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-   -   Things you learnt later in your driving journey (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/258780-things-you-learnt-later-your-driving-journey.html)

There are many things which we learnt late in our driving journey. These are things which you may discover on your own as the journey progresses. Your driving instructor may not teach you everything correctly or maybe he may teach you things just to help you clear the license test. There are many things which I discovered later in my driving journey. There's a separate thread for things that they don't teach you at driving schools: CLICK LINK.

Through this thread, you could just share those things which you found later by yourself in your driving journey. For example, I discovered many things later like:

• Whether you should always press clutch while braking. The rule of thumb told by my driving instructor was to always press clutch while applying brakes. This might have been told to avoid stalling. But later after driving many kilometers, I learnt that you don't need to do so and only press clutch while the rpm and speed of that particular gear goes down below a limit. I remember discovering this and today feel it's really silly.
  
• Other common things which I recollect that I discovered late are how to shift IRVM for day and night. How to stop the car on a slope using half clutch. How to start a car with dead battery by pushing or moving down a slope etc.

Do share those things which you discovered late in your driving life and which now you find silly.

Thanks.

As a newbie driver I had this habit of upshifting at 1500-1700 rpm before the engine gets in it's power band. This resulted in me being very very slow on uphill roads. Many kilometres later and after asking here on the forum, I learnt that I've to upshift at higher rpms on uphill.

Another thing I've noticed after driving almost 20k kms is cruising at 90-100 kph is better than cruising at 100+kph. The time difference between both is merely 10 - 15 minutes. You get much better mileage and drive is relatively easy at these speeds. Anticipative braking also helps managing your average speeds.

Biggest thing I learnt and what I now find silly is, it's simply not worth it to fight / argue on the road if you get into an accident. Just go claim your insurance if required & move on. A mad guy recently rear-ended a luxury car I was driving. Didn't even step out of the car. Just smiled, gave him a thumbs up with a smile ("all is okay") and moved on. In my younger days, raging with adrenaline, I'd always be up for road fights. The stupidest thing ever.

There is also the safety aspect. Remember, you never know who is carrying a dagger or a gun under their seat. And there is no doubt that people just need to vent due to other frustrations in life. See the first minute of this video where Sunil Dutt explains to the thief that the crowd wants to bash him only because of personal or professional problems in their lives:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lhfgta3EAUo

To watch the video please click on the link and watch it on You-Tube webpage / application.

Awesome thread!

I learnt the following and feel silly for not following the same right from the beginning:

1. Speeding at night is a big no no. Potholes+stray animals+unlit heavy trafffic+blinding oncoming headlights... =disaster waiting to happen.

2. Indian roads are not Autobahns and lane discipline is never a given. That heavy truck will swerve, and there will be a pothole in the fast lane. Practice defensive driving!

3. What GTO said :)

4. Mechanical empathy

1. Had this habit of pressing the clutch while coasting and when slowing down.
2. Judging the vehicle's extremities and keeping within a lane.
3. The laid back, lowest position is not exactly the optimal driving position, especially in mainstream commuter cars.:D Tried to imitate Pierce Brosnan driving the Aston Martin in Die Another Day.. On the other hand, elephant like driving positions on the old Safari and Scorpio are also not optimal for our body, but that is something inherent in their design and not within our control.
4. Overtaking other vehicles too close for comfort. Not that I shift entirely to the other lane now, but I do leave some buffer space in case the vehicle being overtaken twitches right due to some obstructions.
5. For short trips and within Kerala, smart and smooth overtaking will help big time. But speed won't do any good and is not worth the mere 5mins saved. Outside Kerala, meaning south Tamil Nadu highways, either keep within 90-100km/h for a comfortable journey or go nuts with unmentionable speeds in a capable vehicle with minimal/no breaks. Anything between these two is just a waste of resources and life in exchange for atmost half an hour.
6. Speed at night depends on the vehicle's headlight ability. No more guessing what is beyond the lit road.
7. You just keep learning.

I never went to driving school. I was taught driving by my uncle dr trrk, a very respected member of this forum, who is unfortunately no more. I still remember he taught me to drive on Erode- Coimbatore highway with his wife of two days sitting at the back. It was a Peugeot 304 with a floor shift. Barring the Herald, there were no indian cars with floor shifts in 1984.He said, I still remember, driving cannot be taught, one learns on the road! I still do!!

While starting our driving journey since Day 1, we just learn 5 to 10% of whatever needs to be known. The rest 40-50% is learnt later in the journey over the years. Thus, the total knowledge acquired is only 60% of what actually needs to be known, even for veteran drivers, who have been in this grind for quite a few decades.

The rest 40% is learnt part by part, on a day to day basis from more and more driving experiences, plus while reading authentic methodologies, facts, figures and more from accredited and authenticated sources including teambhp. com. Even a very few blessed souls may not reach the 100% figure.

Lots and lots of learnings are due and we all are and remain learners till time immemorial.

Now look at Prince Philip, who at age 96 was during early 2019, driving a Land Rover Freelander, in the royal Sandringham Estate in Eastern England. His LR crashed into a Kia injuring two persons. He voluntarily gave up his driving licence and learnt a new lesson saying to himself "I'll hang my boots now."

Hence, if we remain drivers till the age of 96 or more, we can still learn many lessons during our journey!

I didn’t know what aquaplaning is until I drove fast over a big patch of stagnant water on the road. I almost collided with the car next to me. At that time, I didn’t have any clue on why my car behaved like that. But now, if I think about it, it looked silly from my side to drive like that.

In no particular order:

Diesels don't have spark plugs.

Safe distance in Pune is a fantasy. The moment you keep distance, 3 bikes and a rickshaw will squeeze into that space.

Drive defensively.
Rule of the thumb: Everyone is an idiot.
Your vehicle, your safety, your wallet, your freedom, your responsibility.

Vehicle language, like body language is real. If you feel a vehicle is going to overtake you from the left and slide in front of you, it will.
Corollary: The vehicle whose front wheel is ahead of the other always manages to get it's way.

Dashcams are well worth the investment.

As per Indian law, the one with the bigger vehicle is always at fault.

Watch out for buses, especially public transport. Anyone can nonchalantly spit out of the window, whenever they feel like it.

If someone halts their vehicle to give you right of way, most probably they have been to some Western country. A courtesy thank you wave of the hand is absolutely recommended.
Corollary: It is also nice to be waved to instead of just waving to others.

Don't even think of hitting your ignition till everyone is buckled up (Nowadays it includes rear seat pax as well)

If you are a man, and spot a woman fallen from her vehicle, do not attempt to physically help her unless you are accompanied by a woman, or there are more people on the scene.

If anyone is itching to overtake you on weekend evenings/nights to gain a few precious inches, let them. Not worth the hassle.

Bookmark the Italian tuneup thread on TBHP.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ally-work.html
In case she comments on your speed, share it with her.:D

Drive as much as possible when you have time. Cause when you won’t you’ll miss it and won’t be able to do anything about it

My driving instructor taught me that I should shift to second from first the moment the car starts to move. This caused issues in my initial years as there would not be enough momentum in second gear and I would end up riding the clutch to prevent stalling. I later discovered this was a bad practice and I learned the act of moving from a stop in a much better way. I still see many people doing the same thing.

My learnings from 44 years of driving in India below. These are not the theoretical learnings but what I actually practise while driving on our roads.

-- Drive with an invisible bubble around you. When others poke your bubble slow down a bit.

-- I am not competing with the other folks either on the road or in life achievements. Let the other guy win.

-- Always drive watching what is happening up ahead - a several tens of metres in case of a city traffic road and 200 to 400 metres ahead in case of a highway.

-- Every junction, every U-Turn, every bridge, every village is a danger point no matter what.

-- Speeds above 70 in the city and above 90/100 on the highway won't get you earlier to your destination in any meaningful way.

-- Don't day dream while driving. The picture ahead of you, behind you and on your sides changes every quarter of a second.

-- If you are on the left of a bus be alert for jumping jacks who get off running buses without checking the rear

-- If practical avoid night driving on highways.

-- Check the rear view mirrors before starting off. Half the surprises come from the rear.

-- In North India don't be the first to zoom off at the green signal. Allow time for signal jumpers crossing you at right angles

-- And finally lock your ego in the dicky

- Getting your car repaired is the most tedious job -

Well, while insurance may cover up your expense, the downtime, the haggle with workshop, mechanics, the fit & finish post repairs is not going to be the same again, plus, if there are mechanical issues, you never know how meticulously (or not) was the job carried which may strand you on the road in the middle of no where.

- Aftermath of an accident -

You hit (God forbid) someone, while your insurance will take care of it, but the chaos involving all this is just too much in today's chaotic world to take in. FIR's, Police & most importantly, you may get a dressing down if there is public on the road.

In short, I drive defensively with anticipation & haven't been hit or haven't been involved in any mishap, but, considering today's traffic, it's really a matter of when. Fingers crossed.