The Good Driving Skills Thread

[Frank in MD]

Never try painting while driving, the picture never comes out well and it can get very messy really fast.

Bullfighting is generally frowned upon but never try it behind the wheel of a motor vehicle b/c bulls are unpredictable.

Learning the foil is a lost art but trying to master a parry while downshifting can lead to an accident. Be safe!

Try not to shit yourself, messy and it tends to stain your shorts.... and, dude? Eeeeeeeeeew!

Yelling at other drivers at the literal peak of your vocal capacity is discouraged unless you enjoy beatings at stop lights.

I'm unsure if driving naked is legal but don't try it on a hot day with leather, this might burn you in a tender area.

There is a fine line between confident eye contact and the piercing stare of a madman. Learn the difference or you'll never get laid.

Never leave witnesses following an automobile accident. Remember, three people can keep a secret if two are dead.

[ChrisBlair]

Never run out of road, brakes, and talent all at the same time

An actual tip- in areas you drive frequently, conspicuously let people into traffic from side streets, etc, especially if you know of a 'tough to leave' street. Don't slam on your brakes and make a big deal, I mean a tap of the highbeams and a wave, let them in. Just one car at a time will do.

That one car in front of you isn't going to make you late. And in a few weeks, you will start getting more consideration from these other drivers, as they will recognize your car as the one that did them a favor. After a while in these areas you frequently drive, you'll have a much stress-reduced drive as people give you a break. It's just good adverting paying off and it works.

[Muscle Car Lover]

Excellent thread, keep them coming. Lot's of great experience here.

[MBS]

Originally Posted by Frank in MD

Never try painting while driving, the picture never comes out well and it can get very messy really fast.

Bullfighting is generally frowned upon but never try it behind the wheel of a motor vehicle b/c bulls are unpredictable.

Learning the foil is a lost art but trying to master a parry while downshifting can lead to an accident. Be safe!

Try not to shit yourself, messy and it tends to stain your shorts.... and, dude? Eeeeeeeeeew!

Yelling at other drivers at the literal peak of your vocal capacity is discouraged unless you enjoy beatings at stop lights.

I'm unsure if driving naked is legal but don't try it on a hot day with leather, this might burn you in a tender area.

There is a fine line between confident eye contact and the piercing stare of a madman. Learn the difference or you'll never get laid.

Never leave witnesses following an automobile accident. Remember, three people can keep a secret if two are dead.

Thanks this thread was

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by McRat

One of the leading causes of spare Camaro/Vette parts in junkyards is hydroplanning.

Just slow down on rainy days. You can even drive on DOT slicks in the wet if you slow down enough.

Or ... Haul ass on bald tires to keep our good availability of parts. That works too!

On a side note its not a good idea to use cruise control when its raining or there could be slick spots in the roadway. I learned this the hard way...

[TBone]

No one is too old to learn a thing or two or three or four or more. My suggestions to all is go to school or a HPDE event (BTW HPDE=High Performance Drivers Education).

Hooked on Driving (HOD) is a nationwide company that will allow you to use your own car or in some places rent one.
http://www.hookedondriving.com/first-timers
The amount of things you learn in one day or weekend event is worth every penny and translates to your everyday commute. I am sure some of the folks who have done these events will attest to saying the same things. Now some will say that this is racing and hard on your car but if it will only be as hard on your car as you want it to be. You are the one driving it and if you are just there to learn and be a better driver you do not have to be hard on your car to learn a lot. The other option being to rent on of the available cars.

Other options are the Professional driving schools like Bondurant. Definitely not cheap but most professionals aren't. But, I have never spoken to anyone who has been there and said it wasn't worth every penny. There are other schools that may be closer to you to that are nearly as good as well, just do a little research.

Knowing how to handle your car in every situation is probably the best thing one can do to prevent an accident. The other is scanning ahead and anticipating what others will do in certain situations and knowing what you can and should do in those situations. These schools teach some of this knowledge and it never hurts to have more of that.

T.

[Nor Cal ZL1]

Realize most other drivers are so distracted these days with their damn devices is a huge issue.
Second thing I notice VERY often is how people proceed after the light turns green. About 90% do not check in both directions to be sure it is safe, most just go, and frequently after looking back up from the device in their lap. I would bet that most intersection accidents happen because the person who got the green light didn't look and see that texter who ran the red light T boned them.

Had the Son in the car one day and we were in the LH lane, with a semi in the RH lane. Both waiting to make a LH turn on to the Hiway. Speed limit is 65. Light turned green and he asked why I waited. Simple I can't see that it is safe to proceed, and I won't move until it is. If another semi blew the light at 65 we would have not been able to see that coming and could have been a big mess. I hope he remembesr that.

[6bangerBOOM]

Never stop to let somebody make a left turn in front of you if it's more than a two lane road. Every accident I've ever witnessed was due to this. If somebody ever tries to let you make a left turn in front of them and they have the inside lane don't do it. This is something that feels like "politeness" to some people and it is one of the most exceedingly dangerous kind gestures known to humankind.

[jrhagen]

HANG UP AND DRIVE!

[Jim968]

Don't downshift to slow down. That's what the brakes are for. The purpose of downshifting is to be in the correct gear for whatever acceleration is coming up.

[McRat]

For RWD without posi:

You can sometimes get unstuck in sand, mud, or snow by following this procedure:

Air down rear tires to 15-20PSI.
Apply parking brake.
Increase throttle until you start to move and keep it at that setting.

The parking brake applies load to both tires. It will stop the spinning tire and distribute the torque to both sides.

Airing out the tires helps get out of the rut the spinning tire made.

[Squillo]

Originally Posted by Gillis

Can't stand people that have to drive in the left lane all the time no matter what.

Don't move to Hawaii.

[McRat]

You will never fully learn how to keep a car in control with the stability control on.

But, you should not try to practice on the street, or turn it off for daily driving.

This must be done at a track, preferably at a race school.

Once you master driving at the limits with no babysitter, you will get better results in emergencies with the babysitter on. You will ask nothing more of the car than it is capable of, which will make the stability control work even better.

[Gillis]

Originally Posted by McRat

For RWD without posi:

You can sometimes get unstuck in sand, mud, or snow by following this procedure:

Air down rear tires to 15-20PSI.
Apply parking brake.
Increase throttle until you start to move and keep it at that setting.

The parking brake applies load to both tires. It will stop the spinning tire and distribute the torque to both sides.

Airing out the tires helps get out of the rut the spinning tire made.

Did you learn that from Marrisa Tomei?