Logical Driving Tips
There are so
many stupid things people do while driving. You wouldn't find many of these
driving tips in some government-issued driving guide, but if there is any logic
or common sense inside of you, you'd figure most of it out yourself. I did not
bother rehashing tips such as "make sure your tires are properly
inflated", or "change your wipers once a year", or "check
your car's lights weekly", which are repeated over and over from other
sources.
Keep in mind
that these tips require little or no effort on behalf of the driver; all it
takes is a few sparks of your neurons to remember to do this stuff:
If there is only light rain falling, don't drive with the
windshield wipers on high speed.
Similarly, don't drive with your wipers on after it stopped
raining 20 minutes ago.
If your rear window is fogging up, turn on the rear window
defroster because that's what it's for. (Part of being a good driver involves
knowing what's going on behind you as well)
If your front and side windows become fogged up during rainy
weather, turn on your air conditioning along with setting your vents to Defrost
mode. Air conditioned air is dry and helps clear a foggy windshield faster.
Turn on your headlights during rainy weather, so the
non-perceptive drivers who don't bother defogging their windows can see you and
won't change lanes directly into your front fender.
When driving in cold, sunny, weather, icy patches tend to linger
in areas shaded by trees and on bridges. Watch out for them.
Over a long dry spell, dust and oil from cars accumulates on road
surfaces. Upon the first sprinkling of rain, roads tend to become more slippery
than if it's been raining for the past two days. Strange, but true!
When changing over two lanes of traffic, engage your turn signals
for the first lane change, turn them off, wait a second or two while you drive
straight ahaed, and then signal again for the next lane change. Some people
don't bother doing this because it would make too much sense.
After passing somebody on a quiet freeway with nobody else behind
you, wait until you are far ahead of the car that you just passed before
pulling back into the slow lane again. I appreciate it when people do this to
lessen the change of a rock on my windshield, or to give me time to avoid
surprise objects such as the occasional 2x4 and other debris lying on the
freeway.
When putting on your seat belt, make sure that the lower lap
portion of the belt is snug around your hipbones—not your stomach—because
strong hipbones can withstand the force during a car accident. Makes sense,
doesn't it?
If you can't see past the vehicle ahead of you when the road is
wet and it's dark outside, you can anticipate the need to apply your brakes
earlier if you make the following observation: if you see a reflection of brake
lights beneath the car directly ahead of you, that means that the car in front
if it is slowing down. Simple trick, huh?
When on the freeway, don't tailgate—especially in "tailgate
convoys" of 10 or more vehicles. And I ask one more thing: if you're part
of one of these convoys and for some reason you have to brake and swerve to
avoid a car that's slowing down for some reason, don't go into my lane and mash
me and my innocent car where I'm patiently driving at the speed limit—can you
please just run yourself into the ditch and kill yourself there? Thanks.
When getting off the freeway, remember to decelerate on the
off-ramp—not on the freeway. That way, you aren't screwing up traffic flow
patterns by changing speeds.
When roads are icy, they tend to get extra smooth and slippery
near stop signs where braking car tires melt the ice and it refreezes again.
For extra traction when approaching stop signs, drive slightly to one side so
your tires are on the rougher ice where less cars have driven over.
When approaching a red light on an uphill slope, stop at least 2
meters (6 feet) behind the car ahead of you. If the other vehicle rolls back
while starting up, there's little chance of it hitting you. Even though it
wouldn't be your fault, it's nice not to have your front end mashed.
When driving in a convertible, do not lower the top while the
vehicle is in motion because the top may get torn off by the airflow—especially
since the roof acts like a scoop. Makes sense, you say? I've seen a driver drop
her [convertible] top in front of me while driving 100 km/h (60 mph).
Unbelievable. Luckily, the top didn't rip off.
When driving a car with a driver's side air bag, place your hands
at the 9 and 3 o'clock positions, if not lower. When the air bag goes off with
your hands at the 11 and 1 o'clock position or higher, don't be running off to
the lawyer's office to sue over your broken wrists or if you unintentionally punch
yourself in the face.
If you insist on cruising with one hand, don't keep your
hand at the 12 o'clock position. You could at least keep it at the 6 o'clock
position for the same reason as above.
The people who
don't follow the above logical rules of thumb are the same mental midgets that never
seem to notice that their turn signals are on while driving down the
freeway—even if the person ahead of them purposely turns their signals on in
order to remind the other driver of their misdeed. These mental midgets and
their lawyers are the ones who force auto manufacturers into filling their
owner's manuals with crap like this:
Warning! Belting two people into one seat can lead to
injury.
Warning! Deployed airbags can't protect you in another
collision. Have the airbags replaced by an authorized dealer as soon as
possible.
Warning! If the hood is not fully latched, it could fly up
when the vehicle is moving and block your forward vision.
Warning!
Be sure the parking brake is fully disengaged before driving.
Warning! Standing on the car's roof while it is moving at
highway speeds may result in serious injury. (Okay, I made this one up)
Warning!
Don't use cruise control in heavy traffic or on roads which are winding, icy,
snow-covered, or slippery.
Warning!
Placing your mouth over the exhaust pipe opening while the engine is running
may lead to serious burns or death. (Okay, I made this one up too)
Warning! Improperly inflated tires are dangerous and can
cause accidents.
Warning! Getting under a jacked-up vehicle is dangerous.
The vehicle could slip off the jack and fall on you.
Warning! A rearward-facing child seat should never be mounted
in the front seat of a car with a passenger airbag.
Well duhhh! You'd have to be a retard not to
realize that an air bag hitting a rear-facing child seat can cause harm! How
can it be possible that some people can't grasp the idea that an air bag would
have to inflate in the area occupied by the child seat, thus displacing the
child seat? And to think that these people still figured out how to breathe!
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