i once parallel parked my car in a tight spot in front of a restaurant in the densest part of boston (the north end) during a snow storm by sliding into it sideways. i got out of the car to a standing ovation :). i also auto-X'd a bit, which really taught me a lot about how to control a car at its limits.

How did you get back OUT of that parking space? :p

[BudgieStew]

I've been meaning to call our local driving school to see if I can get some sort of course to brush up on my driving skills and defensive driving.
I started trying to get my permit when I was 16, finally got it when I was newly 18 (after three attempts) . The day before I moved to another province for college where I did not drive for the next 11 years.

We are now in rural area(no public transportation), with two young children and DH is away for work for extended periods of time. He leaves Monday for three weeks..so he bought me a van over the summer.
Honestly I drive it max 5 minutes a day to drop my son off at Daycare and the P.O. Once a week I make the 10 minute drive to do the food shopping but any further then that nope.
One day I would like to make it on main street to you know open up my options :)
I need some extra confidence and skills to feel better about driving. Driving without a 3 year screaming at you from the backseat and a 2 year old taking a fit might be kinda nice too.

Or a DH who you are driving home because he imbibed too much yelling at you to go faster on a dark country road that you are unfamiliar with in the pouring rain. Sorry I am already going 80km I don't think I really need to drive that extra 10 km/h to reach the speed limit for no reason whatsoever.

Ahh that was last summer and I am still rather annoyed.

[MandiRN]

the rule of thumb in massachusetts regarding rotaries is "never make eye contact!". if you do, you forfeit the right of way ;)

OMG this is so true!! I learned how to navigate Drum Hill rotary before it's current crazy situation. The motto there used to be go and pray! Now, I won't touch it with a ten foot pole.

[southpawboston]

How did you get back OUT of that parking space? :p

i originally slid in to the right-side parking spot by backing in the rear of the car at a 50-60 degree angle, with the right rear tire against the curb, then locking the steering wheel to the left and "donut-ing" the front of the car into the spot by spinning the wheels in reverse.

by the time we left, the spot in front of us had opened and we just drove out, but if the spot hadn't opened up, i'd have done the same thing, but mirror image :). to get out, i'd put a wheel chuck or rock or brick behind the right rear wheel, then lock the steering wheel to the right and "donut" my front end out again by spinning the wheels in reverse. :thumbsup:

[smurf]

i once parallel parked my car in a tight spot in front of a restaurant in the densest part of boston (the north end) during a snow storm by sliding into it sideways. i got out of the car to a standing ovation

he he he, I can do that too, didn't get a standing ovation but my fellow passengers were really impressed. Not the kind of thing that's expected from a girl...

[sfeitler]

I've been meaning to call our local driving school to see if I can get some sort of course to brush up on my driving skills and defensive driving.
I started trying to get my permit when I was 16, finally got it when I was newly 18 (after three attempts) . The day before I moved to another province for college where I did not drive for the next 11 years.

We are now in rural area(no public transportation), with two young children and DH is away for work for extended periods of time. He leaves Monday for three weeks..so he bought me a van over the summer.
Honestly I drive it max 5 minutes a day to drop my son off at Daycare and the P.O. Once a week I make the 10 minute drive to do the food shopping but any further then that nope.
One day I would like to make it on main street to you know open up my options :)
I need some extra confidence and skills to feel better about driving. Driving without a 3 year screaming at you from the backseat and a 2 year old taking a fit might be kinda nice too.

Or a DH who you are driving home because he imbibed too much yelling at you to go faster on a dark country road that you are unfamiliar with in the pouring rain. Sorry I am already going 80km I don't think I really need to drive that extra 10 km/h to reach the speed limit for no reason whatsoever.

Ahh that was last summer and I am still rather annoyed.

Even without the annoying DH issue, I think you should find some way to brush up on your driving skills. Formal school, or just find a sympathetic friend to go driving with you. Driving, when you live in an area where most people have/use cars, is a life skill and more importantly, a personal safety skill. Maybe not in NYC, but anywhere else, you never know when you might have to be the driver (because of injury, or alcohol, or illness, or...).

Just my :twocents:.

-Sarah

[dimsumdaddy]

I've been meaning to call our local driving school to see if I can get some sort of course to brush up on my driving skills and defensive driving.
I started trying to get my permit when I was 16, finally got it when I was newly 18 (after three attempts) . The day before I moved to another province for college where I did not drive for the next 11 years.

We are now in rural area(no public transportation), with two young children and DH is away for work for extended periods of time. He leaves Monday for three weeks..so he bought me a van over the summer.
Honestly I drive it max 5 minutes a day to drop my son off at Daycare and the P.O. Once a week I make the 10 minute drive to do the food shopping but any further then that nope.
One day I would like to make it on main street to you know open up my options :)
I need some extra confidence and skills to feel better about driving. Driving without a 3 year screaming at you from the backseat and a 2 year old taking a fit might be kinda nice too.

Or a DH who you are driving home because he imbibed too much yelling at you to go faster on a dark country road that you are unfamiliar with in the pouring rain. Sorry I am already going 80km I don't think I really need to drive that extra 10 km/h to reach the speed limit for no reason whatsoever.

Ahh that was last summer and I am still rather annoyed.

Were you holding up traffic? If so, make sure to pull off to the side periodically to let it pass. If you guys were alone on the road, and DH was telling you to go faster, then you should switch drivers.

It sounds like you need "more seat time". Since your daily activities don't give you much of that, you'd either need to take a driving course or make it a point to do something that would take you on the road more.

I live in the San Francisco bay area which is very international. We have a lot of people from all over the world who have either immigrated, or are here temporarily. The result is there are many people who are clearly new to driving, and this adds to the problems.

Just because you drive slow, doesn't mean you are safe. A big problem with these inexperienced drivers is that they don't drive predictably. In many cases, they are so timid and overwhelmed that they are like an erratic random child is behind the wheel and this increases traffic as everyone around them is having to compensate for their behavior by avoiding, driving around them, pulling weird lane change maneuvers because the inexperienced driving is not going with flow or blocking, etc.

There is of course the problem with over aggressive, wreckless or just plain a$$hole driving, but most people already have those in mind.

[skaterbabscpst]

Were you holding up traffic? If so, make sure to pull off to the side periodically to let it pass. If you guys were alone on the road, and DH was telling you to go faster, then you should switch drivers.

That would have been a very bad idea since she said her DH had been drinking. Better an inexperienced driver than a drunk one.

[dimsumdaddy]

That would have been a very bad idea since she said her DH had been drinking. Better an inexperienced driver than a drunk one.

Oopss.. missed that detail.

[dimsumdaddy]

Here's a youtube vid (I think from Isreal?) where this guy talks about avoiding a head on collision. It's about passing in a 2 way road. I don't understand what he's saying, but I think he's talking about:

- hard straight brake first, then maneuver out of the way

- or move over and allow the other driver to shift over. The point of this is to move over enough to avoid collision, but not over compensate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGi1MiBLHLs

And just to add to paranoia... 30 mph crash test with loose items in the car:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwO5ZASY994&feature=related

[dimsumdaddy]

A few more videos:

recovering from gravel side of road:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFbZL5U7TWs&feature=related

emergency braking evasive maneuver (a lot is lost because I don't understand isreali speak)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR3Bcw-xcUY&feature=related