[SS-Traveller]

Many, many years ago, I would have called myself an enthusiastic driver. Initially though, my limit was what an Ambassador 1.5L petrol (attempting doughnuts with it, ending up with burnt clutch and broken axle), a Morris 8 (great off-roading vehicle), an SS-80, a Rajdoot 175, Yamaha RX100 (the leg guard would scrape the road on turns before the foot pegs did) or a Vespa 150 could do, but as I moved on through a series of cars (no more bikes) later, I would happily drive them to the limit, scare the life out of other road users, break them and fix them, and look forward to the next car I could buy with my money.

Then came family, but that never deterred me - except, I did not associate further with fast bikes (this also had to do with a bad back that bothered me over the years). Our road trips took care of my enthusiasm to drive (and drive at the limit of the car). A few (well, numerous!) close shaves later, it dawned on me that I could actually kill my family and myself by doing what I was doing. One such close shave was this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESswd72c4cc

This was probably the turning point in my style of driving. I decided to get trained to be a safer driver. It is another story that, in the process, I went through a course to be a low-risk driving trainer. Many call me too staid and slow on the roads, but my Point-A-to-B times are not much more than other drivers' - in fact, sometimes better for multiple reasons. It has been over 9 years that I have changed my driving style to careful and steady from fast and furious, and I have never regretted it.

So this thread is to find out whether you consider your driving pattern to be the enthusiastic & risky / Fast & Furious style, or are you safe, careful, staid, boring; also, let's hear whether you have transformed from one to the other, and how/why.

[Eddy]

I was never the fast and furious types, but I have slowed down even further. Age, wisdom, family responsibilities and some mishaps in my circle all led to the change.

Edit: Also, the stringent speed limits and instant challans within Delhi have also contributed. I am now very happy to set the cruise control to 50/60 and make it a relaxed drive.

[Jatin247]

Well to be honest that fast and furious bug hasn’t bit me yet. I am just 20 yet and I do sometimes have speed runs but I do make sure I am not putting mine or anyone else's life at risk. I also strongly believe that in order to be fast and furious one needs to have a car which fulfils it.
On my current rides where one has a lot of body roll and other being a maruti, I just don’t get the confidence.

[AtheK]

I was a bit of foot to pedal driver depending on the roads, mainly highways and sometimes a sudden burst of speed in city roads, that is when I used to see a bit of free road.

All that has changed in last few years as my son is getting older, Now I like to drive in the range of 100-120, while earlier on highways I used to drive between 120-140. I am actually enjoying this much more then earlier, as the family is also happy. Again age can be the factor, and the fact that my ocassional speed rush comes from my bikes now, all this while not making my family uncomfortable.

Reason I moved from stage 2 tuned vento to a family car like Hector, I don't see myself ever going back again.

[GeneralJazz]

I would say I have mellowed a lot from F&F style. I always used to drive "enthusiastically" and I always used to be the driver in my friends group. Driving in Kerala means pulling risky overtakes if one wanted to get going, and I used to get a rush while doing so. Also, if someone were to overtake me, I used to consider that as a great personal insult.

Over 15 years and nearly a lakh km later, I'd say I have toned down quite a bit. A few close calls helped with the toning down process!

Some of the things that have changed over the years:

1. Adapt my driving style to the limitations of the vehicle I'm driving, a concept that was alien to me a decade ago.
2. I take more time to plan my overtakes now so as to reduce the risk.
3. I take into consideration the comfort of the passengers into my driving meaning fewer sudden accelerations and jerky braking
4. Learn to anticipate the behaviour of other road users. Its an ongoing process and each close call and narrow miss is a valuable lesson.
5. If someone is trying to overtake me, almost always I let them. Its not to be taken as an attack on one's ego.
6. Its not my responsibility to "teach a lesson" to bad drivers. My grandfather used to have a driver, who, whenever faced with bad drivers/riders, used to remark "Theres a lorry waiting for him". I know its a dark and twisted thought, but it really helped me cool down in in several situations. Let someone else teach them a lesson.
7. Last but not the least, enjoy the drive.

[androdev]

Experience, enlightenment and age have taught me to be a more considerate and risk averse driver. I have adopted a certain driving philosophy of not to inconvenience other road users, most importantly not to cause any harm to others due to my actions. However my love for driving, curiosity to understand these machines and the desire to own and experience beautiful cars have only seen a steady rise.

I enjoy driving a hybrid to get the maximum fuel efficiency and I also enjoy taking a fast corner in a sporty car to flirt with danger (to the level a sensible person is allowed to). For me, being at the wheel is the exact opposite of being bored. I suspect this feeling will only grow stronger as I get older.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANfm-v_-MKE

[Night Raven]

While I have enjoyed most of the fast and furious movies, personally I prefer to be like Jason stathom in transporter. Respect the car, drive within speed limits, be precise and be a gentleman while driving. Do stunts only when it is a matter of life and death. In all my 19 years of bikes and cars, I can say I drove pedal to metal only once. That was when I was called to the hospital around midnight to resuscitate a baby who refused to breathe. Didn’t enjoy it at all and I made a promise to myself and my wife I wouldn’t ever do it again. I try my best to start early so that we can drive relaxed, and even if we are running late I tell myself a delay is far better than a disaster.

[am1m]

I'd say I've changed from 'pointless' to 'measured'.

Have stopped random accelerating, hard braking and letting my ego get the better of me. Now I maintain a steady speed, anticipate, and let anyone and everyone overtake.

Funny thing is, it seems to take the same time to get anywhere! With a lot less fatigue and stress.

That's on the highway, in the city I've reduced car usage drastically- hate driving in Bangalore! Usually use the bike + Metro.

[Oppanna]

My first car was a 2005 Maruti 800 4 speed and then it was a 1989 Premier Padmini, I enjoyed driving both the cars and never was a pedal to metal type of driver. Not that both the cars were not capable of driving fast.

My current car is a 2005 Maruti Suzuki Esteem and i drive it below 110 kmph. That is the comfortable speed for me when i am on a highway run. Never drove above 120 kmph no matter what.

I find the speeds below 110 kmph to be a sweet spot for the car, for the driver and also for other road users.

Indian roads are always unpredictable and you will never know what/who will jump off from the divider, who will come from the wrong side with their headlamps on!

I drive slow and at the same time i enjoy it too. Same is applicable for the rides too.

[ashis89]

I started riding (and driving too) when I was under-age. Had my fair share of speed, stunt, falls, etc. during late teens and early 20s. Then slowly I changed and the reasons are many.

- Own close calls
- Watching the fellow commuters keenly and learn from their intent or mistakes
- Reading about others experiences on TBHP
- Watching the videos on the accident thread and social media (big influencer for me!)
- A massive increase in road traffic over the years, a lot of whom are unpredictable

I do a lot of anticipatory driving and braking. I do cruise at 3 digits speeds wherever the roads allow but speeds above 120 are very rare unless I get an empty stretch of 4-6 lane road. With family, these numbers are mostly below 3 digits.

I also realized that driving at speed or through heavy traffic tires me quicker. So I plan my trips during lean traffic times whenever possible.

One other thing I do, I avoid Google maps or if I use it then I avoid looking at the ETA and even the speedo console. I can go at my own preferred pace when I am not looking at these screens.

I still love acceleration a lot and enjoy it often for a quick getaway after slowing down. But I don't drive fast anymore.

[aaggoswami]

Voted for : Transformed from F&F to C&S.

Earlier, it was enjoying the top end grunt, revving and having lots of fun. Toned down since 2018-19. Not sure about others, but in last from late 20's and early 30's to the fag end of 30's, age factor also plays a role. No longer I crave out for higher speeds or start accelerating as soon as I find any open stretch. Its more of a cruise, and that too at around 100 kmph or lower. The parameters are now more skewed towards cruise and enjoy the peace cocooned in comfort of my car. Slow music, a mix of old, new slow songs. Traffic also plays a role in this, and more than fun, its relaxing drive. Lower stress for me, my machine, and timelines aren't impacted as much. Another aspect that I have formed is having sound sleep before I drive. Also, I prefer not to rush with less sleep but starting early to drive due to traffic. If I cant' start as early as planned, a bit of delay is fine with me. Also with so much traffic atleast on the routes that I have to frequent, unless one starts really early, travel time doesnt get impacted much. Fuel efficiency went up too, but more importantly I am less stressed. That matters more now.

[GhostGrid]

Answer: Transformed from F&F to C&S

Well, the majority of us have undergone changes in many aspects of our lives, including driving. Three Stages of My Life:

First Stage: I used to just rev when I first started driving a Luna, scooter, or bike in eighth grade. After several collisions, I realized that I needed to become a more cautious driver (around the time I was in the 12th grade—yes, a bit late, but that age, you know ).

Second Stage: Then came college, and since then (here comes the car segment), I have started to drive calmly.

Third and Final Stage: As they say, the stress and difficulties of life also rise with age. I used to get pissed off when somebody overtook me with a cut or in an unmannerly way, so I started doing the same with them. But since 2016, I have learned to control my rage, and at the same time (thanks to Google), I found the Team BHP page. You can learn all there is to know about life from responsibilities and a few accidents (here is where the wisdom comes in).

[roy_libran]

Am now with the Median group, although my reasons are:
- Transition to EV as they are quite sensitive to driving style and enormously rewarding if driven smoothly. Now this has also begun to trickle down to how I drive ICE vehicles!
- The exponential increase in speed cams, and I got tired of paying Challans that were adding up to 5 digits.

[epiccross]

Actually my story is a bit different here. I'd been way too sedate post learning to drive (late bloomer here!) as I was constantly anxious on the road. I think part of it is owing to the lack of confidence in my car giving me enough power on demand for overtakes etc. Once I mastered that with my new AT that has good power + bunch of active safety features, I now am less worried about safe overtaking maneuvers. Generally have gotten better and I drive less sedately now.

However, I constantly slowdown at intersections, if I see any potential jaywalkers (i.e. people who could just randomly jump in front of you), heavy vehicles coming in the opposite lane etc. I also (try to) leave a safe enough distance between the vehicle in the front. People mock me for my "sedate" driving still, but I really couldn't care less. The accidents/bad drivers thread helps me a lot. Our roads are pretty much death traps and you have to drive extra cautiously to save yourself and potentially the other party. Very rarely I go a bit aggressive (like cross the white line to overtake when buses and trucks stop in the middle of the road and I have decent enough visibility) but other than that I'm a "boring" enough driver.

[paragsachania]

We learn every day and each drive always has something more to learn than we already know. This endless transition is what transforms most of us. Apart from this, there are other factors including family and kids. They play a very important role too if you are someone who started to drive at younger age. Cross-country travel time hasn’t reduced significantly than what it was a decade back despite better roads and faster cars. The sole reason for this the sheer increase in traffic on our roads that even picking an odd day and time to travel often doesn’t help much. Towns have expanded and got closer to the bypasses, better roads have made most of them take up long trips in their own cars etc.

I don’t call myself a slow driver but I am neither rash. My idea of driving is to ensure that those inside the car shouldn’t even realise abrupt acceleration, braking or lane changes and this comes from a lot of defensive driving skills and experience. As for me, few of the important contributors for becoming (and still continue to) a less enthusiastic driver are:

• Regular driving with my family, especially from an infant: Since most of the drives we undertook lasted at least 800-1000 km in one go, consistency played an important role when it came to driving. It made no sense to get enthusiastic when you have a kid sleeping on the rear seat. It also made no sense to honk constantly to make my way to overtake 3 trucks on all 3 lanes or for that matter at the toll booth where one of the vehicles ahead of you isn’t moving. The intent was to never disturb a kid sleeping on the backseat due to the mistake that you make at the wheel.
  
  
• The constant paranoia is another important factor: The fear of “what-if” is always a great influencer on your driving – Even today, despite of driving across the length and breadth of the country, I always drive with a pinch of paranoia in head and keep controlling myself from the urge to do something that may result in an untoward incident. Accidents today have become way too common despite of dual carriageway roads and the sight of an entire family getting perished is simply heart-breaking.
  
  
• Your kid is watching every action: You cannot escape from this if you mostly drive around with your family. In my case, I am even doing the school pick-up and drop duties since more than 5 years, 10 kms one way. Imagine the frustration when you are on the road during the morning rush hour when you confront rashly driven school buses or parents dropping their kids on 2 wheelers taking the wrong side and breaking all the rules. If I were to lose my temper every alternate day, it will surely influence the kid seated next to me in future.
  
  
• Drives that are fatigue and stress-free: There is absolutely no denying the fact that driving at consistent speeds on long journeys will be far more stress-free than trying to rush against time. Your body and mind will thank you after a long drive if you are driving without indulging in sudden maneuvers including braking, lane changing and accelerating. Hence, after realising the benefits of driving efficiently fast (and not rash), invariably it has resulted in change in driving habits. I can quite happily manage a non-stop 1800 km drive with my family members even today and solo too.
  
  
• Let go, there should never be road rage: The last thing you want is to get involved in a road rage with your family around and reach home with bruises and scars. Another significant influencer is the ability to control that adrenaline rush and stay calm. You will realise that it was the best decision to let someone pass you instead of pressing that A pedal and racing ahead for those tensed 5 minutes.

Overall, apart from age and experience, family has been the single biggest contributor for change in my driving habits and I am glad it happened. As I always say, whether it is peppy car that can go really fast or a an MPV that can cruise along the highway, my driving speeds even today are the same, irrespective. I am fast where the roads permit but rarely rash. I must admit even today at times the mind may influence but there is a lot of control to revert than what it was before. In the end, we keep driving and we keep learning since no 2 drives are the same and each one can open up a new set of perspectives to introspect and transform the way you drive.