Watch that oil!

 With today's gas and go, very few people take the time to check their oil - this can be a fatal mistake.

To review - all car burn a certain amount of oil.  This is determined by how hard you drive your car and under what conditions.  The mechanical state of the engine also plays into this of course.

When a car is new and just braking in, you should check you oil level every week until it is broken in, usually around 3 - 6 months. depending on mileage.  May people believe in changing their oil at 1000 miles and then at 3000 miles, in order to flush out assembly lube and wear.  

A new car should go over 1000 miles without losing a quart of oil, and when broken in, over 2000 miles.  But think about it.  If you engine holds 4 quarts of oil, being one quart low means you only have 75% of the oil working to lubricate and cool the parts of the engine.  That is why I do not like it to go below 1/2 quart before topping off.  

Some people assume you can go from oil change to oil change without adding oil.  Most of the time the oil change tech will not check the oil before a change,  This leads to many people coming in a quart or two low, and never knowing it.

Some people check their oil and since it does not lose much if any, and get lax on checking it.  This leads to surprises when something happens to the engine and they don't catch it in time.  I find it better to check the oil on time, every week or so, while some people check ever fill-up or every other fill-up. For some cars with big tanks, this could be over 800 miles, so in that case better to check no more than every 500 miles.  You need to set up your own schedule, put it on your calendar or better yet set an alarm in your phone.

What happens if you run your oil too low?  Besides the wear and tear on your engine, you run the risk of an engine failure leaving you stranded on the road, or possible in an accident.  

Going back to the Prime Directive:

The purpose of driving is to transport you and your passengers to your destination safely and efficiently, and to help other drivers do the same. 

So checking your oil is an important part of safe driving.

Next time - Tires.

How to drive through Intersections

You just step on it, right?

Green for go and red for stop......is it more than that?

There are rules for intersections with stop signs; who goes first etc.  This is not that. By using some knowledge and restraint, you can make intersections safer for other drivers and pedestrians, as well as keeping you out of trouble.

Awareness is important as intersections are some of the most dangerous parts of any road.  First, because traffic is crossing and two objects - whether a person or another car, cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

As you approach the intersection, even if the light is green, you cannot assume that the intersection will be clear by the time you get to it.  Normally, the speed limit for the road is the same for the intersection, but my suggestion is to consider the surroundings.  If it is flat and you can easily see through the intersection and the side roads, driving at the SPEED LIMIT is usually safe.  However, if there are buildings and trees which could hinder your sight, the proper action is to look in your rear mirror and if it is safe to slow down.

One of the things I was taught in Driver's Ed was to consider the condition of my light when approaching an intersection.  If the light had been green for a while, I should consider it a "stale" green and expect it to change.  If I had been traveling OVER the speed limit, I should anticipate it changing and slow down.  

The Yellow light time is set up to allow cars to reasonably stop if going the speed limit.  If you are going over the speed limit and the light turns yellow, if you are in the area called the decision zone, you will not have time to stop.  If lucky, you will get through the intersection while still yellow.  If not you may end up running the red light.  Now imagine there is a impatient driver waiting for the light to turn green.  He takes the green to be like a dragstrip light and takes off without looking and now you have the ingredients for a crash.

One trick on some intersections is to watch the pedestrian crossing light.  Before the light turns yellow, the light will turn from white to red and either flash or count down.  This piece of information will help you prepare for the changing of the light.  However, remember that the two actions you should take are to slow down or hold your speed.  The one things you do not want to do is to speed up going through and intersection.  Here is why.

Pilots say when flying, you can never have too much altitude or too much fuel (the latter unless you are crashing).  The idea is that altitude gives you time and fuel gives you the ability.  In driving, the corollary is less speed and space.  Less speed gives you more time to react and space, more options to maneuver.  By slowing down, even slightly, you give yourself more time to react to a pedestrian darting out in traffic or a car blowing through a red light.  

So the first thing to be safer when driving through intersections is to watch your speed and be aware of the surrounding traffic.  

To be continued...

Zen and driving anger

 From Wikipedia

Zen emphasizes rigorous self-restraint, meditation-practice and insight. 

No I am not going to turn this into a far-east religious experience. But the above description does tell us something about driving attitude.

Imagine you are driving down the highway and someone cuts into your lane.  Many people would be mad, speed up and confront the driver in some way.  So let's apply Zen

Self -Restraint.  Resist the urge to do anything. Your emotion tells you to do something - but should it be your first reaction?  You would not buy a car without considering alternatives.  This is not a situation that requires a decisive action like someone coming at you the wrong way on the highway.  So your first thought should be "What is the best way to react in this situation".  

Meditation-Practice.  No don't start saying om or close your eyes.  But get out of an emotion state and into a contemplative state.  This will diffuse any surprise and anger.

Insight.  Why did the person cut you off?  Is this a one time thing?  Does the person even know you?  Think about the situation and were you ever in the otehr persons position?

In practice, a person cuts you off.  First control your car.  Are you now too close to them - if so slow down.  Is the person continuing to drive in a dangerous manner - don't get caught in their mistakes.  Once you have established control over your situation,

Relax.  The car's movement might have caught you distracted.  Your adrenaline will be high.  Take the time to take a deep breath and calm down.

Now think about what happened.  Were you in the driver's blind spot?  Were they trying to make an exit they almost missed.  Did they have to make a sudden move to avoid something? Did the other driver offer a "I'm Sorry" sign?  Are they slicing through traffic in order to get somewhere fast or just driving erratically?  Most likely, if it wasn't you it would be (and many times will be) another car.  You just happened to occupy that time and space.  You will probably never see that person again.  

But all this leaves you powerless to change anything - yes.  It is not you responsibility to police the roads or correct every driver.  But is there something you can do?  First, if you do have a dash cam, be sure to lock in the recording, especially if the person sideswiped you or any other car of caused an accident.  Then decide if it is worth calling the police.  They will ask the make of car, what road you are on, which street or exit you are near and the license plate of the other car if you can read it.  Most of the time, the best they can do, if they are around, is to follow that car to see if they do anything else.  So usually nothing.  Don't feel you have to chase the car to get them the information.

There might be one exception. A driver who seems to be under the influence, drifting out of lane or off the road should be reported.  They are a disaster waiting to happen.  They will usually not be speeding.  But reporting this gets you involved and requires a calm, observant person.  

Can Zen make you that person?

What Yellow Light?

 There is a problem with the timing of traffic lights.  It is something that will not be fixed in the short term, if ever, so it is best that you adapt to a bad situation.

Here is what happens:

1. By Federal Law, the Yellow has to be between 3 and 6 seconds

2. The time is usually set by the speed limit on the road

3. It takes into account some reaction time

4. It takes into account a deceleration rate.

Here is where the problem(s) lie:

1. Most traffic runs faster than the posted speed limit.  New cars are quieter and lull people into driving faster,

2. Most people have a slow reaction time due to distractions,

3. Not everyone decelerates at the same rate.

So here is what happens

You are driving down the road and the light turns yellow.  Your reaction time involves seeing how fast you are going, then deciding if you can stop in time, and only then making the decision to stop or go through.  The reaction time can be 2 or three times the expected time (1 - 1.5 seconds).

So yellows are too short - what do you do to keep from running red lights?

First - don't drive distracted when near an intersection - it requires 100%  of your attention.

Second - slow down for intersections.  The maximum speed through an intersection is the posted speed limit for that road, BUT, you have to be aware of traffic entering or exiting the intersection.  Barreling through at 10 over the speed limit is a recipe for disaster.  By slowing down BEFOR you get to the intersection you also control drivers behind you to a degree.  If they see you slowing down they are also likely to slow down, reducing the chance of a chain reaction (assuming they are not on their phone...)

Third - look for clues.  

• I was taught in Driver's Ed to watch for "stale" green lights.  This means looking ahead and knowing lights are usually green for only a minute or so.  If a light has been green for a while, especially with a busy cross street, there is a good chance it will shortly turn yellow.  Time for you be alert and maybe check your speed.
• In the city - watch for crosswalk signs.  These signs usually start blinking well before the light turns yellow to give people a chance to cross the road.  If the light is green and the crosswalk is flashing or solid red, the yellow cannot be far behind.
• Know your vehicle. A loaded SUV takes longer to stop than one person in a small car.  A bus takes longer to stop than  a taxi - although I hope the bus is running close to the speed limit.

Remember, with a red light camera, if you cross the stop line or enter the crosswalk after the light turns red, you are in violation.  This rewards people who run the yellow as opposed to those who try and stop and come up a foot short...

For more information, this is a great video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyFLRXSxgPw

Tire Pressures

 There was an article in the "Heloise" newspaper column about over inflating tires.  This is wrong and here is the response I sent in.

Tire Pressure

Tires have two pressures, the maximum safe pressure that the tire will hold, and the pressure that the car manufacturer recommends for the weight and performance of the car it is installed on. The car manufacturers are very conscious of gas mileage and run higher pressures than they did years ago when comfort was the goal.  There might be other recommendations when carrying a heavy load or for towing, so read the owners manual for the correct pressures.

Putting more pressure in can result in decreased braking and handling, along with a rougher ride.  The slight increase in gas mileage will result in faster wear as all of the tire is not in contact with the road. Also, tires heat up after driving for a while, so if set to the maximum pressure, they might be even higher after a trip. 

As a race car driver, we often inflate the tire higher to balance the car and help with the rigors of racing - but our tire life is measured in hours, not miles.

With modern tires it is difficult to tell if they are low just by looking at them.  Every driver should be taught how to use a tire gauge, and tires checked every few weeks before driving.  With many modern cars the tire pressure can be checked through the dash display, but not all cars show the exact pressure of each tire; many will just show if a tire is low.  For every 10 degree drop in temperature, a tire loses about one pound.  So tires especially need to be checked for pressure during Fall and again in the Spring. 

Tires today are very good at holding their pressure.  If your tire loses more than 2 pounds in a week with a stable temperature, consider there may be a nail or similar object in the tire and have it checked out before more damage occurs.

Warm is good

 There is a news story running around saying that it is not good to warm up your engine.  Baloney!

It is one of those - catch you attention stories - designed to make you read it.  Click bait if you will.

What is the truth - a little more complicated.

Depending on how long your car has been sitting, the oil will run off the moving parts.  It will take a few seconds for the oil to get to all parts of the engine.  So if you car has been sitting at the airport for a week, jumping in, starting it up and driving off is probably not a good idea.  On the other hand - if it is 60 degrees outside, then after 15 - 30 seconds - driving away slowly will not hurt anything - slowly is the important part.

People only look at the engine as something that has to be warmed up.  They forget the transmission, wheel bearings and axle CVs also have lubrication which is affected by temperature.  If the temperature is below freezing, these lubricants need to be warmed up in order to prevent excessive wear and tear.

And what if the windows are frozen up?  What do you do then?  Well of course you should have a good scraper and should not drive if you cannot see properly out of your car.  You should know how to use the heating system and window defrosters.  

So here are some guidelines:

Below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Start the car and watch for the oil light to go out (or gauge to reach its maximum)  then wait about 30 seconds. During this time, turn on your rear window defroster and set the controls for your front defroster with fan speed on low.  Depending on the direction you are going, put your foot on the brake and shift into either drive or reverse, and do not move for another 30 seconds.  When you start to move, keep your speed down for 1/2 of a mile if possible.  There was a time were I could drive to the next entrance, rather than immediately getting on a  highway near my house.  Within 3 to 4 minutes, the car's parts should be up to a reasonable temperature.  If the temp is below 5 degrees F.  you may need to warm up the engine a little longer, and /or invest in a block heater (or a Garage!)

BTW - I found keeping a spray bottle with windshield washer fluid can help clean off windows and even frozen door locks - do not use Hot water!

Over 32 degrees.

Basically the same applies but you can cut your warm up time to 10 seconds for both the engine and tranny.  The same goes for the other parts - you will notice that race cars go through an elaborate warm up procedure, even on 100 degree days.  Take it easy on your car just like you would your body.  Would you want to get out of bed and immediately run a 100 meter dash?

Today's car oiling systems are more complex than before and even though synthetic oil is much better that previous generation, getting oil to all the nooks and crannies in your engine is critical.  Remember to read your owner's manual to see when to change your oil and the proper weight oil for the temperature.  Extreme cold and driving with a heavy foot, puts you in the  category of more frequent oil changes.

Fighting Road Rage

Everyone gets angry at some time.  The question is, "Why does it escalate?"

When someone cuts you off, pulls out in front of you without looking, runs a red light, etc, the first reaction of someone is to take it personally.  In fact, it was totally random.  The person in the car doesn't know you, and most likely had no intention of affecting anyone on the road.  They may have been distracted, preoccupied or in worst case under the influence of some substance, legal or illegal.  They might have a medical situation, or just made a simple mistake of judgement.  However, the wronged person immediately take this as an attack on them personally, and decides that it is their responsibility to right the wrong.  

Unfortunately, this is a case of two wrongs NOT making a right.  You have no responsibility to correct someone.  If you are alert and have a in car camera, you may decide to report the person to the police, and I don't have any problem reporting a driver via 911 if they appear to be under the influence or are driving in a manner that will result in a crash.

Taking off after them, cutting them off or brake checking them is wrong and just asking for the situation to escalate into violence.  Teaching someone a lesson is NOT your job, nor will it do any good.

Since it takes two to tango, what do you do.  If the person is a clear danger then reporting them is acceptable.  Otherwise, the best thing to do is nothing.  If your pulse is up and your blood pressure climbing, then the best thing is to slow down, count to 5 and forget it.  Maybe think of what they did and have you ever done something like that.  How would you make yourself a better driver.  The act of rational thought, rather than letting your emotions take control, will calm you down and ensure YOU do not do something foolish.

In 5 seconds on the highway you have covered more than the length a football field.  If your focus in not on driving, but rather revenge, what damage can YOU cause.  Driving requires 100% attention to the task at hand - you need to be back in the moment as quick as you can.  Practice the 5 second technique and you will soon find that nothing will faze you.