Being a Good Driver

[TheMeInTeam]

Aside from trying not to tailgate (and a half-second of additional reaction time hardly matters if you're going 60), this is why I very much appreciate sometimes driving an SUV where I can see over sedans to some degree, and why I try hard especially in my Mustang to not be behind an SUV or pickup truck (or other taller vehicle) in traffic so I at least might be able to peer through the windows of the car in front of me.

not tailgating makes all the difference in the world here. for both you, and the idiot or non-idiot behind you.

going 60+, a car will not stop in 1-2s. collision force increases as a square of the speed though, so getting down to 20-40 vs hitting at 60 is a massive difference in terms of damage and risk. further, guy behind you not tailgating gets more time to react, too.

other factors matter of course, like how much the vehicle hit decelerates the car hitting from behind and how quickly. if you hit a light car, it likely won't stop the vehicle colliding with it entirely or even close, so that will generate less damage than if same car drove into a reinforced concrete wall at same speed (much less).

in pretty much every scenario, hitting the thing going at half the speed will improve the odds of living, and it will usually improve them greatly. thus not tailgating and having an extra 0.5-2s of time to slow can easily save lives, even in scenarios where a collision isn't avoidable. large vehicles might obstruct view, but even in this situation both your vision and your ability to react in a useful way are improved by not being up someone's butt on the road. one of many reasons i called out tailgating earlier.

 

[Samez]

A lot of good advice in this thread. One i would like to add:
If you have trouble seeing in the dark get your sight checked. Don't be to proud to wear lenses/glasses especially when driving.

 

[Kaitzilla]

^ Yes, 20/20 vision at all times

Sunglasses.
Needed whenever the sun is on the horizon, both morning and night for 1 hour each.
The rest of the day they are a menace, darkening what should be easily seen like grey cars

Clean windows.
Some people foolishly go blind when headlights hit the windshield just right.
Don't tolerate that film on the windshield because the person in front at the car wash put wax through the water sprayer.
Do whatever it takes to get the dirt and waxy film/haze off the windows.
Smoking, plastic particles, vapors, don't tolerate any situation that causes you to go blind at any time.

Night driving is high-stakes because the odds of dying skyrocket.
Every drunk and tired soul is lurking in the darkness ready to crash.

The brights setting on the headlights are wonderful.
Double powered headlights.
Just can't do it when you are 700 feet behind someone or 2000 feet from someone coming the other way.

If someone is riding your bumper with high mounted headlights beaming the sun into your face, push the tab on your rearview mirror to switch to the darkened view.
If someone is just sitting in the way, pull back on the headlight stick to flash your lights.

Wildlife and cops are everywhere.
The cops because they are trying to catch the coveted DWI arrest.
It is basically like winning the lottery for them because they make so much money.
No, like Christmas came early.
The tow company also makes a fortune, so they will be there in 3 minutes.
The lawyers and judge also make about 1000 bucks for a few minutes work.
The fun blow system that attaches to the ignition system that needs a good blow to start the vehicle for for a few months.
The fun electronic problems the vehicle has the rest of its life because a moron attached the ignition interlock device.
The numerous expensive hotel retreats for the grade school SATOP finger wagging.
The permanent monthly increase to the car insurance bill.
Ding ding ding cha ching ching ching. $$$$$

Some people are irritated because headlights only reach out in front of the car only so far.
They are designed this way to prevent blinding oncoming drivers.
Know that a lower powered light actually does shine forward into the night, but it can't be seen like the light on the ground.
Best way to see it is shine the headlights on the side of a building at night.
Knowing your actual headlight strength and pattern can increase confidence.

Being too timid with the horn is a problem some people have.
A short beep solves a lot of problems, especially when someone is about to back into you.
Don't stick your head out the window and yell at them like I did.
They won't hear a human voice usually.

Don't go crazy and die a road rage victim.
The horn is for alerting people, avoiding crashes, or letting someone know they almost caused you to crash.
Like that time I wrongly braked to let someone in on the highway, almost causing the person merging behind me to crash into me as they checked behind themselves.
If you want to let someone merge in front on the highway, just take the foot off the gas.

 

[Kaitzilla]

If self driving cars become the norm, you will see a lot of cars with zero people inside them.

"Alexia, drive me to the office."

"Alexia, after I have left the vehicle, drive to a legal parking space."

.....

"Alexia, drive to the office and wait."

I have deep skepticism about self driving cars.

Can a computer duplicate everything I do on the road each day?
Nope.


Someone is sticking out halfway into my lane and they came to a stop.

Swerve part way into the next lane over?
Lock up the brakes and stop?
Can the self-driving car even tell the lane is partially blocked?

The computer car will crash every time I bet.

Humans can barely solve the fringe/edge cases.
I don't see an algorithm that can match us.

 

[EvaDK]

My best tip: always keep a healthy distance to the person in front of you. Also when stopping at traffic lights.
Also: always make passes in the left lane. (only applies in nations where you drive in the right side of the road)

I also have a license for motorcycle; my best tip is - always be aware that car drivers might not see or notice you in the traffic. That's why my driving instructor recommended that you wear a very visible color leather jacket, like red or orange, instead of black.

 

[IglooDame]

My best tip: always keep a healthy distance to the person in front of you. Also when stopping at traffic lights.
Also: always make passes in the left lane. (only applies in nations where you drive in the right side of the road)

I also have a license for motorcycle; my best tip is - always be aware that car drivers might not see or notice you in the traffic. That's why my driving instructor recommended that you wear a very visible color leather jacket, like red or orange, instead of black.

A UKish friend of mine referred to passing on the slow-lane side (whether that is right or left being country-dependent yes) as "undertaking" and I'm not sure he just came up with that or it's a UKish term but it struck me as an excellent double entendre. Even though I'm sometimes wont to blow past a fast-lane squatter on their right. (USian)

 

[tjs282]

"Undertaking" is fairly commonly used in the UK

 

[EvaDK]

A UKish friend of mine referred to passing on the slow-lane side (whether that is right or left being country-dependent yes) as "undertaking" and I'm not sure he just came up with that or it's a UKish term but it struck me as an excellent double entendre.

Gallows humor at its finest.

I was in the navy; we used to refer to infantry men/women as 'donors'. I've heard British armored regiment crews refer to them as 'crunchies'.

 

[Kaitzilla]

So I almost crashed last week.


A person was pulled onto the shoulder of the highway, but they were still blocking about 1/3rd of the slow lane.

No emergency flashing lights to indicate a problem to add 0.5 seconds of reaction time to drivers.

The person in front of me swerved out of the way and I hit the brakes pretty hard.


I cannot overstate how dangerous it is to be stopped on the highway and blocking part or all of a lane.

The person behind will go around, and so will the driver behind them, but eventually someone won't go around.

Either because they weren't paying attention, or a person goes around leaving the person behind them 1 second to react.

From Los Angeles last year:

The internet recommends forcing your way to the shoulder in the event of power loss.
Out of gas, key fell out of ignition, bad alternator etc.
Lay on the horn and try to get off the road.

If still on the highway and you didn't make it, turn on the flashers, call 911, and prepare to be rear ended hard while staying in the vehicle.

If it's a small car, getting out and running for life and limb might be warranted if a giant truck is skidding at 120kph, but you could still get hit and killed instantly if on the highway on foot.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Don't know how I missed this thread originally.

Badly needs a bump in light of the posters recently revealing they drive 90 mph.

Aim high in steering
Keep your eyes moving
Get the big picture
Maintain a safe driving distance
Signal your intentions
Leave yourself an out

Those were the principles I learned, and they've served me for forty years of accident-free driving.

To them must now be added two that weren't thought necessary in my youth:

Don't talk on a cell-phone
Don't drive 90 mph

Oh, and I've added one of my own:

Assume the other guy is on a cell-phone

The old "defensive driving" has had to evolve to "save the other idiot from himself" driving

 

[Hygro]

Lately I feel like I'm not a good driver

But at least I'm the three jerks who got to the stop sign first and then waved me through once I arrived second.

 

[Samson]

prepare to be rear ended hard while staying in the vehicle.

Surely the point is NOT to stay in the vehicle. Of course get it off the road as much as you can, but even if you manage you should get out and wait further from the road. In the UK motorways have hard shoulders to get out of the main carriageway, and still most people who die on the motorway die while waiting in a broken down car.

 

[Farm Boy]

Don't know how I missed this thread originally.

Badly needs a bump in light of the posters recently revealing they drive 90 mph.

Aim high in steering
Keep your eyes moving
Get the big picture
Maintain a safe driving distance
Signal your intentions
Leave yourself an out

Those were the principles I learned, and they've served me for forty years of accident-free driving.

To them must now be added two that weren't thought necessary in my youth:

Don't talk on a cell-phone
Don't drive 90 mph

Oh, and I've added one of my own:

Assume the other guy is on a cell-phone

The old "defensive driving" has had to evolve to "save the other idiot from himself" driving

I'm less safe when I go 12mph than 90. It might only be 12, but there's often a lot of weight, on off road tires, with a narrow wheel base and a high center of gravity. It takes some road to stop without tipping over. Don't cut off tractors. The big rear tires start skipping sideways as the hitch pushes forward from the rear. Do that and have the surge breaks on the wagons catch just in time to pull you back straight and I betcha you aren't pooping for the rest of the day.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Surely the point is NOT to stay in the vehicle. Of course get it off the road as much as you can, but even if you manage you should get out and wait further from the road. In the UK motorways have hard shoulders to get out of the main carriageway, and still most people who die on the motorway die while waiting in a broken down car.

Well said.

I mean if the car dies in the middle of a very busy highway with cars shooting around the vehicle on both sides at high speeds, stay inside and call the emegency number.

If a person can get out and run for it safely, I'd do that for sure every time.

Some of our highways have a lot of lanes.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

A person was pulled onto the shoulder of the highway, but they were still blocking about 1/3rd of the slow lane.

No emergency flashing lights to indicate a problem to add 0.5 seconds of reaction time to drivers.

The person in front of me swerved out of the way and I hit the brakes pretty hard.

i had a similar experience to this years ago, except rather than a vehicle it was a piece of furniture. i have no idea how it took so long for the person in front of me to react to it, but seeing them swerve out of the way to reveal the thing which was barely ahead of where they swerved would have been devastating if i were one of those idiots that tailgates people. since i had space, i had time to react, but it was still unpleasant.

vehicle w/o hazards + sitting in road is even worse though, because at least furniture is unusual to see on the road. vehicle is more subtle, though sitting 1/3 on or off the road is unusual enough that the person in front of you should have been on alert regardless; even if that person were moving, the likelihood that they do something unexpected is way higher than a typical car. there isn't time to think about nuance when there are only seconds to make a decision...but "hey, this looks odd, I should slow down and be careful" is a functional heuristic substitute.

what people should do isn't necessarily what they do when driving though.

 

[Hygro]

What’s everyone’s top speeds?

 

[IglooDame]

To them must now be added two that weren't thought necessary in my youth:

Don't talk on a cell-phone
Don't drive 90 mph

Don't talk on a cell-phone: Emphatic YES. Even. If. It. Is. Hands. Free. I can drive all day with one hand up to my ear (well, not in a stick-shift, but whatever), that's not the distracting part, it's having a conversation with someone that isn't in the car.

Don't drive 90mph: Er, no. I mean, I only go as fast as conditions allow. If I average 10mph more on my trip to Montana that GoogleMaps says will take 36hrs over 2400 miles, I'll save roughly 4hrs of driving time. What I lose is 15-20% reaction time and stopping distance, but I'm very good about not tailgating and driving mindfully and not talking on the damned phone.

My car certainly doesn't mind, I did 100 on a straight-and-level stretch a couple days ago and it was purring and just barely touching 3k on the tach.

Edit: to Hygro's question, about 105-110 at some point. If there's a suitable opportunity next week I might open it up a bit more.

 

[Farm Boy]

The tires are usually rated for about 105 on a passenger car? I think they're usually governed somewhere around there. I have doubts regarding the speedometer's accuracy over 85. I had a Buick Century with a flat speedometer that was reading 35mph with the butt. I doubt it was really going so impressively fast.

 

[Hygro]

Drive, unrated edition

 

[EgonSpengler]

I was just reading about a truck driver who killed 5 people in a highway accident. He drove his rig through a 55-mph construction zone at 68 mph and sandwiched two cars up against a second tractor-trailer. One or both of the cars exploded and all four vehicles caught fire. At the time, he said he'd been distracted by a message on his work tablet, but six months later they're charging him with manslaughter because it turns out he was on TikTok.

Has anybody done a tally of fatalities related to mobile phone use while driving over the last, I dunno, 10-15 years?

It was actually a 6-vehicle pileup, because the truck in front was shoved forward into two more cars. This was in Arizona, this past January. You can barely make out the guy's truck, at the back. The inferno in the middle used to be 2 cars. I don't know how much a loaded tractor-trailor weighs, but I'm guessing it's a lot?

CBS News, 30 June 2023 - "Semi-truck driver was 'actively using' TikTok just before fiery Arizona car crash that killed 5, officials say"

Spoiler :