Become a better driver.

The problem with racing schools is they teach you how to drive fast through a course, right? What they don't teach you are things dealing with when you are out on the street. Some of those techniques transfer over well with a little tweaking though.

I have attended Mazda Rev It Up last year. This is about the only formal driving training I have recieved. I hope to attend a few more sessions in the future.

I found this pretty cool, specially coming from a manufacturer:
http://www.miniusa.com/ (click on "master the asphalt arts" link on the bottom)

Also people don't look far enough ahead of them. A pro driver at a driving event told a group of n00bs like me that the average driver only looks 40-45 feet in front of their car (basically at the license plate of the car in front). There is no way that you have enough time to react and avoid an accident if you're only looking 45 feet in front of you. Look through the upper part of your windshield 15-20 car lengths in front of you.
Also, he said people don't brake soon enough and HARD enough. Better to brake early rather than run out of room when coming out of a corner.

You're wrong. They teach you car control, which has a lot when driving anything. Do you not use braking, accelerating, and turning techniques out on the street? <br />
There are cheaper alternatives than schools like Skip Barber. Your local BMW and Porsche clubs probably have instructed driving events every once in a while so look into that.

I found at first that when I would left foot brake I do not have the smooth control like my right foot because of the practice that I get feathering the throttle. I don't do too bad with a clutch but the brake pedal requires a certain type of pressure to be applied so it doesn't grab too hard.

PRACTICE WHEN NO ONE IS IN FRONT OF YOU!!! If you never left foot brake, it probably is best to practice when no one is around, or at least when no one is in front of you so you don't end up hitting them.

I believe what you are talking about is weight transfer to the front tires. When you brake the tires contact patch is expanded and the grip is improved allowing you to corner hard. You have to take into account that you do not want to overload the front tires. Keep this in mind because you will experience a negative feeling if you overload the front. How good your tires are is a big factor here.

there are always cheaper alternatives, but skip barber is the man

Of course you use braking, accelerating, and turning techniques on the street. You do not use them in a traditional way though. You have to stay inside your lane in order to drive safely on the street a lot of the time. Tracks do not have lanes in this fashion. You don't brake extremely hard on the street like on a track. There is no start and finish line so you can keep wear on your brakes and tires lower by taking it easy. That is why I said that some of the techniques transfer over. What about when you have to avoid an obstacle or debris. On a track the conditions are mostly controlled, but on the street anything can happen. Conditions are much more dynamic.

A very good point! You tend not to look far enough down the road. This is true, even for me sometimes. Although sometimes it is good to watch closer in front of you. Something can come from the side right in front of your car that you have to avoid. Another reason is watching for bad tarmac. The road can be un-even which can throw the geometry of your suspension off causing you to loose control at high speeds. There is a bad dip at the on-ramp of a freeway near my home. They recently put a 35 MPH sign up near it, but only after months had passed of it being bad.

When driving on ice...

When driving on ice...

1. Be constantly aware that your stopping distance has dramatically reduced. Don't go fast because you really don't have to. Slow down, chill out, listen to some music for Christ sake! Getting there 5 minutes early probably won't make a damn bit of difference.

2. Gauge the degree of slickness. When safely distanced from other traffic or people, punch the throttle, let your wheels spin. Do this to determine how much traction you have on the surface. Even slam on the brakes. This will give you a sense of what to expect in any instance or acceleration or deceleration. You have to know your limits.

3. Determine elements affecting road condition. Use reflective light to identify the terrain. Get used to identifying what is ice, water, salt, gravel, slush... etc. All of these elements affect your traction differently. Get to know how any of these elements and combinations of them affect your traction.

4. Adjust your speed according to road conditions (ice, water, gravel etc.) so that your stopping distance is less than the distance of vehicles around you.

5. Watch other vehicles speeds and how they are gripping the road. (obviously different vehicles have different weights, tires, etc.) look for similar size and weight vehicles to yours. You can see about how fast someone is going, and if they slide a little, you can consider your speed.


Usually this is what I do when driving on ice.
Test the traction, stomp the throttle...
Traction is OK, but not great, consider what surface I'm riding on. Say it's just plain ice, not wet. I may reach 50 and start to slide a little. Back off to 45. Think about the distance it would take me to stop if I had to brake agressivley. Then I would keep that distance plus some between me and other cars if possible.

Sometimes it's better to go into a ditch or off the road to avoid colission.

You can go as fast as you want, but you will lose traction. It becomes harder to turn without sliding. Braking is less effective.

There are a lot of people who drive faster than they should on ice everyday. They just haven't had to swirve or brake to avoid collision. They are set on a course for an accident, and by luck it just hasn't found them yet.

Be prepared for an emergency by being aware of your traction and other traffic. Mostly by regulating your distance from other cars. 2 car lengths is minimum on good road conditions, but way too close on ice!

statik

Remember...
Slow down, chill out, listen to some music for Christ sake!

A good way to tell how far you should be from the car in front of you is for every 10 MPH faster you are traveling you should be 1 car length behind in order to have a good distance to react and brake in case of emergancy. For example: if you are going 50 MPH, you should be about 5 car lengths away from the person in front of you.

go to skip barber driving school

Become a better driver.

Please post techniques on becoming a better driver. How do you maintain focus on long drives? How do you position your hands on highways, cornering, and going through twisting roads? How do you stay comfortable when your adrenaline pumps you up and you get tense? How do you guage distances from objects and other cars that are stationary and moving? Any special tips and tricks?

Try to sum it up in your post like a guide with full explanations and diagrams if needed.

I will start off with the technique of pushing the steering wheel with your left or right hand into the turn as opposed to "pulling" the steering wheel with your other hand. This seems to give you the best control of the steering wheel while carving a corner with a constant radius, a decreasing radius, or an increasing radius.

1. When approching the corner keep your hands around the 10 and 2 o' clock or 9 and 3 o'clock positions and start moving towards the outside of the turn.

2. Before the turn you should be near the outside of your lane, or if you are sure that the coast is clear, you should be near the outside of the road.

3. Begin pushing with your left hand if it is a right hand turn or your right hand if it a left hand turn into the turn while maintaining grip with your other hand in case you need to correct your turn-in or to hold your shoulders against the drivers seat.

4. Hit the apex of the turn and start easing out of the turn. Your acceleration will be during the turn or after the apex depending on your entry speed and the turn.

5. Complete the corner exiting at the straitest possible line. Adjust if there is another turn consecutive to this one.

Any questions or comments?

Dude, you have modified your car and it kind of sounds strange that you never heard of driver's education course. I took that course and they teach you all the stuff including defensive driving, driving on snow etc. in class and on the road. In Canada, if you take driver's ed course, your insurance drops by about 45% ( varies a little bit with the insurance company) because stats have proven that people who have taken driver's ed course are far less likely to be involved in an accident than those who have not.

go to skip barber racing school

Faisal, just curious, u happen to be from the Toronto area?

Driver's ed? as in basic driver's ed? or racing/other special stuff?

As I know it, it has the effect of giving you a 3-star rating for the first 3 years you're licensed. None after that. I'm 6-star now, so it has no effect on me. That's how the driver training discount typically works in the insurance industry. Can't say for all companies.

<a href="http://www.teamoneil.com/" target="_blank">Or...</a> <img src="http://vvti.net/forums/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Big Grin" />

Here is a simple basic n00b technique I usually do.

1) Don't brake during hard corner, brake RIGHT BEFORE you enter it. When you brake, the down force will transfer to the front wheels, you will have more grip to enter the corner.

2) Brake with left foot (I drive auto).

Well I was born Niagara Falls, Ontario, but I have been living in Calgary, Alberta ( the only place in North America with a surplus ) since I came back to Canada after growing up in my home country. Driver's education course is more useful for people who are new drivers. Last year, when I got my 04 Corolla S it was my first year as a driver so it was important for me to take the driver's ed course to bring my insurance down to a decent level. After having one year of spotless record and being over 25, I switched over to TD Melloche Monnex ( most likely the best insurance company in Canada) and my insurance for my 05 Corolla XRS is $130 after adding a lot of optional insurance premimums. It is pretty good considering I am a new driver with a brand new high performance sedan.

hehehe... gas honk brake, brake honk gas... hahahha

Basic driver's education won't do me any good. I'm &lt; 25, single, male. Even with a maxed out record of clean driving, I'm still getting ripped off for about 2-2.5k/year. Mine is a Corolla CE. I can't believe Civic sedans are given better rates.

Anyone know of good racing schools in Canada? The closer to Toronto, the better. If I graduate without being unemployed for too long, I'm considering going to one of those to sharpen my skills a bit. I still have trouble with my 5 speed though (been driving it since mid-Aug).

are those guys from dream car garage at toronto motorsports?

when in very slow moving traffic...

1. make sure that when you stop you can still see the car in front of yours' tires touching the ground, b/c then you have enough room to move away or go around him if something happens

2. don't get impatient, everybody is probably late too, getting emotionally charged only causes more accidents

3. don't honk incessantly, it will do no good, if whatever your point is does not get across to whomever you are trying to convince within the first 3 honks, consider them lost to your opinion or deaf.

4. don't accelerate much, this only wastes gas and rubber. when traffic moves just let off the gas and coast forward slowly, again stopping within view of the car ahead's tires touching pavement

5. don't fall asleep - play loud music, make your car very cold, drink caffeine, concentrate on the red brake lights in front of you, call someone

2 hands on the wheel
a comfortable driving position makes you drive better
drive slowly and cautiously in traffic
if you ever feel uncomfortable there is a reason, back off and be safe
dont judge your own ability on the modifications your car has
enjoy driving, if you dont then just get from point A to point B
be courtious, it truly is contagious
pay attention to sounds around you, a loud stereo is as good as leaving the sunshade on the windshield
understand that the 10 or 15mph you are going over the speed limit usually wont get you there any faster when dealing with red lights and possibly being pulled over
trail braking on the street is a bad idea, brake early and caustiously if you insist on maintaining speed

i drive all day, its my job.... so i see it all. ill add more as i feel like it

Is this about driving in traffic or throwing your car around?

I'm really getting into driving and I'm right now in the process of changing many of my habits (good timing for this thread!).

I've trained myself to left foot brake (i have an automatic) and I feel like its helped me. Its kinda hard to explain but everything seems alot more effiecient, I sit at a better driving position, and I'm more attentive to driving.

I tend to follow people a little too closely and I'm trying to refrain from doing so now. I still tend to cut it a little close when it comes to getting through a group of slow cars.

I'm honestly a road-rager and I'm trying to compose myself better when it comes to those instances. When people tailgate, I just try to drive the same and don't brake check them. If needed I'll move aside if a lane becomes open (and i'll use my signal just before I get over so they don't second guess me). I'm trying to tail-gate less now as well.

When I parallel park, I tilt my mirror down (on the curb side) so that I can better see the curb and make sure I don't rub it.

People usually tend to ride the dotted line before getting merging or getting over, even if they don't use a signal. Sometimes they'll hover just in front of you as well.

Seeing as how I've been rear-ended recently, I'm going to start coming up with ideas on how to avoid it. I can't just stay away from 17 y-o girls with Jeeps.

This is what I think people should get in the habit of doing.
-USE YOUR TURN SIGNALS - don't make driving a guessing game.
-Drive defensively, but be courteous. - If they are merging in front of you, let them in.

NO!!! <img src="http://vvti.net/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Stick Out Tongue" /><br />
<br />
I've never heard of this organization/site before, and I don't actually know anyone from here. I've never raced anyone either, and I highly doubt I'll win if I tried. <img src="http://vvti.net/forums/images/smilies/tongue.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Stick Out Tongue" />

never use your cellphone while driving, alot em peeps take for granted the hands free kit esp where i live...

-if u wanna drive slow keep on the slow lane
-truckers should never ever go on fast lanes
-cell phone = no no
-brake for no reason = no no bcuz danger to traffic behind
-tailgating is necessary in some case ex. when a dumba$$ in front of ya is blocking traffic...

Interesting thing about cell phones. I truely believe that I can handle talking on the cell phone and driving at the same time using a hands free system. The problem is I feel I am more dangerous reaching and plugging in the hands free to the cell phone when someone calls me than if I just hold it in my hand!

Go figure that one out! haha.

yeah some ppl can handle it... but i hav followed so many of the ppl talking on cell fone while driving and they dunno what da f-ck they ard doing one almost hit me while i was in the other lane, some drive like they are drunk, and some drive so slow that they dun even know..