Team-BHP - Driving Guide : Rules, Tips, Etiquette & Common Mistakes To Avoid

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 1730364)

But engine braking is more gradual, and is never sudden like say when someone slams on their brake pedal. I don't agree with the "probably too late" bit.

Yes probably that was a bit exaggerated and I agree it is not like slamming on your brakes. But there is no denying that it still takes couple more seconds to realize that the car ahead is slowing down.

It can take a person by surprise once in a while.

Quote:

Originally Posted by longhorn (Post 1729621)

5. Remove excess weight. Extra weight reduces the FE. This is especially true while climbing a hill.

To add to this, I try to keep my fuel tank at the lowest possible level when climbing the Ooty ghat roads, so I can save that little bit of weight of petrol!

But unfortunately petrol costs more in hills, so I have to ensure that I have enough fuel to climb down also.

Hi folks,

As a new member, I though I would share my expereinces. This may appear trivial to experienced motorists.

1. Keep suffiicient gap between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you. The safe distance depends on the speed. This way you are ensuring dual safety a)avoiding hitting the vehicle in case of a sudden break by the vehicle ahead of you. b) you need not apply such a sudden break that the vehicle behind you bangs your vehicle.

2. Dont get distracted..

Here I would like to narate an incident happened last week. While driving through a small two lane road in Gurgaon, I got distracted by a crowd on the road side. There was a small accident and parties were arguing. I was just looking at them and driving. A two wheeler motorist stopped the scooter and the middle of the road for watching this. Since I was looking at the crowd, I couldnt see the motorist just in front of me. Because of God's grace, I just looked ahead, and by reflex .suddenly applied the break ( the motorist was just 2 feet ( an estimate only ) from my car ). The breaking was so sudden that my 7 year old son who was sitting at the back seat, fell down into leg-space. The vehice stopped just millimeters from the scooter. ( My vehicle is i10 Asta 1.2 - with ABS - kudos to Hyundai clap:).

So dont get distracted ...

Thanks for reading..

At high speeds try and avoid the use of brakes in between a curve unless you want to go sideways.But that doesnt mean that even if someone ahead of you stops you remember this rule "NEVER BRAKE!"

Reduce your speed before you enter the turn .
All our expert drivers may be knowing this :P still ..

About side mirrors ...its better to damage the mirror than damage the car ...I have seen so many people drive with folded LHS mirrors...some morons would drive even with their RHS mirrors folded

Driving with kids on the lap in the front is a strict NO!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajeev k (Post 1673736)

You are right. But the habit of using the hazard lights while parking, during rains, while reversing has caught on and is spreading like a contagious disease. This need to be stopped.

Another habit is flashing of headlights. This also is too common and people use it for everything. In Kerals roads the bikers use it every minute. Probably they feels that by doing this they can do whatever is possible including gross rules violation. Is a real pity.

The driving instructor at a private driving school i went to, told me specifically that we are required to use the hazard lights while reversing, and i've been doing it religiously until now:eek: Infact, i remember using hazard lights when i went for my driving test and the inspector was very happy with me, as the others hadn't bothered abou itlol:

Its only now i realise that its not meant to be used while reversing. Can someone throw more light on this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.nk (Post 1764792)

The driving instructor at a private driving school i went to, told me specifically that we are required to use the hazard lights while reversing, and i've been doing it religiously until now:eek:

LOL. It seems the instructor has no idea what reverse lights are for. I think he got confused when he saw some vehicle equipped with anti theft system reversing!

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.nk (Post 1764792)

Infact, i remember using hazard lights when i went for my driving test and the inspector was very happy with me, as the others hadn't bothered abou itlol:

That guy should be fired.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shashank.nk (Post 1764792)

Its only now i realise that its not meant to be used while reversing. Can someone throw more light on this?

You can check out the following thread. It has been discussed in depth there.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...rd-lights.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by longhorn (Post 1764602)

Looks like carazoo learnt a few tips on adjusting rear view mirrors from team bhp!..........Anyways nice to see that they are propagating the right way to do it.

Thay also seem to have blindly copied and pasted from an article in a country where vehicles drive on the right hand side.

From the last paragraph - "For the passenger's side mirror: While sitting in the driver's seat, lean to the right so that your head is in the car's centre-line."

Short Shifting - It is the practice of shifting up to the next higher gear, earlier than the norm. The key word here is early but not too early. A good reference point to start with would be the recommended speeds of each gear in the owner’s manual. Try shifting from 1st to 2nd at half of the maximum recommended speed in the manual. Do it at somewhere between ½ and 2/3rd of the recommended speed for 2nd to 3rd. From 3rd you can shift directly to 5th gear. While cruising in 5th, apply just sufficient pressure on the accelerator pedal to maintain your speed. Once you have mastered this technique, there will be absolutely no power on power off jerks while shifting through the gears.

Cornering - Your vehicle is subject to G forces, and more so during cornering and braking. The best driving practice is to make small undetectable corrections to the steering rather than one or two sharp ones. With practice, you should be able to detect the slightest change in steering wheel force. This will be your ally in making corrections before correction is needed. Lowering the G forces caused by sideways thrust takes out extra load from the s uspension, tyres and also the passenger’s back. When you move the wheel to correct in a corner, start as early as possible to load the weight with tiny inputs. The steering wheel tells you that there is force, and how much force as you take a corner. If you begin the wheel movement almost before you start to take a corner, you pre-load the weight of the cars side force which makes for a dead smooth entry to the corner. Once you have mastered this technique, there will be absolutely no swinging by the passengers while changing lanes at a fast clip or while maneuvering twisties.

Roll Braking - Brake early and lightly, slowly increasing the pedal pressure over the distance you have to stop, then decrease the braking force evenly, as the car slows down to a stop. When the car slows down to around 5 kmph, gently release the brake, as you reduce speed to stop. Once you have mastered this technique, your passengers cannot feel the final stop at all.

Keeping to higher gears, along with the braking technique that you describe, will make for smoother driving, lower fuel bills, and happier passengers. It won't be exciting, of course!

One proviso on changing to a higher gear: remember that the lower the gear the more control you have over your car. Thus, traffic conditions may suggest a lower gear on the same road at the same speed than when driving there on an empty road. Changing down can be a good idea on approach to a hazard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 2105798)

Keeping to higher gears, along with the braking technique that you describe, will make for smoother driving, lower fuel bills, and happier passengers. It won't be exciting, of course!

I usually drive at fast clips on the highway. How you get to that speed is more important than what speed you are doing. Making passengers uncomfortable is a strict no no for me(read sudden braking, swinging in and out of lanes etc). As long as you are watching the road ahead with an eagle eye, its just a matter of practice before you can achieve the same smoothly, what others achieve through rash driving. Smooth driving will reduce the wear and tear on your vehicle too, to a great extent.

I'm with you on all that --- although my wife sometimes disagrees, and doesn't hesitate to tell me when my driving is getting a bit taxi-like!

Oddly, I've noticed a couple of times recently, that, simply by smooth driving and taking opportunities to overtake as they present themselves, I have left behind some aggressive driver sitting on someone's backside.

Why do people waste energy on acceleration when there is red signal ahead? Why do they aggressively overtake, only to immediately slow down for a turning? It is not only rash, it is senseless!