meh
Join Date: May 2004
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Big day coming up. I start learning the rules of the road on Monday. I am being taught by the police themselves. As some of you know I am already getting an idea of what vehicles I would like. Made some bets with my dad on the vehicle I especially like. My parents are dreading it. I am there last kid to drive. My older siblings both are reckless drivers when they started. I hope to be different. So any tips for the new driver?
PS: Sweet my post number is the number of my favorite CPU. giggity |
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Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472 Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
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Be observant. Always watch what is going on around you and a "good" distance in from of you. Learn to know how to identify cars by their light pattern, especially at night. Then you'll know if you're coming up on a cop!
Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.” Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it. |
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On Pacific time
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
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Just kidding, quag, honey. Yeah, when you want to change lanes, check rearview and exterior mirrors, and then *still* physically turn and quickly look over your shoulder to make sure no one's there. Someone on a motorcyle might suddenly appear in the lane, because they can zip from lane to lane more quickly than a car. Also, cars (even when you're using mirrors) have blind spots for the driver, and it's amazing how another vehicle can somehow occupy that blind spot and be in the lane (almost invisibly) that you mean to change into. It might not happen often, but *once* is one time too many. And always remember - when you have friends in the car - don't get distracted, don't keep taking your eyes off the road. If you're driving, you just can't participate fully in whatever's going on in the car. Be vigilant about the surrounding traffic, because you have the lives of your friends in your hands. I won't even 'begin' to tell you stories about high school kids in cars, but the tragedies and deaths of kids I have known break my heart every time I think about them. And *always* make everyone wear their seatbelts. I've known lots of teens who have died in wrecks, but the driver almost always emerged unscathed - at least physically. But driving is a wonderful freedom, quag. I am very happy for you, and know that you will be a fantastic driver, because you are always very thoughtful in everything you do and say. This will be one more time that your parents will be *really* glad they have you for a kid! Have a GREAT time! Love, Carol |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: San Francisco, CA
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What turtle said. Watch out for random signs hidden behind trees and stuff, because those can be killer. Also, when you're in the city, always keep one foot on the brake. Jaywalkers can get crazy sometimes.
Usually though, if you've been in cars a lot, then it isn't too hard to pick up good driving habits. |
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On Pacific time
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Moderator's Pub
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Heh. Yeah, watching for cops driving behind you at night is indeed a crucial skill. You have to keep an eye on the rooflines. The metal in the rack for the 'cop lights' used to shine at night. But, damn, I think now the racks must have anti-reflective coating, so they can be *really* hard to discern. |
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Queen of Confrontation
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio
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Definitely wear seatbelts at all times. Basically, follow all of Carol's advice. And most importantly, USE YOUR TURN SIGNALS! But remember to turn them off once you have completed your turn. I hate driving behind someone for 12 miles with their blinker still on. Even if I pass them, I keep trying to watch them in my rearview mirror to see if they realize it and turn it off.
Anyway, have fun and be careful! |
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Microbial member
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WRT blind-spots, as Carol mentioned, it's critical to do head checks especially if you're learning in a big car. You might also want to think about accelerating into lane changes, as it makes it less likely that you'll hit someone in that spot even if you have missed them on the head check.
If you're driving a manual, remember that you can never have too many revs when you're getting moving. And at very low speeds (parking, queuing in traffic, that kind of thing), use your clutch to control your speed rather than your brakes (or you'll stall). Oh and if you get into a skid, aim in the direction of the skid and ease off everything (accelerator and brakes) until you regain control. |
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Subdued and Medicated
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My Dad taught me how to drive. I aced my drivers test in 3 minutes. My brother aced his too. My 3rd brother doesn't talk about his test. Of my entire family, I am the only one who has never gotten a ticket. I drive the Porsche!
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meh
Join Date: May 2004
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As you all know from my past thread about the new driving laws, I am going to be kept on a tight leash. No cells, no friends, etc. Thanks for the advice so far. I think the police won't tell me how to spot them.
giggity |
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Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472 Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
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Not to mention riding your break kills your breaks and doesn't allow the person behind you to know if you are stopping or not. You really are better off not using your left foot (assuming your driving an American car), unless you have a clutch. Louis L'Amour, “To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.” Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it. |
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Veteran Member
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If everyone followed this one simple rule, the world would be a better place:
Use your turn signals! Use them. Each and every time you turn. Every single lane change you make. Make it your duty, as a good driver, to let others know your intentions. Be an efficient driver. |
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Veteran Member
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Oh look, Naderfan said the same thing, but I must say that I once met a very fine woman because she left her signal on, so don't leave it on intentionally, but be open to possibilities once someone lets you know that you're still a-blinkin'!
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Chicago
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Best advice anyone can give: don't drink and drive. Kids think they're invincible, that they wont die or get caught. Try getting into the Naval Academy with a DUI on your record...although it would be harder to get in if you were dead.
Come waste your time with me |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: A small town near Wolfsburg, Germany
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The most important points are already mentioned by the others.
In general, drive defensive. You're human, you'll make driving errors - as everybody else (there a tons of hazards on the street: drunken people, drugged people, people which just had a distractin personal situation, idiots etc.). The point is to have enough time to react to those errors. As DMBand said: "Kids think they're invincible..." - they are not. On lane changes, watch the tires of the car you are surpassing. So you'll see it some microseconds earlier when the other car tries to get onto your lane (because the driver didn't check the traffic as you should do). BTW: Here i Germany, it is more complicated and expensive to get a drivers licence: First, you have to be 18. There's a theoretical test with many questions about the laws and rules regarding traffic. Then you have minumum number of driving hours with a professional driving instructor. When I made my license (20 years ago) we had to do 2 hours autobahn, 2 ours city/country and 1 hour by night. In the meantime they have increased the numbers of obligatory hours (AFAIK, it is now 4 autobahn, 5 country, 3 night!). Apart from those, you need normally additional standard training hours until the instructor thinks you're ready to make the test. The driving instructor will send you to more and more difficult areas (e.g. one of my most dreaded situations was a narrow road on a steep hill driving upwards to a crossing where the cars parked to the edge. So you didn't see the traffic and had to start driving up the hill (manual drive). But at some point in your driver's life you'll end up in such situations (at least here ), so you better learn it when you have a driving instructor with you... |
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Selfish Heathen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
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From a decade of driving surrounded by idiots on the roads, I have only two important pieces of advice:
If you don't know the two second rule, here's how it works. Look for a stationary marker like a signpost or a dotted line on the road. As it passes the rear end of the next car in front of you, count two full seconds ("one one thousand two one thousand"). If the marker passes the front of your car before two seconds are up, you're riding too close and need to BACK OFF. Why? Braking distance. It takes human brains (especially young ones) a second or so to register that "uh oh" signal to hit the brakes. If you're riding too close to someone, that second can mean the difference between having and avoiding a major wreck. Also, you probably haven't taken many (any?) physics classes; so, here's a quick lesson for you. As velocity increases linearly, it takes a quadratic increase of distance to stop a moving object with a constant deceleration. That means that if you double your speed, it takes FOUR times as much distance to stop you and if you triple your speed it takes NINE times as far to stop you. Here's an example of that principle on the road. In a parking lot you may be driving 15 MPH. Press the brakes and it may take four feet to come to a stop. Now, say you're driving fast on the interstate at 60 MPH. That's four times the earlier speed; so, it'll take sixteen times the earlier stopping distance or 64 feet to stop with the same braking rate. As you go faster, this distance keeps growing even faster. At 75 MPH, it'll take 100 feet. Of course, this number is greatly affected by road conditions and could be much larger in many cases. Plus, having someone riding too close behind is REALLY ANNOYING. The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting. |
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Selfish Heathen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
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Also... oh, wait... you already covered my other thought too: Quote:
The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting. |
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BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope. Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
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Mirrors! In case you don't do this already, adjust your mirrors so that they don't overlap each others' fields of view. Aim the side mirrors outwards just enough so that they pick up where the center mirror leaves off. You'll almost completely eliminate blind spots.
Merge with traffic at their speed. It's safest to have as little speed differential as possible. Don't brake hard and then stand on the brakes while stopped. This will cause so-called "warped rotors" -- which is actually a misconception, because instead of the brake rotor deforming due to uneven cooling, the extreme heat actually causes brake pad material to transfer to the rotor surface. If you must do some hard braking, stay light on the brake pedal while stopped. I haven't experienced "warped rotors" in fifteen years. When you're stopped at a light, stay stopped with the brakes. Don't use the transmission to hold your car in place. I was waiting at a light once and looked in my rearview mirror to see the driver behind me inching forward & backwards. She did this about two or three times, then she looked down and started fiddling with something in her passenger seat. I thought, "Okay, watch this," and she inched forward & tapped my rear bumper. No damage, but she felt pretty stupid. When a semi truck is passing you at night on the freeway and has room to move back in ahead of you, flash your lights off & on a couple of times to let the driver know that it's safe to change lanes. You'll see truckers do this regularly. Download these vids, too: http://www.yorkregionsavealife.com/Erase/Video.htm If you discover that you really enjoy driving fast, take it off the street. Start autocrossing, go to the dragstrip, even spend some time blowing off steam at the local go-kart track. Public roads are not a good venue for spirited driving -- there are far too many idiots and hazards out there. Quote:
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Jeez, I sound like my dad... lol |
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BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope. Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
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Great online resource for learning how to shift a manual tranny:
http://www.standardshift.com/faq.html |
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¡Damned!
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
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Looks like most everything has been covered, but I'll mention one last thing: Watch out for motorcycles!. Seriously. You can hurt us with that big-ass Tahoe of yours..
So it goes. |
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Senior Member
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Just remember if you live in the DC metro area disregard all these rules and make sure to cut people off when ever posable. They'd do the same for you
Comic sans sucks. That is all |
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Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472 Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
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I mean, wait, drive right. I learned to drive on the Beltway!!! That was a learning experience! |
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Senior Member
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Me too. People here in cali are so much better drivers.
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BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope. Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
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"Cut people off"... bah...
Where I grew up (Nebraska), merging in front of someone was no big deal... at least, it wasn't a big deal if you were going the same speed. The mentality out in the Great Plains is that the "on-merging" driver needs to have a safe way to get on, and if he happens to fit best in the thirty feet of space in front of you, then that's fine. Around here, the same motion is seen as "cutting me off". Whatever; I've never understood this part. This region -- and especially up in Pennsylvania -- just doesn't understand the intricacies of freeway driving. It doesn't help that some of the freeway systems weren't properly designed in the first place, either. |
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Senior Member
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When i say cutting off i mean getting out of the hov lane and driving like straight across to the damn exit :P
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BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope. Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
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Oh yeah, absolutely. They need to pay better attention so that they don't force themselves into that situation in the first place.
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M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
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I don't really know what to say that hasn't been covered, other than after some time, you'll be able to see the bad drivers before you even get near them. And people tend to neglect this, but it really does pay to have a fast car sometimes, on average I use speed just as much as breaks when I am in a position where I need to avoid a car, ie. avoid an accident.
Don't let people walk all over you. Also I wanna say that here in Wisconsin we have a minimum requirement of 30 day hours, and something like 10 night hours of driving to get our learners permit. Now this is obviously unnecessary if you are 18 and are simply applying for a regular license. But I think most Americans learn to drive when they are 16, ie. get a learners permit first. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: "Chambana", IL
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be OBSERVANT at traffic stops. A 19 year old rear-ended me yesterday, pretty bad. He was talking to his friends and didnt 'notice' the red light and stopped cars. The one day I get out of lab early and decide to go get groceries, I get rear ended. It sure made my weekend.
Anyway, the kid and his friends had four kegs at the back of their truck, apparently for some party. I decided to give them a break and didnt call the police. In retrospect, im not sure if I did the right thing. What do u guys think? |
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Senior Member
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Comic sans sucks. That is all |
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M AH - ch ain saw
Join Date: May 2004
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I hate WI drivers. Someone mentioned Cali drivers up above, and I completely agree, Cali drivers seem to me, at least, to be the very best I've encountered. Obviously, this is a generalization, and there will be exceptions, especially in cali - lots nuts out there - but even the criminals in the high speed chases show good excellent maneuverability etc, despite the fact that they are reckless etc.
Here in Wisconsin, people will speed through a blizzard, fly over ice, go off roading over snow banks etc. However, once a little rain hits the pavement, all hell breaks loose, and people drive around in circles like chickens with their heads cut off - it is simply ridiculous just how WI drivers handle the rain. Blah, I could turn this into a real rant but it doesn't really matter unless Quag ever makes it out to WI. User formally known as Sh0eWax |
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Senior Member
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That sounds just like dc
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