Advanced Driving Tips

[manbridge 74]

Yeah, no doubt about it, great system.

ANY helpful tips, I always learn from. Many more from the motorcycling arena as well.

Never stop learning is my motto….

[Crowbob]

I’m gasterflabbed about this.

I had no idea there are actual driving methods that people pay to be taught about that I’ve been doing for 40 years.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

I’m gasterflabbed about this.

I had no idea there are actual driving methods that people pay to be taught about that I’ve been doing for 40 years.

I assume most of us went through some sort of Driver's Ed. I did, and most driver's ed goes through lots of safety stuff including most of the info here. Some folks come up with stuff on their own based on experience and/or common sense. But I suspect most of us have heard most of the "defensive driving" rules/recommendations/tips at one time or another. Most drivers don't seem to pay much attention and do their own thing.

If you're a business or company and you've got folks that are driving for you, it's probably a good idea to send those folks to more training to make sure they "get it." Especially since most of us got the training in our teens when most folks have the attention of focus of a gnat unless it's something we want.

[stevej37]

My drivers ed consisted of book tests and then getting into a Chevy Impala with three other students and driving while the instructor slept. (the Chev was a three on the tree)
After that...a one on one road test with the local po-po. and you were good to go.
1969

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

My drivers ed consisted of book tests and then getting into a Chevy Impala with three other students and driving while the instructor slept. (the Chev was a three on the tree)
After that...a one on one road test with the local po-po. and you were good to go.
1969

We had classroom, tests, driving in a parking lot painted with various street lines and intersections, then 3 or 4 of us in a car (mine was an Impala, but there were a couple of other models too) driving around with the instructor.

I'll never forget, when he got me on the Interstate, which was I95 in NoVA. I was in a lane driving behind another car at the speed limit. He told me to pass the car in front of me. In all of the in class instruction, we had been told that you aren't supposed to speed when passing, so I bumped the speed up 2-3 mph and was speeding, but not by much. As I'm creeping past the other car in the fast lane, he starts saying "git." I'm thinking, "what the hell is this guy saying, get what?" He repeats it more emphatically, and then practically yells it, "git, git, Git, GIT!" I'm not sure what happened next, I did speed up and get around. I assume he was looking for me to gun it, have it drop a gear and then pull back in line. But I had no idea what he meant when he said "git." He didn't seem that "country" most of the time.

Following the drivers ed was more tooling around with dad, and eventually a test at the DMV which was ridiculously easy, practically a joke, although every driver's test I've ever taken did include parallel parking which really kills some folks. The rest of the tests have always been a joke, basically drive around the block, come to either a stop sign or light, make a turn, parallel park and you're done.

[stevej37]

^^^ That bit with the instructor is funny.
I think in that time the instructors were not qualified for teaching drivers ed. They were just adult drivers that wanted some extra cash by doing the part.

We didn't have cone obstacle courses....just get in the car and drive.

[Crowbob]

So I’m in the back seat next to the driving instructor’s hot niece, a student driving and the instructor riding shotgun. Sedan, auto transmission sunny day with a/c on full blast. The car was modified with a brake pedal having been installed in the shotgun seat. Which I thought was a good idea.

Anyway, the driver is pulling up to the red stop light of a pretty busy intersection but she didn’t seem to be slowing down. Instructor yells stop! Of course he’s leaning on his pedal and the student yells, ‘It won’t stop!’

Instructor reaches over slams the shifter into neutral and yanks on the wheel to direct the car over the curb into the parking lot of a 7-11. The car comes to a stop.

Sure enough, the brakes had gone out. I’m thinking, cool! The driver was crying and shaking like crazy, the instructor was white as a sheet while the hot niece slept through almost the entire event, having been jolted awake by the car going over the curb.

[ted]

Originally Posted by manbridge 74

Yeah, no doubt about it, great system.

ANY helpful tips, I always learn from. Many more from the motorcycling arena as well.

Never stop learning is my motto….

I don't race bikes but this book helped my driving too.

[DonDavis]

Originally Posted by ted

Yeah and lost interest in anything you have to say so moving on.
Good afternoon.

WTF? I thought you moved on.

[ted]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

WTF? I thought you moved on.

Good afternoon.
Just making input on advanced driving tips, nothing to do about you.

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by stevej37

My drivers ed consisted of book tests and then getting into a Chevy Impala with three other students and driving while the instructor slept. (the Chev was a three on the tree)
After that...a one on one road test with the local po-po. and you were good to go.
1969

Mr. Hollands Opus?

[Jeff Hail]

On a humorous note. Remember the 1985 movie "Moving Violations".

[OK-944]

A couple things I remember about (HS) driver’s ed: while moving along with the rest of the traffic along a highway (at maybe eight mph over the speed limit), my instructor questioned me as to why I was driving over the speed limit. My very straightforward answer: “Well, everyone else is going this fast…and I’m just moving with the rest of the traffic.” Driver’s Ed instructor looks straight ahead and does not respond.

…and those Driver’s Ed movies we had to watch - featuring an attractive female student and handsome male instructor (sorta like a Barbie and Ken), in a classic red convertible - there was a sequence with the instructor in the drivers seat, explaining something to his student while looking directly at her and not at the road ahead…for what seemed like thirty seconds!

As for my driver’s test - I had the last scheduled “slot” on that day, and the tester-guy was obviously tired and anxious to get home. There came a point where I’d performed all of my required “tasks” except for parallel parking. Thing is…I’d truly nailed parallel parking in practice - and was very eager to show my tester-man how great I was at this. But suddenly we were back at the local DMV/PD office parking lot - without having parallel parked…and I blurted out “what about parallel parking - isn’t that a required part of the test?” To which he replied, “nah…don’t worry about it - just pull into the parking slot between those two cars, and that will be fine.” Well, WTF?!

[ted]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hail

On a humorous note. Remember the 1985 movie "Moving Violations".

[HobieMarty]

Two words, "Defensive Driving", as in drive like everyone out there is out to kill you.

I am constantly aware of other drivers, keep my eyes moving, and in traffic I find myself quickly going over "what if" scenarios and leaving myself an an "out".

I drive on a test track for a living and it is very nice to be able to drive a specific route and toss a vehicle around knowing that the other driver's around you are also going to follow a specific route and are all on the same page, it is actually relaxing, nothing at all like the interstate. The stretch of I-85 that I travel daily is a crazy place, hence "Defensive Driving"!!!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[DonDavis]

Once I got into Driver Training, it became obvious to me that people rarely ever take any type of training whatsoever after their Drivers Ed in HS. And that's IF they had that.

A 1-day class to erase a ticket does not count. And contrary to post 49, what I taught/teach is far outside the scope of what he thinks.

Teaching a 15-16 year old is challenging enough with how rapidly their lives are changing. School, jobs, college future, puberty, dating, drama...all of it.

Initially, they struggle with just keeping the car in their lane. Attempting to share the advanced techniques would be overwhelming to most, but not all kids.

I've ridden with young drivers that had impressive awareness and others that were simply terrifying.

I've been asked many times to teach friend's kids. That conversation can be touchy. Sure, I really like sharing knowledge, but teaching kids that are close to me can get emotional. For them, not me.

Telling them their technique is unsafe usually gets into "my friend told me to do that, it works for them" "Johnny's girlfriend was told to watch YT video and it said to do it that way.."

Young drivers typically resist being told what to do. "Mom made me ride with you.." dominates their mindset. So, I boil it down to 3 simple things.

Look ahead 15 secs, making them count off.

Anticipate braking, just lifting off the gas will slow a car. Showing them that really opens their eyes. Slowing to a stop is much more efficient and peaceful than racing up to the stop sign/light and harshly braking.

And lastly, check your mirrors. Gotta know what's going on around them at all times.

I've only done that maybe 5 times. Then later, they come back and share what they have observed, it's always positive and they ask other questions. Again, I don't get too far into the weeds. Just chatting about real life driving.

When I first became Certified, I asked my then 23 year old daughter to go for a ride. Not to teach her the technique, but to practice my speaking parts. You see, my class begins as I approach the vehicle with the student. My Demonstration drive is 12 minutes long and I cover 39 specific items that tie into the 5 Keys.
There's no talking or questions from the students during this time. We have much conversation after that, but they need to see/hear all the things that I'm doing and why.

After that drive, my daughter looked at me with wide eyes and said "Dad, you have to remember all of that and share it every time? That's amazing!"

But I've never held an actual class for her or her husband. My son has learned plenty from me, but he's curious and now he's 23 and a very calm driver. He picked up the tips from watching me all those years.

But hey, what do I know.