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

The Perfect Storm

It was the perfect storm - the accident was inevitable - but it didn't happen. Why?

There were 5 cars in a row - driving about 45 mph. The first car needed to stop and turn left across traffic. Did they signal? Did they slow down early enough to alert those behind? Evidently not, as the resulting accordion effect resulted in the 4th and 5th cars skidding to a stop. I was the fifth car. How did I get sucked in? Wasn't I staying back far enough? Wasn't I watching beyond the car in front?

I made 2 mistakes which almost put me in an accident. And if I can - you can - learn from my mistakes.

First, the road bent slightly to the right. Normally I move back and forth, especially if the car in front is a truck or SUV like this time. But I was cut out of seeing traffic in front of me. Second I was distracted when a gust of wind blew some papers around the passenger compartment. Normally either one of these is no problem as I leave enough room to stop in case of a problem (remember the 2 to 3 second rule?). But together, they were enough to eat up a second or 2 and that left me no cushion.

The person in front of me swerved to the right and I swerved to the left. Tires squealing as they exceeded their friction point as I threshold braked. Whew!

Of course the first person never knew they almost caused a major accident. They stopped in the middle of the road, where there was enough room to get around if they had positioned their car right. They did not slow down soon enough, or if they realized they waited to long, they could have gone past and come back.

So to review:

1. If you can't see past the car in front of you slow down
2. If you get distracted - slow down.

Your car will stay in one piece longer.

Left turns - after you

If you are going to try an make a left turn in today's world, here is as good a description as I can find:

http://www.roadtripamerica.com/forum/content.php?59

Also what can come away from this is positioning your wheels when you are NOT moving.

Always be one step ahead of the other driver. Plan for the unplanned. After a while how and where you place your car, to signal other drivers of your attention and to also protect yourself, will become automatic.

Seat belts

If I was going to look for information on seat belts and accidents, this is a great site I found:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/Hbase/seatb.html

The question is:

Is it better to be belted in or not?

The answer is:

If you wear a seat belt, statistics say about 20% of drivers will still die in an accident.

If you don't wear a seat belt, about 70% of unbelted drivers die in accidents.

The real question is "'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?"

Do you like to watch people?

You are driving down the road and you notice a person in a gas station, pulling away from the pumps, and stopping just short of the road. You know the person wants to move into traffic, but what else can you learn? First, even though you cannot trust it, does the person have their turn signal on? I will bet most of the time they will not. However, you can still figure out which way the person is going but looking at how they angle the car in the exit and which way they are looking.

You can learn a lot about a driver by watching. Is the driver young or old? Are they on a cell phone (illegal in most states) or arguing with their kids in the back seat? Do they seem attentive or ready to nod off?

How about their car? Is it weaving back in forth? Driving too fast for conditions? Driving slower than conditions - like the driver is trying to find his or her destination and might suddenly make a turn?

Now think of your driving - what signals are you sending to others? Are you telling them what you are going to do or are you sending mixed signals?

See, it is fun to watch people.

Seat Belt use

Having driven race cars for 30+ years, and seeing some major accidents (including some of my own), also having been in 3 accidents during this time on the road, I think the following PSA is one of the best I have seen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-8PBx7isoM&feature=player_embedded

I will add more as I find them - they physics is undeniable - you are safer with belts than without.

Winter driving alert!

With winter comes snow and different driving techniques. One of the problems is not going but stopping. One of the tricks was when stopping on slick roads was to move over near the curb and use the sand which washed to the side of the road to help with traction - well, maybe not anymore. With more towns using a sand-free salt mixture to help keep the roads clear, there is no more sand on the side of the road! In fact, since the salt melts the snow and it runs to the side where it refreezes, the old trick may be worse. So the new thought is, go slow, test for traction and stay where it is best. Slow cars on freezing roads will eventually melt the ice due to pressure and heat from the car itself. Don't assume that clear roads are ice free roads.

Left Lane Bandits

On a recent trip, one of the things that struck me, was that so many people still don't understand lane discipline.

Let's go over the rules and see how many you really obey.

1. Keep right except to pass - that is always drilled into people; however, there is more to understand than meets the eye. This came into fruition when most highways were 2 lane. On most "parkways"of 2 lanes of traffic in a single direction, this still holds through with some exceptions.
a. If approaching an on or off ramp, if there is no traffic in the left lane, then it is better to give room to people getting on or off the parkway. Just remember to get back in the right lane when it is safe to do so.
b. A new law in many states makes it mandatory to move over a lane when a police or other emergency vehicle (fire, tow truck, etc.) is off the road but next to the highway. This is to give a buffer zone of safety to the emergency personnel.

Now on a 3 lane divided highway, the left lane is the "passing" lane, the middle is the "travel" lane, and the right lane is for people exiting or entering, or for slow traffic. The worst thing you can do is to match your speed to another car in any other lane. This does not give anyone a chance to pass and also cuts down on your options in case you have to make an emergency manuever.

The worst thing you can do is to sit in the left lane, even if you are going faster than the speed limit. THis forces cars to pass you on the right, not a very safe move. That and you tick off people so you end up possibly cuasing more accidents than you think you are preventing by slowing others down.

2. You can ONLY pass on the left. In most states, on a 2 or more lane divided highway, you can pass on the right if you do not cut in and out of lanes. So if you see a left lane bandit, you can first flash your lights to wake him up (he may not see you coming up on him) and if no response - signal, move into the other lane, and carefully pass him and if no traffic - stay in the right lane.

Remember - signal BEFORE you switch lanes - at least 3 seconds to warn other drivers. Check your mirrors AND your blind spot, before changing lanes.

In Case of Accident

Do you know what to do in case you are in an accident? Many insurance companies give you a little card or package with forms to fill out. Lets break it down into some easy steps:

1. Is anyone hurt? Call 911 and get help immediately on the way.
2. If no one is hurt, are the cars easily movable? If so, in many states you are required to move them to the side of the road, out of more harms way.
3. If there is substantial damage - call the police. This is to document the damage and ascertain if anyone is at fault.
4. If there is minor damage. A dent is not a reason to call police, they have better things to do. Often all you need to do is:
5. Exchange information - this is what is usually in the insurance package. You exchange name, address and phone number, driver's license number and insurance information. If you agree on whose fault it is, and it is a minor amount, you can offer to settle amongst yourselves. If the damage is over a certain threshold (varies by state), you must report it to the police and get the insurance companies involved.
6. Can't agree whose fault it is or not sure - if the police get involved - they may or may not assign blame - it might be shared (two cars backing out in a shopping mall at the same time). Note, 50/50 share will result in a chargeable accident on both insurances. If you think you are not at fault, do not admit to any.
7. Call your insurance company. They may not take immediate action, or they may send you a form to fill out.
8. Keep good records. When you get home, write down exactly what happened. Keep records of all phone calls and copies of all forms and letters.

Sounds like a pain, but by following these steps you will minimize any problems later on.

Here's hoping you never get into any accidents.

Bad Road Signs

On a recent road trip, I ran across some of the worst traffic signs in recent memory.

It is almost like the engineers never drove the roads that their signs sit on.

So what can you as a driver do? Well, first thing is to know where you are going. With the advent of Internet maps and GPSs, you certainly have an advantage over the past where a old map from the gas station was the best you could do. But other that than - stay alert.

If a sign says merge in 1 mile, start setting up your gap so you can either merge or let someone else merge.

At toll booths, be prepared for lanes to change as you get to the toll both - best way today is to have an "EZ-Pass" but if not, be alert for the proper lane and have cash handy.

The best answer to not missing your exit is to slow down and if you do miss an exit, start thinking about the next one and how to get back. Again, with GPS devices, this has almost become a thing of the past, but remember - they are not infallible either.

Pay attention, slow down, be aware of traffic around you.

No Certainty - Take nothing for granted

There are no certainty's when driving:

The green light might suddenly turn red skipping yellow,

The motorcyclist may fall off his bike right in front of you,

The car signalling left may change their mind and turn right,

That pedestrian that is looking right at you might still walk right into traffic,

That car that has been side by side with you on the highway for 2 miles, might suddenly change into your lane.,

The car that starts to go in front of you may stop for no reason at all.

Yes the odds of these things are small, but they do happen. A good driver does not take things for granted. He or she prepares and thinks ahead. They get into habit where they subconsciously leave room, watch for signs of non-normal behavior and always do not trust the other guy.

For example - a good driver approaching a green light thinks "how long has it been green?" and rather than speeding up maintains a steady speed or even slows down depending on how long the light has been green. By not coming to a screeching stop, they make it safer for themselves and the drivers following them.

ChrisZ

Road Rage - The Other Guy

So you are driving down the road and some idiot comes out of a side road and cuts you off. "What a jerk!" You lay on the horn and scream at him (or her). "Why that stupid person should not have a license. Blankety Blank, when I catch up with you I will give you a piece of my mind!"

Wait....do you know that person? Does that person know you? Were they sitting there waiting for you to come along just to tick you off? Of course not. The why are you taking this personally?

Whenever we are wronged, it is our human nature to take it personally. Maybe it is a defense mechanism in order to generate adrenaline to deal with a dangerous situation. I will leave that to the psychologists and the biophysicists. Right now I want to deal with modern driving.

Imagine 22 players on a football field - all doing what they want without any coordination. That is what driving today is. Now we have some rules to control this, and just by the fact you are one side of the road or another, controls some of your behavior (like being offense or defense to continue the football analogy). However; their is no coach to coordinate the drivers, no director to choreograph the play. Each driver gets to make their own decisions, again, albeit with some rules and regulations.

So if someone does something dumb, makes a mistake in judgement or skill, that only reflects on that person and has nothing to do with anyone else on the road!

The question is how do YOU react when you see or if you are affected by such an act?

First, as stupid as it may have been - it has nothing personal to do with you. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Second, we all make mistakes. If this was just a simple error in judgement, someone pulled out too soon, forgot to put their blinker on, etc., the questions is do you just say "Well, I do that sometimes, I will just ignore it." Most of the time that is the proper response.

Third - did we contribute to the problem? Are we traveling too fast for conditions or the speed limit? Are we driving in the rain without lights or maybe sitting in someone's blind spot? Are we examining our driving to help other people from making these mistakes?

Fourth - If it is really serious is the driver impaired - either by lack of sleep, drugs, alcohol or illness. Should we do something? The best thing is to get the license number and call the police. I have on occasion followed a driver, flashed lights, honked a horn, even pulled up next to someone to talk to them, trying to get their attention or wake them up. The first words out of my mouth are not "Hey stupid", but "Are you okay?" Concern keeps things from escalating and how I would want to be treated if I was suffering from one of the above issues.

So Road Rage needs to be fought, as common and normal an emotion as would be expected.
By realizing and expecting, people to make mistakes on the road, you will get to your destination faster and more relaxed.

After you.....

Are you entitled to your space on the road? Well, yes; unless you violate the first rule of driving.

For example, you are on a two lane highway, coming up on an entrance ramp. There is no one in the left lane, but you stay in the right lane, blocking an driver looking to merge. Oops. In this case you should have moved over to the left lane and allowed the other driver to enter.

Or you see a driver trying to enter the road from a driveway. You see a line of cars behind you, but you speed up because you can't possible let someone get ahead of you. What you should have done, if there was enough space in front to you, is slow down slightly and let the person out.

When you are on the road you are sharing the space with other drivers. There is an expected level of cooperation. There is no "entitlement" only the technicalities of the law. Even here, there are limits. There is a physical law (not mentioned in the Motor Vehicle Laws) that two objects cannot occupy the same space. If you violate the Motor Vehicle Law, the least is you will get a ticket. If you violate the Law of Physics, the least you will get is a very bad accident!

You have control and responsibility where you place your car. You can place it in a dangerous situation and rely on other drivers to get you out of trouble; or you can think ahead a be a safe and courteous driver.

Are you a Space Cowboy?

What is your reaction to the following situation?

You are driving down a road with ample space between you and the car you are following.

A car pulls out of a side road in between the two of you, causing you to slow down slightly. Not enough to hit the brakes, but enough to make you adjust your speed.

Do you:

1. Speed right up to him, slam on the brakes while honking your horn and giving him the "Your #1" salute?

2. Keep your speed up and pass him, then slow down to show your displeasure?

3. Flash your lights and let him know he cut into your safety space?

4. Adjust your speed and reestablish a safety zone?

If you answered anything other than the last answer, you may want to rethink why you got so mad at someone you most likely have never seen before and never will again.

That person may be guilty of bad judgement, but what was your speed? I will bet you were over the posted speed limit. In most cases this limit was made so that drivers can enter and exit roads at a reasonable speed. One of the hardest things to do is to judge a car that is coming at you. So don't take it personally, the person was not trying to do anything to slow you down, just trying to merge with traffic. And don't pull the "why didn't he wait until I passed?". Do you think he is Superman with x-ray eyes?

Now there are drivers who are dangerous and the best thing to do is to get a license plate and report them to the police. Not a perfect system, but the only one we have.

The best response is to see the driver and start to think about what to do if he does pull out. In this instance you don't want to slow down and give him room (unless there is a long line of cars in back of you) as there is no rule or courtesy that says you have to let him in; however, by thinking about this you will reduce your reaction time if he does pull out.

Next time - instances when you should leave room for someone to merge.

Space - I Need my Space!

Once of the exciting things about NASCAR racing is how close they run on a superspeedway. Inches apart at 200 mph, the tension builds until "the big one" comes and you have a 20 car (or more) crash. So it can't be that bad to run close to someone on the highway, right? After all we are only doing 60 mph, not 200 mph?

Let look at something:
1. These are 40 of the best drivers in the country,
2. Their cars are properly prepared for racing with all extra safety features
3. They have spotters and flaggers warning them of danger

And they still crash!

Why? Because they cannot react fast enough. Now, lets look at you:
1. All the other drivers around you are "idiots",
2. Your car is only maybe "safe" in a crash of about 25 mph - and that is if you are wearing a seat belt and using air bags.
3. No one is there to warn you of what is ahead.

The 2 second rule is still a valid one. When the car in front of you passes a mark, could be a telephone pole or a bridge, you count "One Mississippi, Two Mississippi". If you pass the mark before you are finished, then you are too close.

But what about on a multi-lane road? I will elaborate on this in another post, but here are some guidelines:

1. Never drive beside another car.
2. Never drive in their blind spot
3. Don't put yourself in a position to block another driver when they need to change their space. This is a little more tricky and again, for another post.

Oh, another difference between you and the NASCAR driver

4. He has a spare car in case he crashes, and he does not have to pay to get the car repaired.

Turn Signals - The Auto Text Message

There are jokes about turn signals - how Cadillacs always work because they are never used, or how old drivers drive with them always on. The fact is that turn signals are the only device that you have to speak, car to car. It always amazes me that people don't know how to use them.

The first rule is that they send a warning. "I am about to change lanes", I am going to make a right turn". They should never be "I AM making a left turn". The concept is to tell another driver what you want to do, so they can make adjustments.

Note, I said, what you want to do, rather than what you are doing. Using your turn signals does not give you the right to do anything.

Signaling that you are turning right lets the driver in back of you give your room as you slow down. It tells him not to speed up into your space if you are planning on changing lanes.

How soon should you signal? That depends on the situation. I would rather signal early and give drivers a chance to adjust, rather that waiting for the technically correct moment and forcing them to react. An example. If I am turning right onto a street just past a driveway, I would not necessarily wait until after the driveway to signal. The other driver can figure out by your brake lights and speed, where you will be turning. Similarly, on the highway, signalling a few seconds before you change lanes, gives other drivers time to adjust their speed.

Sometimes, you signal in order for other drivers to give you room that is not already there. You may see a lane closing and want to move over. The other driver would be blocked from seeing that, however; if they see your signal, hopefully they will give your room.

There are other ways to signal, using your brake lights, flashers, and headlights. Your turn signals are the most usefull and as such you should practice using them all the time, even when you think no one is around.

Driving in the snow - #1

Here in the Northeast, people do not prepare their cars for the snow.

Specifically, here is the story on tires:

1. You must use snow or all season tires

2. The tread must be at least 6/32 deep (The Lincoln penny test is only 2/32, you need 3 times this to drive in snow).

3. The tires should not be over 5 years old.

If you don't meet all 3 criteria - YOU SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ROAD IN THE SNOW.

ChrisZ

4 minutes

Your Physical Condition

Working------------------

You are excited. You just can't wait to get behind the wheel. Sure you are a little tired, but what does that matter?

Or:

What a great party. It was a great sendoff for a friend leaving for Iraq. And you did a great job of only having two beers (assuming you are old enough). You are are so calm and relaxed.

Now, in either case, should you be driving? Well, it depends. In either case your driving skills are impaired. The amount of impairment will vary from person to person.

If you are going to drive your best, and protect your passengers here are some things to think about:

1. Drugs, legal or illegal can affect your reaction time. At 60 miles per hour you will be traveling at 88 feet per SECOND. Even at 30 miles per hour you travel 44 feet in the time you can say "One, One Thousand". This is why you should stay 2 seconds behind the car in front. (But that will be explained later.)

2. Sleep - you need a good night's sleep in order to drive your best. A lack of sleep can be just as damaging as taking drugs.

3. Physical injuries. - got a sprained ankle or wrist - maybe you should think twice about driving - especially if it means you cannot press on the brake or turn the steering wheel fast enough to avoid an accident.

Now a hangnail should not keep you from driving, nor should taking cold medicine keep you from going to the doctor. However, you have to think every time you get in a car, am I 100% or do I need to pay extra special attention to my driving today?

Safe Driving

"The purpose of driving is to get you and your passengers to your destination safely"


Lets look at this part of the rule first.

Cars are much safer than they used to be. This gives drivers a false sense of security. You have to remember - it is not going fast that hurts, but stopping fast. In this your job is not to hit anything. This almost sounds laughable - of course you don't plan on hitting anything. However, what are you doing to actively prevent this?


Let's Break this down to 4 categories:


1. Your Physical and Mental Condition

2. The Condition of your car

3. Your driving style

4. The other driver


We will examine these in the next entries.