[vasanthn21]

Mods: crossed the 30 minute edit window. Please merge with previous post.

The theory revolved around 3 tenets:

• Safe driving
• Economic driving
• Eco-friendly driving

The practical session consisted of 3 exercises:

1. Braking: The volunteers were instructed to drive and reach a marked spot on the road at a speed of 50kmph, and when they reached the marked spot, they were to brake. How to brake - any which way - gradual, or panic braking.

The non-participants were asked to guess the distance at which the car would come to a halt.

The lesson from the exercise: No body can predict where a car will stop on braking! - So drive safe.

2. Braking while tailgating: The volunteers in the lead car were asked to drive from point A. The volunteers in the trailing car were to start following the lead car, BUT ON THE NEXT LANE. (To simulate what could happen if you follow any car very closely).

The person driving the lead car was instructed to apply brakes when he wished! The person in the car trailing was to brake as soon as he realized the lead car had braked.

Result: There were 2 runs and in the first run, the trailing car went ahead of the lead car (on the next lane) - indicating the impact with which he would have crashed into the lead car had he been in the same lane.

Lesson:Maintain 3 cars distance while following another car when driving fast (mostly on a highway). Of course this rule cannot be applied in the bumper-to-bumper traffic while driving in city.
This rule changes to 6 cars while driving in bad weather (when visibility is bad - rain/fog).

3. Use Vehicle's momentum: The volunteers were instructed to drive and reach a marked spot on the road at a speed of 50kmph in 3rd gear, and when they reached the marked spot, they were to remove their leg from the accelerator and were not to press the clutch or brake - they had to stop using their leg.

The non-participants were asked to guess the distance till which the vehicle would run/stop due to stalling.

Result: Both the vehicles ran till the end of the available tarmac and the drivers had to brake to make the vehicle stop!

Lesson:You could use this method of economic driving while approaching traffic lights or before changing direction.

[driverace]

Originally Posted by VeluM

I was shocked more by the fact that this was being laughed about at the rear of the bus by this and other BHPians I don't know what I should have expected, but I neither expected someone without a license to drive, nor other BHPians to laugh about it.

Sorry about the dampener, but the thought of an inexperienced driver wheel-spinning a 1.6 Fiesta on a road with a dead-end with me in the front passenger seat (though belted up) did spoil my mood a bit.

To dampen the dampener a bit-
We folks at the rear end of the bus, were laughing about a "joke" that "I" learned to drive just in the session,
and pretty much whole time, I was at the rear end- while coming back to Metro Ford.
So, I guess - we were laughing off at that and other "legit" jokes

We sure were not laughing about anyone not having a license and driving inspite of it!

Oh, and I was driving the Figo. (in the 1st - stop at the marker - run.)

Hope that helps!

Thanks,

Ace.

I have a License (Valid one) for 2 wheeled as well as 4 wheeled vehicles.
Its taken in 2009

[suneet_ag]

One of them was me !!! :-)

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Back after the session - it was nice meeting many BHP-ians and putting a face to the screen names.

A very well organised and informative course, and had fun during the practicals. Came back to the venue along with Condor and other two TBHP-ians in the Fiesta used for practicals - it seems like I managed to forget their screen names

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by driverace

Oh, and I was driving the Figo. (in the 1st - stop at the marker - run.)

Hope that helps!

Thanks,

Ace.

I have a License (Valid one) for 2 wheeled as well as 4 wheeled vehicles.
Its taken in 2009

Thanks for clarifying on the joke, Ace. Appreciate it. Does make me feel better! And a little silly

Although I was not in the Figo as passenger, I was in the Fiesta. So guess it wasn't you driving?

[driverace]

Originally Posted by VeluM

Thanks for clarifying on the joke, Ace. Appreciate it. Does make me feel better! And a little silly

Although I was not in the Figo as passenger, I was in the Fiesta. So guess it wasn't you driving?
Lol, dont Guess! I am telling you it was Figo! ( I called up other people, and confirmed that I was indeed sitting in the Figo!!)

No problemo. relaxo!

<Now, I am glad I was not in the Fiesta! >
We are waiting for the pics, Hawk(Anil), and other Camera bhpians!

So, to the takeaway list: WE can surely add one more check:
#1. Check if the driver, that you are driving with- has a legit license (to drive) or otherwise!

Thanks,

Ace.

P.S. Hawk, thanks for the drop! (It was super fun in the car drive too!)

[IronH4WK]

since many folks have already narrated what was covered in the class, i'll just put up the pictures! enjoy!

part 1:

ze rides:











































ze 1st batch:

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

since many folks have already narrated what was covered in the class, i'll just put up the pictures! enjoy!

part 1:

ze rides:

Nice to see my car in the first picture, even though it was no where near St. Marks Road today!

Also, I'd like to add that I was behind the camera on a few occasions, especially when the H4WK was parking his car in the first few pictures

And dood! Where are the other pictures? I'm sure that this isn't all of it!

[figo_united]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

s

ze 1st batch:

Finally my red figo is spotted by the spotter guru
Nice Meeting you Anil

[IronH4WK]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Also, I'd like to add that I was behind the camera on a few occasions, especially when the H4WK was parking his car in the first few pictures

that explains why i couldn't recognize few of the pictures!

Originally Posted by suhaas307

And dood! Where are the other pictures? I'm sure that this isn't all of it!

there is a limitation of 30 pictures per post.

contd.
ze 2nd batch:















enter ze bus


























test #1: braking at a speed of 50kmph and bringing the car to a full stop.

[IronH4WK]

contd.

test #2: follow lead car (on parallel track) at 50kmph and brake hard when the lead car brakes.





in-car footage


see how the Figo is ahead of the Fiesta - if it were behind the Fiesta, it would have crashed into it!


test #3: speed up to 50kmph on 3rd gear and then at the marker (orange triangle) take the foot off the pedals (yeah, all ze pedals) and see how far the car travels before coming to a stop.






as you can see, the car didn't stop, it had to be stopped because it was fast running out of runway!


final briefing:






certificates being handed out


ze rides that got away in the first batch!




had spotted this i20 trying to find a parking on the M.G road; not sure if the person was part of the DSFL session in the afternoon.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by GTO

Guys,

One takeaway for me after attending the DSFL session at the Ford Factory in Chennai is this : I insist that rear seat passengers also buckle up.

Right, I insist on this for years now. Some folks don't like it, then I say well I'll turn at high speeds and they will be thrown about in the rear ;-) That works, somehow

[kvish]

Great initiative and very well organized. I was there for the afternoon session.
My takeaways:
The videos were an eye opener
Seatbelts at the rear. A Must!
The booklet is very useful.
Good tips on economical, eco friendly and safe driving.
Hunger was out of our mind (pizza pasta cake and coke. )
Meeting lot of bhpians.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by IronH4WK

since many folks have already narrated what was covered in the class, i'll just put up the pictures! enjoy!

part 1:

ze rides:

Ah, nice to see so many rides, but you missed mine :P

My poor bike was parked in the two wheeler section.

You were there by the time the bus of the 1st batch came back from the practicals and I still managed not to meet you

[Selective]

I attended the afternoon session, and for me the key take away is using the vehicle momentum while approaching the red light, slow moving traffic or giving way to vehicles at road crossings.

I used to do this, but not every time. But in this training session, it got registered in my mind when it came across as the key point in safety/economy. As an experiment, yesterday night, I tried this in 2nd gear for almost one kilometer. The car pulled nicely without any acceleration in the flat and upward slope. I was hesitatnt earlier thinking the car will stall, but it didn't!!

It was very good session, which helped us refresh the basics.

Thank you Ford and thank you Team-BHP.

[tj123]

A good basic refresher course, some take aways
• Keep a driving distance of 3 seconds from the car in front of you, if roads are wet then increase the gap to 6 seconds.
• Magic triangle concept of Safety, Economy & Eco friendly driving techniques.
• Rear seatbelts are a must, the video was scary.
• A handy safety booklet by Ford
• Met lot of fellow t-Bhpians.

Attended the afternoon session was surprised when I was handed a pizza, pasta, Cho lava cake and a coke , was expecting a coffee instead.

I feel all automobile manufacturers should come up with such CSR initiatives to promote road safety and eco-friendly driving on Indian roads. We certainly require a lot of effort in this direction to make our roads safer.

Finally a Big Thanks to Ford & T-Bhp to organize and coordinate this event.