Too Damn Fast - Driving tip 12-25-2010

In the last 2 weeks at least 8 people have been killed on Connecticut roads. There were young people and old(er) people. They were on highways and side roads. The one thing they had in common is speed. Not always illegal speed, but speed none the less. One thing they don't teach you in driver's ed is that speed is not your friend - it is your enemy. For the one thing you can't fudge are the laws of physics. That says an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by another object. Some great examples are on this web site by Dirk Oden. He did the figures so I didn't have to.

A crash at 45 mph is like jumping out of a 7 story window. In crash at 30 mph your body has a force of over 1200 lbs. Forces go up with the square of the speed. The next time you are driving down the highway at 60 miles an hour, try to imagine hitting a bridge abutment. Seat belts, airbags, etc would be of no use, you would probably die instantly.

"But I see race cars crash at much higher speeds and the driver walks away", you might say. Well several things factor into this. First, the driver has a much higher level of safety gear. At least 4 times the seat belt protection, a full cage around the driver and helmet designed to protect his head. A car designed to fly apart and dissipate the forces. The tracks are designed with tire walls, safer barriers and sand traps, all to reduce the forces on the car. Also drivers know that speed is their enemy and they do everything to get rid of as much speed as possible. Big fat racing tires slow the car down in a hurry, either with brakes or by sliding sideways. Even with all of this, drivers are hurt and killed each year.

So what can you do? It would be hypocritical to say never go over the speed limit. Sometimes that is not practical and will be a discussion for another post. So here is what you can do:

1. Make sure your car is safe for the conditions you are driving under. Low tread tires may be okay on a dry summer day, but could turn deadly on a cold, rainy autumn night.

2. Don't drive when you are tired, sick, under the influence of anything, including cold medicine.

3. Keep a proper distance between your car and the cars around you. Not just the one in front but the ones on the side and in back of you also.

4. If you know the road, expect the unexpected. The ice in the turn when you don't expect it. The kid that runs out to get his ball. The car broken down around the blind corner.

5. And if you don't know the road? Now you should be almost paranoid. One thing I learned from riding motorcycles is don't trust any drivers. This is good advice especially when you are driving in unknown territory. You are already distracted and your reactions slower.

6. Never drive a car thinking you are better than you are. Teenagers drive like they can defy the laws of physics. Adults drive like they own the road and expect people to get out of their way when they are late for an appointment. Older drivers think that experience makes up for loss of reaction time.

7. Take a professional high speed driving school and learn how to handle a car and what to expect.

8. If you really want to go fast - go to a race track or go kart track. Racing on the street will get someone killed - it may not be you, but could you live with that?

ChrisZ

Driving tip 12-18-2010

I am starting a weekly note on driving and car care. I hope this gets me in the habit of writing a short article each week.

If you like this please pass the link over to someone else.

Thanks

ChrisZ