Better Driving
Being all about public service, and having nothing better to do than muse about the state of modern society sitting at a looong red light in my car, I hit on the idea of writing up a set of rules and tips for being a better driver in the 21st century.
Naturally, one should start at the beginning.
Starting
You will often find yourself sitting at a red light, and it is important that you do the right thing once the light turns green. I will write as though you are the first car in line at the red. If you are not, the principles are the same, you just have to wait until the cars ahead of you have moved well ahead of you before implementing them.
Seeing your light turn green, gently lift your foot off the brake pedal. The car will begin to creep forward (because like 97% of North Americans, you are driving a car with an automatic transmission). Let the creeping continue until the car is moving at its top creeping speed. Then, verrrry gently put your foot on the gas pedal so as to increase your speed verrrry slowly. You may know that the gas pedal is sometimes referred to as ‘the accelerator’. Do not be misled by this. Acceleration is highly dangerous. Ideally, it should take your car three blocks or more to get up to the posted speed limit. Execute this well, and no more than two cars behind you will get through that green light you just left in your rearview mirror. Traffic movement is safest when it does not move at all.
Turning
First, note that if you are the first car in a right or left turn lane at a red light, then the guidelines above apply in spades. Turning and accelerating is exponentially more dangerous than accelerating in a straight line.
However, here we will focus on turning onto a street when there is no stop light or other impediment to your turn.
Let’s say you are making an unimpeded right turn. Here, the brake pedal is your best friend. You should use it to get your speed down to no more than 2kph before you actually turn the wheel, then ease your vehicle slooowly around the corner. Whatever car you are driving at this point in history is equipped with a suspension system that would be the envy of a Formula 1 driver of thirty years ago, but do not let that go to your head. You don’t want that expensive German-engineered car to tip over while turning.
A good practice as you go through this turn is to stick your head out above the steering wheel and peer intently into the street you are turning onto, to make sure there are no critters or people waiting to leap out in front of you. Having safely straightened the car out on this new street, the advice in Starting given above once again applies.
Equally important here is correctly using that stalk on your steering column when turning. Some folks believe that this activates a ‘turn signal’, which, in the case of making a right turn as above, is supposed to tell drivers behind and in front of you that you plan to turn right. This could not be more wrong. You should think of this as a ‘turning signal’ which is designed to let other drivers know ‘I am turning now’. Thus, it should not be engaged until you are actually turning the wheel. I know it is a challenge to turn the steering wheel and engage the turning signal at the same time, but it is a skill you can master with practice: I have seen many do so.
Stopping
This is the most important part of driving, and doing it correctly is critical.
You will often find yourself driving along on a road without much traffic, and notice that somewhere up ahead of you a previously green traffic light has turned to yellow. You should take this as a signal to apply the brakes. The red light is coming as sure as Summer follows Spring, and Red means Stop. It is quite immaterial how far ahead of your current position is this traffic light – 100meters, a kilometre, 3 kilometres, it makes no difference. You want to be sure to be fully stopped when you get to the light, so brake early and brake often. Good driving is all about stopping – any North American traffic engineer will tell you that.
There are other traffic events that will happen in front of you, or even off to one side, and all require that you use your brakes immediately. Some common examples include:
The brake lights of a car ahead of you come on. Once again, it does not matter how far ahead is said car.
A ‘turning signal’ lights up on a car ahead of you, however far ahead.
The brake lights or turning indicator of a car in a lane to either side of you comes on. It does not matter which turning signal is engaged, use your brakes.
Again, all of these are situations in which you should engage your brakes, and keep them engaged until you have ascertained beyond any doubt what these other drivers are up to. Trust no one.
Turning Lanes
The discussion of making a turn above assumed that you were turning from a lane in which other traffic would be proceeding ahead. However, you will often come upon a situation in which there is a separate lane dedicated to use only by cars that are turning. These lanes of course end at the intersection. Using these right or left turn lanes correctly is also important.
Here I will discuss a left turn lane, the principles for a right turn lane are essentially the same. So, imagine you are coming up to an intersection at which you plan to turn left, and the traffic engineers have very considerately put in a separate lane for you. To enter this lane from the through lane, you should drive so that your left tires are in the turn lane and your right tires remain in the through lane, right up to where the turn lane ends at the intersection. This will insure that no cars behind you in the through lane can pass you, thus avoiding a highly dangerous intersectional incident. You may hear horn-tooting from the cars behind you; this is the traditional ‘thank you’ from drivers whom you have helped stay safe.
Addendum: essentially the same principle applies any time you change lanes. You should keep one set of tires in the lane you are entering and the other in the lane you are leaving for as long as possible. Your fellow drivers will thank you, if only in their prayers.
Special Situations
– Crosswalks
It is common in the 21st century to come across a set of painted lines in the road, with a sign posted at the side of the road that looks like the one in the photo below:
The important word on that sign is Stop. You must do that before you cross those lines painted on the road, then look carefully in both directions to make sure no humans or bunny rabbits are about to cross. Then you can proceed to drive past the sign.
– 4 Way Stops
Once you are the lead car that is stopped in any direction at a 4 way stop, what you should do is remain stopped there and wave through all cars coming from all other directions, until you are the only car remaining at the intersection. This insures that nothing bad can possibly happen to you as you proceed through the intersection.
Addendum The rules for turning signal use given above quite logically apply also in this situation. If you are going to turn at the 4 way stop, on no account engage your turning signal until you are actually moving through the intersection. Everyone likes a surprise.