Advanced Driving Tips
 

Many of you know I was a Certified Smith System driving instructor for over 10 years. It really transformed my driving.

Back story.
I joined GE Healthcare as a Field Engineer in 1999. We service CT/MRI/XR/NuclearMedicine in hospitals and outpatient imaging centers located literally all over the place. We don't have a brick and mortar office and work from home when not busy ( that's not very often, btw :( ).
We get company vehicles and GE was had been using Smith System for many years.
They would send an FE to the Smith 5 day class to get certified, then the GE guy can teach the system to our drivers. I would have to get my recert every 2 years.

GE has decided to save the expense of Smith and created their own class. We would have monthly tcons to discuss how things are going. When it was announced we would abandon Smith, every single FE protested calling it a mistake. I agree totally, but I digress...

That class was all driving every day in real world conditions. The first day was about 2 hours of classroom, then we hit the road in a 15 passenger van with our 6 students plus the Instructor for the rest of the week.

I really loved it.

In Jeff's Raged thread I brought up a suggestion about using hazards to assist in communicating with other drivers. It works for me. You should try it.

But please use caution if you attempt to use the techniques I'm sharing below.

The last thing an experienced driver wants is to be told they're doing something wrong.

And NONE of you have signed up for a class. I appreciate questions, but reserve criticizing here. It's takes real practice to adopt this properly.

If'n you ain't gonna actually try, then move along.

Below is the reference sheet I mentioned in Jeff's thread.

It's read from the bottom up containing 6 Protocols.

1-New Stretch of Road
2-Changing Lanes or Turning
3-Clear all Intersections
4-Check your Mirrors
5-The First Vehicle at a Stop Light
6-Behind Another Vehicle at a Stop Light

And these are NOT the primary Keys for driving Smith. They are...

Aim High in Steering
Get the Big Picture
Keep your Eyes Moving
Leave Yourself an Out
Make Sure They See You

Enjoy.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1672681347.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1672682697.jpg


And for fun, here are some actual comments from real drivers that were involved with collisions.

It's from 1977, :eek: But certainly pertinent.

Some real gems in there.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1672682770.jpg

Out of curiosity, why is the sheet bottom-up vs top-down?

You asked, I delivered. SmileWavy

And scanning from the bottom gets the eyes back on the road more quickly.

But I never used them behind the wheel.

ROFLMAO! Some real genius in there!

Protocol 6 needs an update, or maybe the bit about the eyes always moving covers it. I know of at least 2 people very close to me, and feel like there's a third, where they were making a right turn as the second person. They saw the person in front let off of the brakes and start to move, and then promptly rear-ended them, because the person in front changed their mind and stopped.

I've seen too many times in this situation where the person in front has decision making issues, so they'll "start to go" several times before they actually go. I try to NOT anticipate by looking left if I'll be able to follow. I watch the car in front and make sure they are gone before I check to see if I can go. In some cases, this means that I have to wait for another opening, but it's better than rear-ending them.

And it's even easier to do in this sort of layout because you're not able to see them with your peripheral vision if you're looking over your shoulder at the oncoming traffic.

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/older_us...s/fig_25lg.jpg

I had that happen to me. I was looking left at a stop sign and another car crept up on my left and blocked my view. I released the brake to go forward for a better view and the car behind me rammed me into the intersection.

Yep, not uncommon, I think.

Mostly unrelated, most of the time, being rear-ended almost guarantees that the person that did the rear-ending is at fault in an accident. And while I see and understand that take on things, and it makes a certain amount of sense, I have only ever been rear ended once. In college, one of my college buddies was dicking with his radio as he came up behind me completely stopped at a light (4 lanes wide) and locked up his brakes just as it started raining and slid into the back of my car. Neither car had any damage. But I've never been rear ended other than that <knock, knock, knock on wood>.

When I was about 21, I knew this couple and the guy had been rear ended 10 times in the 3 years before I met them. I think they were in their mid 20s. I have always thought that he was doing something to get rear ended. I actively try to do things to ensure that I'm not rear ended.

Most of the time, the answer is that some drivers are in such a hurry, that they anticipate would they would like to happen.
A few seconds of time is not going to make any difference...just be attentive.

I was leaving work one afternoon in my '87 Supra Turbo years ago ... had to get on I-40 on a VERY short entrance & exit ramp during rush hour. The old guy in front of me stopped completely (wrong), and then saw a decent opening as I did too .... for several cars to merge in. So I punched it while checking my mirror again and blind spot... the old guy then stopped again after accelerating ....:(. I did too :D.

Toyota Supra Turbos were built like tanks .... and I destroyed his Mazda 626.... with only a small scratch on my front bumper.... I still say it wasn't my fault .... but it twas. Cop agreed as he handed me the ticket :).

Yep, I always assume "they" are going to do something stupid, so I should focus on them. I almost hit someone once or twice for that reason when I was younger.

Protocol 4 with stopping 15' short of pedestrian crosswalks and/or leaving 15' of distance behind the car in front of you is asking to be rear ended. I'm pretty certain that in city driving - NO ONE - expects the car in front of them to stop with such a distance when in traffic.

If you stop slowly enough vs a short stop, you'll be fine. I generally stop with my front bumper behind the "stop line." I have run into folks that stop 1-1.5 car lengths behind the stop line. That bugs me.

I do remember being taught that you should always leave a car length (or was it 1.5) between you and the car in front of you at a stop light. These days, that seems a bit excessive in heavy traffic, but the point is that in a pile up, you are less likely to be pushed into the car in front of you.

The next big question is....Do you look both ways when turning right??

Time is up...you failed.

Even though traffic from the right is going the opposite direction...there very well may be a driver passing another car in the lane you are turning into.

Your insurance rate will be reflecting your wrong answer.

Oh hell yeah :)! I've seen too many drivers stopped in a lane, or going the wrong way down a one way street even. I never "quick start" when a light turns green and always have my head on a swivel looking both ways going through green lights too.....

That's why I'm still here ;).

The Smith system sounds like the defensive driving we were taught when I took Driver Ed. It also reminds me of the things one does if they wish to remain alive riding a motorcycle.
Trying to predict behavior and leaving yourself an out.
So far, so good.

Best
Les

No rate raise for you.
It must have been a real stumper for the others.

I wish :(. About 15 years ago I was behind a POS hoopty at a stop light which then turned green. She began to accelerate, as did I, then she stopped .... for no reason :(. I tapped her at mebbe 5 mph .... we both pulled over and she gets out "rubbing her neck" .... I didn't get a ticket 'cause the LEO knew she was FOS, but she played the game "right" and got 4 grand from my Insurance Co....

My rates went up for 3 years :(...

I hate other drivers :D

Yep, anytime you hit someone from behind...open your wallet.
No matter what dumb thing the other driver did.

I've been considering a retirement gig...

Gonna buy me a big ol' tank with GREAT brakes :D!

When I was 16 and in high school it was the height of the mini skirt fashion. Pun intended, short skirts, on 16 year old girls when I was 16 and raging hormones, was real and true distraction. The school dress code said the hem line had to come to the girl's thumbs when holding her arms at her side. I was enjoying the wonderful view of a very short skirt on a really stupefyingly pretty classmate and I rear ended a car that stopped for no reason at all, except the red light!

100% my fault, my dad accepted my excuse. I had to pay for the repairs on my car, and insurance paid off the 40 year old geezer that stopped for no good reason.

That is the last crash I have had except a lady that ran a 2 way only stop sign and drove into me and I had no way to get out of her way, and that was in the mid 1970s. No tickets, no accidents since the 1970s for me, and several hundreds of thousands of miles driven since. I think I got this driving thing figured out.

Biggest tip, hang up the damn phone and DRIVE. Look in all the mirrors, and turn your head before you change lanes. I don't have a fancy modern car with backup cameras and lane departure sensors.

^^^ KC
I like that!
Let me know how it works out.

(don't use a pinto)

True.
So many times I see a car with a driver with their head tipped to hear their phone.
Where is their driving concentration?

I always look both ways when turning either direction, and normally do it twice. I also look both ways when walking across a one way street in the city.

That $4k had to come from somewhere...

I didn't find out about it unil a few years later .... Insurance Co's suck. When I called them immediately after the incident, and explained what happened, and that both the cop & I suspected a scammer, they said "don't worry, we deal with these types all the time"...

And then I found out how ... they paid her to just go away... so I fired them :D

Nationwide ain't on my side ... no mas!

A little late..but you get a pass because of the walking caution.
No rate raise.:):)


I was driving a rural road just last week when a driver started to pass me. We were coming up on a driveway and a car came out of it and only looked to his left..and not to the other direction.

When he was fully on the road, he was faced with two cars coming at him.

I took the shoulder on my right...the passing car squeezed between me and the driveway car.

It was very close...It very easily could have been a three car collision at 60 mph.

A full day performance driving class, Many DE's and getting my road race license really improved my street driving. Porsche's curriculum for this stuff is really very good.

I’ve been using my left foot to brake when quick reactions are desperately needed, as in it’s hovering over the pedal ready for wandering homeless zombies or distracted drivers. Got the feel down pat from racing karts for years. Not used often when I’m in a manual trans car.

I've had that happen to me. I was visiting Tenn last summer. Met some family at a restaurant and I was behind my Aunt leaving the parking lot.

She did exactly what you describe and I almost hit her.

But you know what? It would've been my fault. I let my guard down slightly. Nothing wrong with the protocol.

You are exaggerating the distance. I drive these methods in Phoenix, Arizona every day. Never have any issues.

15' is not as far as you think. Just put the edge of your vehicle's hood at the edge of the stop line. I.e., imagine a line leaving your eyes, it goes just across your hoodline and then to the edge of the stop line.

Easy peasy...in city traffic.


Drving on a track is super great for street driving. It really improves spatial recognition and "slows" things down at the same time.


If you need that quick of a reaction time, it appears you are following too closely.

Increase your following distance to 4 seconds.

But I've not ridden with you, I don't know what you're doing.

Not following anyone actually. I’m in the auto biz (maybe ten auto dealers in a small area) so there are many chances of distracted auto worker/sales types not paying attention to other drivers, pulling out without looking, etc. Coupled with pedestrians, some of whom not appearing to have homes makes for interesting scenarios.

Always. I'm looking for other road users, not just car drivers. People on foot may be coming from either direction on the sidewalk.

I also never change road position (including moving within a lane) without checking my rear quarter.

If a driver rear-ends someone stopping 15' short of a crosswalk or stop line, then they are paying too much attention to what is in front of you and not enough attention to what is in front of them. Regardless of what may be further ahead - green light, whatever - the limits of possibility for you are determined first by who is in front of you and what they are doing. This was why the one commenter with the TT Supra hit the old guy getting on the freeway. You have to wait for them first.


My mom got in the first at-fault collision of her driving career, which at that point had spanned about 1962 to 2016, when she was behind another driver turning right in front of her from an off-ramp onto a busy commercial road; he started to pull out and then stopped, she didn't and hit him. Aside from the embarrassment she was bummed because despite the damage appearing minor, it totalled her late mom's Lexus, which she really liked.

Piggybacking your judgment on that of other drivers will always get you in trouble eventually. I see this most chronically at an intersection a block from my office - usually littered with crash debris - where drivers in the opposing direction will almost dare you to hit them as they turn left in front of you, one driver going because the driver in front of them is, and the third behind him doing the same.

When I was a teenager I somehow learned about the British book Road Craft, the British police drivers' training manual (more or less). I bought a copy and read it and learned a lot from it.

That driver passing on the rural highway with the other driver waiting to pull out of a driveway should have noticed the car waiting to pull out and delayed the pass until past the driveway.

I think it might have been an article in either Car&Driver or Road &Track which talked about Road Craft at some length. Sometime around 1983.
I really took that to heart.

Best
Les

^^^ Otter
The driver coming out of his driveway did a rolling non-stop while looking left only.
The guy passing me (like myself) were only 50 yards or so from him when it all happened.

I had a direct view of the whole works...the driveway guy was absolutely at fault.

You're right. It was Car & Driver, probably about 1989-90, since I know I learned about it around the time I started driving. Might have been a Rich Ceppos column, a detail which randomly came to me just now. I've still got whatever issue that is in my basement, so I suppose I could find out!

in case anyone is interested
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/29945NCJRS.pdf

You don’t mention driving with your headlamps on. I’ve discovered that in the last few years people don’t see the 911. I’ve found that having my lights on seems to help. My wife keeps hers on all the time.

Newer cars make it almost impossible to drive without the lamps on....I like that.

I like driving and work at it every day..
 

Not just carving a nice line through the turns on a back road, at .5 G's, imagining doing 9/10ths, but remembering the upcomming corners and intersections, points of high pedestrian traffic or freeway intersections.
I try to think ahead, trying to avoid poor visability intersections, or known busy intersections.
I installed a WINK 4 foot rear view mirror after being surprised on a long right hand freeway on ramp.
One key cautionary warning is if you are surprised at the aparent unexpected appearance of a car in, or near, your path, you need to improve your "watchfullness", this is a wake-up call.

more later, wife's just announced she has covid,
C

They also tend to blind the drivers going the opposite direction. I really don’t get why newer cars have mega-lumen headlamps. It seems like new low-beams are brighter than old high-beams.