Get into the habit of always using your signals, even when there’s no other car around. You won’t have to think every time.
Whenever you park, always check to make sure other drivers have enough room to get in or out of their cars, and have enough room to pull out.
If you’re briefly getting out of your car while the engine’s running, leave the driver’s window open, in case you lock yourself out.
Learn to control your temper with other drivers, even when you know they’re jerks.
When it’s cloudy or raining, turn your lights on, even if you can see without them. Do it so the other drivers can see you better.
If you’re a slow driver, drive in the right-hand lane. If you’re in the left lane and someone’s tailgating you, move over and let him pass. Resist the urge to do something stupid, like slamming on your brakes or putting up a sign (or a finger).
The more gradual you start, and the more gradual you brake, the more gas you’ll save.
Related to this: do a monthly check of the air pressure in the spare, especially if it’s a doughnut any other kind of non-full sized tire. (If I remember correctly, the smaller the tire, the higher the air pressure needs to be and the higher the air pressure the harder it is to keep it pumped up enough.)
My main tips revolve around knowing your car:
Do at least a monthly check of the car: lights, signals, tire pressure, fluid levels, etc. Best case, you’ll spot something before it becomes a major problem. Worst case, you spend time getting to know your car better and will hopefully pick up quicker when something “just doesn’t sound (or look) right”. (I combine this with cleaning the car.)
If your car is popular enough, there will be fan websites scattered about: poke around them and see what the common complaints are and what tips and tricks are being offered. (For an example: part X for your car may be the exact same thing as part Y from a different auto maker, the only thing different is the part number and perhaps the quality level and price.)
Find an empty parking lot or other place where you won’t bother or potentially hurt anyone/damage anything and experiment with your car. Stomp on the brakes, stomp on the accelerator, make a sharp turn at a low speed, etc. The time to figure out how your car will react in an emergency is before you’re in trouble. Repeat this if you can in whatever inclement weather your area has.
Carry what you need to help you get out of a tight spot (jumper cables, some way to pump air in your tire, quick fixes for known common problems for your car, etc.), but don’t put a bunch of stuff in the car. More weight --> less fuel economy. If the time comes where you could actually use that massive 500+ piece tool set/two spare tires/etc., you’re better off calling AAA or the equivalent.
Hear water sloshing around in your car? Check to see if there are clogged drain holes, especially for the condensation from the AC unit.
If you have the room, replace the scissors jack your car probably came with with something safer, sturdier, and easier to use.
If you’re going to do your own work on the car buy good jack stands, a good jack, and a good creeper (a.k.a. crawler). So much easier to do oil changes when you’re not trying to squish yourself under the car and having to scrape against the pavement.
And lastly: when you change a tire, loosen the lug nuts before you lift the car off of the ground, then be sure after you’ve gotten the tire put back on correctly to double check the tightness of the lug nuts after you’ve driven a short distance. You don’t wanna be like the one lady I saw whose tire came off when making a turn! :eek:
<< Manual? We’ve just been pushing buttons until it works. >>
Don’t start to cross a set of train tracks unless you’re absolutely positively certain there’s room for your entire car on the other side of the tracks.
Don’t shift your manual transmission while crossing train tracks.
Don’t stop your car underneath the automatic arm at a set of train tracks.
Regardless of whether you have a green light, don’t enter an intersection until you’re sure it’s safe to do so. Don’t enter the intersection if you can’t clear the other side.
Be wary of marked pedestrian crossings.
Parking lots are free-for-alls. You are the only one who follows the rules. There are no rules in parking lots. They are dangerous.
Don’t drive while impaired.
If you gotta speed, don’t do it in residential areas. Ever.
I do that. I think my driving instructor from my private lessons taught me that. He was a very good teacher.
You should drive at all times to not interfere with any other cars; if what you’re doing is impacting on other drivers and making THEM do something (speed up, slow down, move around you, etc.), you are driving badly.
I drive with my lights on all the time, because I drive a silver Corolla, which might as well be in stealth mode for all the respect it gets from all the bigger vehicles on the road. I do seem to be more visible with my lights on, and every little bit helps.
Wouldn’t that depend on whether it’s a front or rear wheel skid? I know this is one of those things that gets debated a lot, and I remember my dad telling me the same thing that you’re saying. Then again, the RTA (our version of the DMV) traffic handbook says “it is correct and natural to steer out of a skid”.
For mine, until anybody can confirm otherwise, I’ll steer out of a front wheel skid, and into a rear wheel one.
Yeah. That’s one I didn’t know, and then I read an account of it actually happening in a John Irving book, though I can’t remember the title. Very grim. Don’t think I’ll forget that little tip, though.
If it snows and your car’s hood gets completely covered in snow, don’t brush it off unless it’s really a visibility hazard. The snow will actually keep the engine warmer than it would be if the hood was uncovered and cold air was blowing over it.
This is particularly important if you have an older car that has trouble starting in the cold.
There are few occasions when snow on a hood wouldn’t eventually present a visibility problem for you or for other drivers. If you have an old car that needs to be kept warm, buy a car bra.
Another tip - keep an eye out when you’re around places where people gather. If you’re driving by local bars late at night, be on the lookout for people who have had too much booze who may wander out into the street.
Wet leaves can be awfully slippery - careful when driving in the fall.
Fire trucks often slosh water out of their onboard tanks while taking corners fast (useful when finding a housefire far in the country.)
When there is a Signal-13 or similar officer in trouble call all traffic laws can be broken with impunity - no officer cares what you are up to then.
Don’t drive over a fire hose EVER!
When you are pulled over for whatever reason you get bonus points for pulling WAAAAYYY off the road for the safety of all involved.
Good humor goes a long way with anyone of authority.
If you can quote your soundex number by memory you can get out of most tickets (it is impressive!)
Pack ‘kits’ for emergencies. Tow kit, food kit, coldweather kit, medical kit - it’s a knockdown guarantee you’ll never need to use them.
AAA is nice but they are SLOW - pack a book.
Listen to a CB - yes the truck drivers do talk about you. No they don’t like you. Yes many (but not all) are damn ignorant.
Surely there are plenty of folks who piss you off on the road, but unless you actually go through the trouble of becoming a police officer it is not your right to ‘teach others a lesson’ or ‘enforce the laws.’ For all the crap police have to go through to be a police officer only they get the right to do the policing.
There are actually very few law enfocement officers working in any given jurisdiction at any time. ‘Speedy’ responses can take a very long time. Be prepared to protect yourself. Not a dig on law enforcement - just a reality check. I’ve heard entire counties of interstates covered by three officers - 100+ miles of roadway.
From accident to dispatch to rescue units arriving can be a very long time; 10 - 15 minutes is not abnormal. Everyone does hurry, but things do take time.
It takes one car to stop a Crown Vic but it takes three to stop a live truck (Don’t read maps on the way to the story!)
Marked units attract idiots.
Pack a fire extinguiser, jumper cables, toolbox, first aid kit and a cell phone if you want to help. Oh yeah, and a good pair of work gloves.
Bottled water at the right time gets you nominated for the sainthood.
Police, fire, news - literally everyone who does fieldwork for whatever reason has heard it before. You’re not funny.
Sorry, but I call bullshit. Assuming you have your foot on the brake, if you are hit in the rear, the tires will skid in whatever direction they are pushed. A locked (skidding) tire has zero steering control. This is the reason for ABS, so you have steering control, instead of a skid. I recall hearing this quite often when growing up, but I have not heard this one for many a year, I guess the PTB finally got the laws of physics explained to them.
My list:
Read your #&^@%^ owner’s manual. You paid many thousands of dollars for that book (and they threw in a free car) the least you could do is read the damn thing. You will be considered a idiot if you take your car in for a warranty complaint, and when you pick it up the repair order says “see page X in owner’s manual, normal operation.” (to add insult to injury I used to xerox the page in question, highlight the relevant passage, and leave it on the dash.)
Change your oil at least as often as your car maker recommends. They know way more about it that the people that own Iffy lube.
If you drive much in stop and go traffic, consider following the severe duty schedule in the owner’s manual.
Always use the grade and quality oil called out for in the owner’s manual. 20W-50 is not better for your car that the 5W-30 the factory calls for. Do not try and get away with using SE oil when the spec is SL. If you try this you will find out what the term sludge means. You do not know more about the oil requirements for your car than the factory engineers. Deal with this.
Find a shop and become a regular. It doesn’t have to be a dealership, but what ever type of shop become a regular. Take all of your work there. Soon or later it will pay off. If you don’t know how to find a good shop, I think Gary T did a thread on it. If he didn’t I will start one.
Don’t lie to your mechanic. We can tell when you are lying, and it doesn’t help, it just makes you look foolish.
Don’t go to iffy lube unless you like getting fucked up the ass with a rusty wrench.
You cannot judge the depth of a puddle from the top. H2O does not promote internal combustion and when ingested in excessive amounts it leads to large repair bills.
When driving look as far ahead as you can see. Most drivers do not look nearly far enough ahead for safety. If your first clue that there is a problem ahead is when the brake lights on the car directly in front of you come on you are not doing this right. If on the other hand you have lifted your foot off the gas and have tapped the brake once or twice to warn the drivers behind you before the guy directly in front of steps on the brakes, you are doing it right. Obviously there are times this is not possible, such as when you are behind a truck, but in any event look as far ahead as possible.
Along the same lines, the car will go where ever you look. If you get in trouble do not look at the tree at the side of the road. Look at the road. if you look at the tree you will hit the tree I guarantee it. If you look at the road, you might not hit the tree.
If cars are passing you on the right, move over, you are going too slow for that lane. Remember those “Slower traffic keep right” signs? That would be you, sparky, move over.
Don’t speed in school zones. Only assholes do this.
Pull over to the right and stop for emergency vehicles. Someday it might be your ass in the back of that ambulance.
Do not try and stretch yellow lights. if you enter the intersection on the red, you are an asshole, and idiot, and any accident is your fault. Yellow does not mean speed the fuck up from a half a block away. When I get made king, I will replace red light cameras with heat seeking missiles.
If you have ABS find and empty parking lot (a Big one) get up to about 60 and land on the brakes as hard as you can. No matter what happens keep your foot on the floor. After you get used to that, try steering while braking as hard as possible. This will give you an idea of the capabilities of the system.
Never enter an intersection unless you can clear the other side.
Along the same lines, don’t even think of pulling onto a set of tracks unless you are 100% sure you ass end will clear them on the other side. The penalty for this can be death.
Why not? I will be damned if I can think of any reason why this is an issue.
Bicycles belong on the road. Deal with it.
I know someone that got into a skid (read end lost traction, car started to rotate clockwise, and the turned the wheels to the right (into the skid) :smack:
Try this for size. Turn the front wheels the in the direction you want the front of the car to go. Simple isn’t it? Doesn’t matter if the the front or rear wheels have lost traction, turn the wheels the way you want the car to go.
I’d always subscribed to the “keep your wheels straight” theory too, but your post makes an awful lot of sense, now that I read it. But a question: what happens if the car is fitted with ABS? Does the ABS in a stopped car activate if the car is shunted forward? Would that make keeping your wheels straight actually sensible?
ABS has a cut off speed below which it is not functional. If you are stopped with your foot on the brake, and get hit, your wheels don’t turn, they slide. As far as the ABS system is concerned you are stopped. (ABS only knows wheel rotation, not if you are sliding.)
even if the wheels rotated slightly you would probably stay under the cut off speed and therefore it is a non issue.
Don’t turn your steering wheel as far as you can, until it won’t turn any further, and then hold it there (aka “pinning” the wheel). It’s bad for your power steering.
Always be aware of the guy in front of the guy in front of you.
Also be aware of other drivers’ wheels. People often communicate their next move with their wheels before they get around to using their turning signals (or looking over their shoulder).
Good advice. SOmebody earlier mentioned the John Irving book–this was not what happened in that book. However, this did happen to one of my relatives, got pushed into the oncoming traffic, his oldest son died at the scene and everybody else in his family was hospitalized for a couple of days at least.
It doesn’t always help to keep the wheels straight. If you’re on a very wet road, your car is going to act like a billiard ball. My car was hit on the rear left corner, so it of course went to the half right, straight into the oncoming traffic. It was not a pleasant experience.
My own suggestion is that people use the handbrake more. If you’re driving a manual and are stationary for any significant length of time, put the car in neutral with the handbrake on. It saves wear on the brake pads.
This goes back to advice that I recall being given way back when. The theory is that you are more likely to have your engine stall when you are shifting rather than when you are not. Therefore, the axiom goes, avoid shifting on the tracks.
I wondered to myself, given that you queried the validity of the advice, whether this was some figment of my imagination or legitimate drivers ed type advice. So I Googled shift gears train tracks to see if there were any discussions on the whole interweb thing. There are so many of them that I can’t even start to give you cites. Please click the google link and see how many organizations that specialize in giving driving advice touch on this topic.
Practically, I do use my own advice. Not so much because I fear stalling on the tracks, but more because I find it benefits the suspension of the vehicle. Unless the road around the train tracks is brand new and smooth, crossing the tracks can be a bumpy experience. Crossing the tracks themselves is bumpy and sometimes the road itself has a little elevation rise to it to equalize any little change in elevation between the road and tracks (I mean that the track bed might be 6" higher than the road resulting in a little hill starting 15 feet before the tracks).
Shifting gears is done while a vehicle is accelerating or slowing down. The suspension compresses down on the front as the clutch is disengaged or down on the rear as the clutch is re-engaged. The amount of compression depends on the condition of the suspension and the degree of acceleration / deceleration.
To shift gears and load up the shocks / springs to any degree while you’re hitting a series of bumps seems an unnecessary strain on the suspension. For the same reason, if you you need to slow down and you see that there is a set of tracks or a speed bump or something that will cause the suspension to compress, best to get the majority of the braking action completed prior to or after the bump and to whatever degree possible, coast over the bump while not actively braking over top of it.
The corollary to the deceleration effect of shifting gears is the acceleration while re-engaging the clutch. You ever experienced the effect of accelerating over a washboard surface? Accelerating over a set of tracks can lead to the same effect as trying to accelerate over a washboard surface. Your drive wheels constantly getting and losing purchase is the sound of music to a mechanic (bad for the drive train). It can also lead to a loss of steering control as the front or back end can be bounced out of alignment with the road direction.
These are the reasons why I think that shifting over tracks is an issue. Call me retentive if you want to.
If I can add something to the ‘kit’: A flashlight. Sound silly, but it hard to work on a engine if you really can’t see where everything is. I recommend one of those ‘wind-up’ rechargeable flashlights they sell at target (less than $20) because if you ever need it, you don’t want to find out that you forgot to keep fresh batteries in it.
