Driving Tips
 

My oldest is still 10 years from driving. I've been thinking lately of some things I should teach him when it's time to teach him to drive.

1) Pay attention to what is going on several cars in front. On the open highway, you should be scanning miles out front. You can react to things much better.

2) If I catch you talking on your phone/texting/etc. while driving, I'm cutting your license in half.

3) On the interstate, watch what the semis are doing. They have CBs and talk to each other. If they all slow down there is probably a speed trap coming up. If they all exit the interstate together, there may be a bad accident or other detour ahead.

4) Watch out for people who aren't paying attention and give them space. If they are driving really slow, pass them with care.

5) Just get out of the way of aggressive @$$holes. You may be in the right, but they can be willing to risk their life (or yours) to prove you wrong.

6) Driving in the snow is all about managing momentum. You want enough speed to not get stuck on hills but not too much speed that you understeer in curves. This has to be adjusted constantly. Avoid applying the brakes or accelerator too fast.

7) Always look both ways when entering an intersection.

This has saved me from being hit by red light runners more that a few times.

Dave

8.) Don't sit in peoples blind spots.

9.) Look through the car in front of you.

10.) Keep your wheels straight ahead when in a turn lane waiting on a left turn...if you get rear ended and your wheels are straight you won't get pushed into oncoming traffic.

So he's 6 years old?
Have him play football, soccer or ultimate Frisbee.
Until he can actually drive, practicing things that help his mind gauge relative speed, angles, open space, exit strategy, etc. will be more valuable than axioms that he will not have the context to fully understand.

At 6 years old, he can also race carts. I have a buddy whose daughter has driven gas powered 5hp carts on dirt tracks since she was 5 years old. She has progressed to larger hp as she has gotten older. She'll be way ahead of the curve when she gets behind the wheel on public roads.

Use your blinker.

I'm going through this right now.

It's easy for us to forget since we've been driving so long but there is a lot of sensory input and processing going on with new drivers.

They are hyper focused on piloting the vehicle, all the other stuff they do need to know becomes overload if introduced too early on.

Get him into carting or other regular activity that teaches vehicle control.

Makes the rest easier.

Always look for a way out.

Stay away from the sides of the roadway. That's where all the nail's and other debris is.

You can teach them a lot once they are old enough to drive but I really believe they will drive like you do. If both you and your wife are good drivers then likely your son or daughter will model their driving on yours and your wife's.

There is nothing wrong with having your son or daughter have a couple of lessons with a professional instructor. :)

My oldest had her restricted for a year and has had her "real" license for 10 months now...

Everyone is either out to kill you, or be killed by you in a suicide attempt. Keep your eyes open and constantly checking all mirrors and blind spots.

Local law enforcement runs a 2 day class on accident avoidance and such, she can take it after having her license for a year - I plan on us doing that one together. Also, the college I work for has a police academy, the director out there owes me, so I'm going to ask him about the possibility of her getting an hour with their instructor at some point soonish.

Of course, when I learned how to drive (in the 356!) it was "dammit, keep your foot on the gas in the corners" and "dammit, keep the rpms up" when starting off from a stop.

Strangely enough a few years later when dad bought the 911 ('84 M491 coupe) he was complaining I was babying it too much - "dammit, get the rpms up there before you shift - you have 1k more to go before you start loosing the power curve than you do in the 356!"

Driving like the parents? I've never even been pulled over while in a car (once on foot, once on a 10 speed), the wife gets a ticket every 18 months or so

Lots of good tips.

But to sum up IMO the most impt, what I told my 16 year old son was this:

"If you can just avoid ramming the car into something, you'll avoid 90% of accidents."

You will never have an accident until you run out of space...

Bingo.....this should be at the TOP of your list.

Hell....it should be at the top of EVERYONE'S list! :rolleyes:

As a beginner, don't turn the steering wheel while stationary.

*advice in 10 years*

"Don't take over for the car unless you absolutely have to!!"

When making a right turn at a yield intersection, don't dare move until the car in front of you (also turning right) is gone!

UPS teaches this, look for proof that the car/truck turning, whether against you or cross traffic from you, is actually turning, don't depend on their turn signal, look for their front wheels actually turning, before you pull out.

If you're on a road with 3 or more lanes, the middle lane is probably the safest because you've potentially got lanes in either direction to go to rather than off the road.

Bingo!

Try to keep traffic moving. If you're pulling into a right or left turn lane, move into the lane, then do most of your slowing down instead of slowing way down in the main lane, then moving over. If you're pulling up to an intersection with multiple lanes, and you're going to be in the front position and both right and left lanes are open, get into the left lane so that if the next person wants to turn right (assuming there's NOT a right turn lane) then they'll be able to make a right on red. This is the same sort of stuff as accelerating up to speed before you get onto a highway. Stay out of the left lane unless you're passing someone.