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.

To see you, first you have to want to be seen.

Back after being busy for a few years - so as a reminder:

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. 

One complaint I hear is that "that &*^% driver never saw me."

Then I thought, what are you doing to be seen?

If you are a motorcyclist, you need to drive with your headlight on and be aware that another driver may not see you, especially when coming head on.  The profile of a motorcycle is small compared to a car.  Maybe swerving slightly when coming to an intersection and wearing reflective, bright colored clothing will help.

But what do you do in a car?  If you do not have daylight running lights, or they are not turned on, you can drive with the low beams on.  Park your car in a safe location and walk 200 feet in front and look at your car.  Does it blend in with the surroundings or does it stand out?  That black paint and black grill really looked cool in the showroom, but how does it show up on the road?

If someone pulls out in front of you, how fast were YOU going?  It is hard to judge a car's speed when they are coming directly at you.  If the person is expecting someone to be coming at 30 mph, 60 might not look too different but the closing speed is enormous.

For people who are behind you, are you putting your car in a position where they cannot see around you?  If you see a person slowing down to make a left turn, moving to the right so the person behind you can see the car in front might be the difference in you getting hit. If you are tailgating, even if the person behind you is maintaining a safe distance, you still open yourself up to being rear ended if the first car stops suddenly.

There are other circumstances where you can make yourself better seen.  We will cover them in later posts.

The Logical Conclusion Part 2

Stopping:

Let's go over some basics.  The condition of being stopped implies NO motion.  If you are rolling you are going slow, you are not stopped.  It is not called a Slow Sign, it is a STOP sign,

Once you see a red light or stop sign, there is little benefit in accelerating.  If you are still far away then you should maintain speed but if there is no one behind you, there is great benefit in coasting up the stop.  Less wear and tear on your car, better fuel economy, even a more relaxing drive are all benefits from slowing down early.  If you are coming up to a stop light, there is even the potential of the light changing before you get there and you don't have to stop at all.  Compare this to screaming up to the light and just as the car stops, the light turns green - not a real happy feeling.

As you were probably taught in driver's ed, the correct way to stop is to apply increasing pressure to the brakes until the last few seconds and then let off just a bit so the brakes do not grab at the end.  This is the limousine driver technique, although I call it the grandma procedure.  The idea is to provide a stop so smooth, you passengers don't even realize you have stopped.  Every car is a little different and this was more of a problem with the over-boosted power brakes of the 60's and 70's.

Where should you stop.  Well the legal word is before the stop line - with the front of the car, not the driver's seat!  If you are behind a car, probably 4 or 5 feet is the minimum.  My father's saying was to stop so that you can see the car in front of you rear tire, and while this is a good rule of thumb, on some cars this might mean 20 feet and others 2 feet!  The best answer is to leave enough room so that you can get around the car if for some reason it stalls or becomes immobile - without having to back up.

Okay - so now we have covered the basics, next time we will look at the real world and see how that fits in with what we know.

What is your first move?

Recently while in New Jersey, I was able to observe an interesting phenomenon.

I was merging on to a highway.  As I came on to the acceleration lane, another car, already on the highway was approaching

Now there are several things they could have done:

1. Accelerate past me and leave room behind
2. Slow down and leave room ahead
3. Move over a lane to leave room.

The person chose something I never would have.  They leaned on the horn to say, "Hey, this is my lane and since I was here first you have no rights"

No slowing down.  No moving over.  Just hear is my horn.

Now there are many controls you have in a car.  Steering, brakes, accelerator, gearshift, etc.

The horn is not one of them.

Now, the horn is an information device, a signaling device, a communication device.

There is no way it should be your first move in a situation involving another car.

Even if the other driver is doing something wrong, stupid or illegal, your first move should be to protect yourself and your passengers, Slow down.  Move over (you are always aware who is around you - right?)  Then use the horn as communication device.

If this had been an isolated incident, I would have just blamed the driver.  But since this was repeated more than several time when I was down in NJ, I have to believe is is a driving style, developed I do not know why,  But is might be responsible for the increase number of traffic accidents we are seeing.

What is your first move?

The Logical Conclusion.

One thing about driving, we spend most of the time talking about going turning, watching other drivers, but not a lot of time about stopping.  Even though it is 50% of driving - for if we go, we have to stop.

But I hear you say, as a percentage of time, we spend very little time stopping.  True, but maybe that is part of the problem.  We need to look at stopping the way a baseball player looks at the catch at the end of a hit. The logical conclusion.

Stopping is hard.  To Stop at a Stop Sign or traffic light, you have to cease accelerating or maintaining a speed, then you have to brake so that the car will stop in an approximately 6" target.  Too short and you have to accelerate to the stop line, to long and you can end up in an accident.

So stopping is important - over the next posts I will discuss some techniques and the bad habits we get into.

So this is the start to stopping.

Get A Grip

Recently there has been some talk on the proper position for your hands on the steering wheel.  When I took Drivers Ed the proper positions was 9 and 3, as if the wheel was a clock.  Later, the ideal position was 10 and 2.  However, this was before the advent of air bags.

With an airbag, the bag comes out at such a great speed that the hands will be thrown outward and the speed may slam the hand into the window for instance.

So now we are back to 9 and 3 and some experts are recommending the 8 and 4 position - very familiar to those who drove Fiats in the 60's, also known as the Italian Position.

I have been using the 8/4 for a long time, especially when driving on the highway.  9/3 works for most wheels that have the spokes as rests, I never liked 10 and 2 as the wheel moves too easily when you rock or move back and forth - the same reason you should never use the Lazy Man position of having one hand at 12 o'clock.

You can't practice all emergency situations, but you can mentally practice them.  Imagine yourself in an accident.  With an air bag car, just before the crash remove you hands from the steering wheel and put them in your lap.  The seat belt (you ARE wearing your seat belt - right ) will keep you in place and the air bag will keep you from hitting the steering wheel.

One thing you can practice is not hooking your thumbs around the rim of the steering wheel, rather hold the wheel like you are giving the thumbs-up sign.  This keeps you from breaking your thumbs if you hit something where the wheel is spun suddenly in your hands, and allows the hands to not be trapped by the air bag in case it goes off suddenly.

So how do you turn the wheel with these new positions?  Stay tuned!

The Neutral Zone

Some things, like remakes of old movies come back into our lives.  In driving, some things that were one though to be gone also come back.  This is the case of Unintended Acceleration.

Unintended acceleration is like someone took control of your car and made believe you were on a dragstrip - full throttle.  The causes range from stuck throttle, driver pedal misapplication, too thick floor mats -whatever - the problem is that it seems to be happening more than 10 years ago.  Whatever gremlins are the cause, you have to know how to deal with it.

First - Read your owners manual and understand how to turn your car off and how to put it in Neutral.  Today's cars, with push buttons to start and computer controlled transmissions may not operate in the ways you are used to.

Second - if you ever get in the position where the engine and car is racing, here is what you do:

1. Step on the brakes
2. Shift into neutral
3. Pull over and turn off the engine.

Things you do every day - but in the panic of the situation, it all goes out the window.

Practice in a parking lot.  Drive forward and put the car in neutral.  In most cars this means pushing the shift lever one notch toward park.  Do not grab the lever, you may put it in park or reverse.  Just push the lever with an open hand.  Normally the engine will drop down to idle.  If the throttle is stuck, the engine will rev up to about 6,000 rpm, where today's engines are mostly computer controlled not to rev any higher.

This used to be taught in drivers education.  It should be taught in driver's education.  It should be in every owner's manual.

Whose space is it anyway?

A response to a post reminds me of another position occasion.

You are driving down the highway in the RH lane (because you only stay left to pass - right?). You come upon an entrance ramp and you see that 3 cars are looking to merge onto the highway. You also know that you will be right in the merge area when they will. What do you do? You have several options:

1. Slow down or speed up so that they can merge. I don't like either. If you slow down, they wil slow down and you don't change anything, and I hate to accelerate into a situation - you just reduce the time you have to react.

2. Move over into the left hand lane. What - that is the passing lane! Well, what are you doing? You are passing cars that are not yet up to speed. Here you allow the drivers a clear shot to merge.

Now this second choice has problems of it's own. If there is no one in the LH lane you are lucky; however, this is not likely. You are most likely going to have to merge yourself to move over. You should have been watching traffic so you know whether it is moving faster (usually) than you. In this case you will have to speed up. If you don't want to, it gets tricky. You need to slow down to let the car on the left pass you, then move over. At the same time you are slowing down, remember to keep a space so that if you can't get over, you still leave room for people to merge into your lane. Complicated? Yes, but if driving was easy, we should have no accidents and I would not have to write this blog .

Being able to let people in is an art form, and if done right it actually helps traffic move faster and smoother. It comes down to the basic rule - you should respect other people's space and they should respect yours. By trying to help others, you raise the Driving Intelligence of the road, a concept I will explain in the next post.

Assume the Position

A few posts back, I mentioned positioning your car so that other drivers would see what you were going to do. Now, listen on how you can help other drivers.

Way back when, I was at a race where two drivers where fighting it out for position. Another car had crashed and ended up in the middle of the track. As the two cars approached, the first car waited until the last minute to dart to one side, leaving the second driver no time to react. He swerved and spun down the track, actually going into the pits and hitting another car (not to mention just missing all the mechanics who jumped out of the way). It was a very dangerous situation because the first driver blocked the second from seeing the accident.

It is the same on the road. If a car is making a left turn, if you stay to the left of the lane, you block drivers behind you from seeing him until the last minute. While you might not be involved in an accident, you might be the cause. If a driver is going to turn left, slow down and move right, so that drivers behind you can see PAST you. This is especially critical if you are driving a truck or SUV.

Now, the drivers behind you SHOULD be leaving enough room, but in many cases they do not. Common courtesy works both ways - someday you might be the second car......

This is also very important on congested highways, where stop and go traffic is the norm. By moving to one side or the other you can help prevent the chain reaction crash that is so typical. Giving other drivers as much information as soon as possible helps make the roads safer for everyone.

Pot(hole) Luck

For those in the winter areas, the recent warming is a welcome change.

Unfortunately, there is a down side - potholes.

As the ground under the pavement thaws, the subgrade and base wash out and potholes form as cars drive over the weakened road.

With many cars having aluminum wheels and low profile tires, hitting a pothole can run into many hundreds of dollars.

Don't assume that puddle up ahead is not a pothole. Be alert and slow down on side roads. On highways and other high speed roads, leave plenty of room and watch the car in front - if you see him hit a pothole you will have time to slow down or move over slightly to miss it.

Myth of Myths

There are many articles concerning old wives tales and conventional wisdom when it comes to car maintenance. One that you often see is that it is a myth to change your oil every 3,000 miles. Well even these new theories can be myths. Let's look at motor oil and how if relates to modern cars.

First, you do need to check your motor oil every 2 weeks or 2 tank fulls whichever comes first. Car manufactures consider 600 miles per quart of oil an acceptable usage, even though many cars go thousands of miles per quart. Since most cars contain about 4 quarts of oil, would you want to drive missing 25% of your oil?

Second, you should change your oil at least 2 times a year. With cars not requiring the same amount of maintenance as in years past, it is not unusual for cars to go years without major repairs. That does not mean that things don't go wrong and preventative maintenance is better than waiting for things to fail. Getting your car in in the early spring and late fall* for an oil change and general look over is a good habit to get into. For someone doing 20,000 miles per year, putting another oil change visit in the summer keeps you up to most auto manufacturer's schedule, although 4 times a year is not expensive and out of line with protecting your investment..

Third, consider using synthetic oil in your car, especially if you live in areas where it gets very cold in the winter. The synthetic oil will flow easier at low temperatures and put less strain on your starting system and may even extend the life of your battery. Now synthetic oil is only a few dollars more than conventional oil, but may shops try to charge an outrageous premium. If synthetic oil is more than $10 - $15 extra per oil change, consider going somewhere else.

Fourth, always change the filter with the oil change. Some people are particular about what oil filter goes on their engine, although today, virtually all oil filters do a great job. If you do insist on bringing your own filter (and in some cases oil) a shop may balk at first, but sit down and talk to them and they will usually work with you, albeit at about the same total cost to you as if they supplied the parts. Remember, you are not doing this to save money, but to be consistent on the parts used.

Fifth, keep a quart of oil around, but when faced with needing to add oil, it is more important to add the oil than to worry about the brand.

Sixth, oil that looks dirty is not necessarily bad, but oil that gets dirty right after a change is usually a sign that all the oil was not drained or the engine has a lot of dirt built up. Do an oil change earlier the next time, make sure it is done with a hot engine and they let it drain completely.

So do you have to change your oil every 3000 miles? The answer is mileage and time have to be considered. Of course you could do the change yourself and save some money - that will be for another day.

* For those fortunate to live where it is summer all year, twice a year is still a good target for your oil changes- you just have the luxury of scheduling the seasons!

What's your position?

Have you ever seen a person make a right turn from the left lane? How about someone trying to cut in to a line of cars while even with you? Both of these are cases of bad positioning. Now before we go any further, there are two ways to communicate with other drivers - signals (both hand and lights) and positioning. There are many instances where both are used together, but today we are just going to focus on positioning.

When you are trying to communicate with another driver about what you plan to do, the worst thing you can do is send conflicting signals. The driver who moves left before turning right is one of those. If a driver slows and moves slightly to the right in the lane, they give the impression that he or she is turning right. A driver who wants to merge into a line of cars does not barrel to the front, but picks a logical space in-between cars and signals their intentions. A person looking to parallel part, stops before the space with their blinkers on, waits until the car behind recognizes them and then pulls forward and backs into the space.

The one obvious use of positioning is when making a left turn under a traffic light. If space allows you pull forward and to the left, not entering the other lane but leaving room for cars going straight to move around you on the right. [note: in most states it is legal to pass on the right in this case, but because something is legal, it doesn't make it safe. The passing car should slowly move around the stopped car.] Just staying in line gives the wrong impression to cars behind and I have seen cases where a car illegally tries to pass, on the left, the car waiting to turn left!

In future posts I will talk about other cases where positioning is important to safe driving.

I can see clearly now

One of the things they check when you get your license is your eyesight. If eyesight is so important, then why do you handicap it by driving around with dirty windows? Especially at night, dirty windows can cut down you vision and make it difficult to drive.

In the winter you have the double whammy of dirt on the outside and film on the inside. The outside is obvious, some rain, snow, and mud (at least no bugs when it is cold), but the inside gets dirty too. When you run the defroster you blow moist air over the inside of the windows, and this attracts dirt. The film that accumulates cuts down on your vision and increases the amount of glare you have to deal with. At least on the outside you can run your wipers to try and clear the mess (You do have good windshield wiper blades and windshield wiper fluid?- Right?)

At least once a week, take some glass cleaner and a few paper towels and go over the inside of the windows. Don't forget to get all the rear view mirrors. You will be astonished at the amount of dirt that comes off and how well you can see again.

As to cleaning materials, the latest home window cleaners are not what they used to be. I prefer the special car window cleaners and the type that comes in a pressurized spray can seem to work the best, although you have to store them where it is warm. As far as what to use to wipe, paper towels seem to be the best, although if you hate to waste resources, then a good cloth towel, washed often will also do. One of the best materials to use is blank newspaper, especially the end rolls you can pick up at your local printing location.

For windows really coated with wax, a non-abrasive powder like Bon Ami on a wet towel digs through the grime and actually polishes the glass. Always be careful when using anything that might scratch or dull the windows.

ChrisZ

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