Team-BHP - How obsessive are you? Enthusiast thoughts while driving

Top of my mind would be safety. Hence constantly in the vigil looking around for people who love to drive in the opposite directions + cattle + potholes + speedbreakers + jay walkers + trucks suddenly wanting to take a turn etc etc.

During city driving, it is the potholes that are sprinkled everywhere genrously in Bangalore and appear from no where. Add to that the app food delivery 2 wheelers who seem to zig and zag in every direction. And the app based cab services who suddenly slow down in the middle of the road while browsing their phones for the destination.

And in left turns, always always there is a bike who cuts me from the inside (despite indicators - though don't think that even makes a difference to them).

So in essence, would love to relax more, but ways vary about safety and rear ending the vehicle in front if they encounter a pothole and have to break suddenly.

My thoughts while driving these days after numerous trials and errors over the years are as -
1. Keep scanning the surroundings for any possible threat.
2. Maintaining atleast two-three seconds distance with the vehicle in front of me out the highways.
3. Being in the right gear at all times so that I don't have to ride or slip the clutch.
4. Gradual acceleration and deceleration. Does wonders for the fuel economy and lengthens the life of tyres and brake pads by a noticeable margin.
5. Make sure to keep an eye for the traffic behind me.
6. Anticipating well in advance to avoid sketchy last second manoeuvres.

Till about 2 years back I was traveling 75kms one way to the office, although majority of it was on the smooth outer ring road (ORR) in Hyderabad. To an extent it was compulsion but I did enjoy the ride. Most people would ask me how can I do it, not just in terms of getting tired but the fuel costs involved. I just had one answer that I enjoy driving and it seemed like I was going on a roadtrip every time I went to office. Apart from this, I drive a lot in the city as well and my main focus as an enthusiast is to drive smooth.

Driving a manual car, lets me have more control and my focus is on ensuring that the passengers in the car feel the smoothness and not sudden acceleration, braking, change of gears, sudden turns, etc. that moves and throws around people and makes it more tiresome for the occupants. The best compliment I got was from my wife who told me that compared to so many other people she traveled with in the car, with her colleagues or friends, she feels that I drive the smoothest with minimum jerks. Don't be mistaken that I drive slow coz I don't and in reality my average speed is much higher and most times I beat google maps estimates. My intention is to drive smooth and drive fast but not rash. Probably the reason why I never rear-ended anyone or neither has anyone rear-ended me, touchwood! Some things I specially take note of:

1. Drive in the right gear.
2. Use engine braking as much as possible.
3. Be in the correct lane and use indicators early.
4. If I'm stuck on a steep incline, instead of being on the brake and then accelerating when traffic clears, I try to hold the car on the incline using the combination of clutch and accelerator. Not a great practice but I feel more confident this way, especially if the car is loaded. Maybe I can't do this in the future when I will get an automatic.
5. Using dipper as much as possible, instead of horn.
6. I anticipate well and this is something I built overtime of nearly 1.6 lakh kilometers of driving.
7. Most importantly drive a car like a car and not like a bike.

My first thought while driving- will i get a good and safe parking space at the destinationrl:, jokes apart. I used to love music while driving, of late i just love listening to the sweet sound of the engine, that typical "Diesel gruffiness", that turbo whistle, takes me to a different trance, especially at night on lonely highways. I listen to music only when my better half travels with me (I switch it off when she sleeps). Rest of the time if i don't need google maps, I switch OFF the HU. On crowded highways like Mumbai Ahmedabad, more than half of my grey cells are working furiously while playing slalom with slow moving traffic, no room for alternative thoughts though.

For Me,
I am fan of fuel efficient driving: Born into middle class family and still being middle class, i always have fascination towards efficient driving, but not cost of safety though.

I would love to use engine braking, thrill of downshifting gears progressively, hearing engine sound while downshifting (not from high rpm), and almost coming to stop before applying friction brake, is really satisfying.

I use AC extensively especially going downhill, it aids engine braking and since throttle is cutoff and drive-train is driving engine, there is no fuel injected and getting car most for fuel utilized.

I love driving at constant 80-85-90 KPH, it is sweet spot between comfortableness, alertness and fuel efficiency driving. Engine also sounds nicer and sweeter in above speed zones.

I like winding smooth 2 lane highways, feeling of driving constant speed with sloping curves leisurely is also satisfying.
Especially with my tall boy car(wagon R), body roll adds to fun at sloping
and winding roads in comfortable speeds.

Also i like of challenge of driving most rudimentary car yet to be fuel efficient and car occupants happy. Challenge of achieving more with bare essentials is just satisfying..

Somehow not a fan of long straight line roads, it is just plain boring and sleepy.

I hate it when someone likes the sound of his/her voice on long drives, it can be an irritant to the most seasoned drivers. I've a relative who think he knows everything and travelling with him or even sharing room space with him is sometimes exasperating. We: his family and mine went on a long drive out of necessity for a family function and I came this close to asking him to just shut up...constant jabber that makes no sense drives me nuts.

My passion is driving long distance!

I love to drive on my own with only the music of the engine. I do not feel bored or tired, even after 16 hours on the road because my mind is always busy planning how to safely extract maximum speed in the smoothest possible way.

I realised the difference that effective driving makes when I hired a taxicab once for a return trip from Bangalore to Chennai. Although the driver was quite good and was driving at the same maximum speed I do, the trip took 12 hours against the 7 hours I regularly take.

My current record is driving for 27 minutes at top speed on an expressway without touching the brakes, purely by anticipating traffic patterns (the way other people were driving) and road imperfections. This is a game I enjoy playing: starting the stopwatch every time I leave a congested area to see how long I can go without touching the brakes. It really challenges the mind to drive fast yet safely and smoothly!

Of the many reasons for loving Team- BHP, such interesting threads would definitely feature on the top 3.

In a city bumper-bumper drive, I keep myself engaged playing with the car! One of my key 'games' is avoiding half-clutching as best as possible and driving with engine braking the most! Given I drive an MT, correct gearing is critical for this game. This often leads to some jerky drives at times, but that is part of the game; how best you can avoid it!

One important factor for this 'game' is predicting the traffic. You not only read the car in front of you but actually read a couple of cars ahead to get a better sense of when to brake. Checking the rear lights of the second car ahead of me through the cabin of the first is another fun activity for me!

Highways are a different story. I often get distracted/bored in long stretches simply because there is fun or engagement. I need music for such drives only to prevent my mind from drifting. I usually avoid conversations as I am bit of introvert. But my thoughts in long drives do drift to different issues beyond the immediate drive and the car.

A very unique thread :thumbs up

For me, the thoughts are mostly about what the car is going through - the beautiful DSG shifts, the fuel rushing through the lines and the fantastic comfort during the ride.

Sometimes, I just switch off the music when I am really in the mood - and just like to drive.

I am the one who likes to generally plan out roads, routes etc in advance so that I can be reasonably certain of what to experience ahead.

And if the roads turn out to be good, then the connect with the car increases manifold! From a recent trip outskirts of Pune, driving on this road was total bliss:

How obsessive are you? Enthusiast thoughts while driving-road-2.jpeg

Interesting thread and I am already late to the party!

In my initial days of driving, I wanted my co passengers to be absolutely quiet while I was driving. I always loved to drive and enjoyed it the most when I drove alone. I noticed each and everything - the noise (expected or unexpected) from the car, the vehicles/people/cattle on the road, my usage of clutch/brake, the fuel economy and whatever tiny bit I could think of. Having travelled a lot in state transport buses where they put a note stating that the person sitting next to the driver is not supposed to go to sleep, I would never let my co-passenger to sleep while I drove lol:

Although I enjoyed my time behind the wheel, I was always over cautious.

Of late though, I have started to enjoy my drives a lot more. I have realized that my co-passengers can never be engaged with the car and the drive - afterall they are not on Team-BHP ;) The best thing is they go to sleep.

While I stay connected with the car, I have stopped worrying about the technicalities and started focusing on enjoying the trip. I have become fond of hill driving - I enjoy the body roll while taking sharp turns and hairpin bands in the hills.

So, to summarize, from thinking a lot while driving, I have moved to thinking a lot less while driving. If I am driving with family/friends, I give them the space and get involved in the conversations (it becomes lot less boring that way). And, when I am driving alone, like GTO mentioned - I get into the 'zone'. It's like Sachin doing his magic with the bat and the world has stopped.

Have done a lot of long trips of late. With family mostly and sometimes alone. The driving aspect of it has become subconscious. I switch between panoramic and tunnel vision depending on the need. On open highways and cruises, my vision and attention is panoramic. When there is some intrusion on the road or when I have to perform an overtaking / avoidance maneuver, it narrows to a tunnel vision.

I usually have a podcast on when we are not having a conversation. Thankfully, I do not have to look at someone while driving to have a conversation. I am not a fan of folks sleeping in the car, particularly those who are riding shotgun. I personally believe that staying awake and alert is critical for everyone, not just the driver.