Defensive Driving Tips

Defensive Driving Tips, to Keep you Safe on the Road.
Welcome to Shebang, your free information site.

Defensive Driving

Know Your Location as you Drive

In an emergency while traveling in your car know your location. Know where you are, so if you had to dial 911 for help, you would know where you are. Get in the habit of watching mile markers, land marks, road signs, bridge names river names, and road names as you drive along. Knowing your location could make a significant response time difference.

Where to Look
Look where you want to go, not at what you want to avoid. It has been proven, you tend to go where you are looking.

A Quick Judge Of Distance as you Drive

Are you following too close behind the vehicle in front of you? If they stopped suddenly, could you stop in time to avoid hitting them? A quick effective method to gauge the right speed is the one thousand-one, one thousand-two counting test.
When the car in front of you passes a road sign, or marker, start counting, it should take the two second count for you to pass the same sign, or mark. No matter what speed you are traveling, this counting test will give you the correct distance to keep safely behind the vehicle ahead of you. This distance allows you reaction time to stop, if the car in front of you suddenly has to stop. In bad weather, allow more time.

Tailgated By A 16 Wheeler

Large commercial vehicles tend to be in a hurry and usually travel 5 to 10 km an hour over the speed limit. If you find you are tailgated, pull over and let them pass. If you need to stop suddenly, the large truck behind you, will run right over you. Because of the extra weight, the large truck cannot come to a stop in the same distance as you.

Survival Knife

Keep a small knife under the seat. Use a folding knife that is easy to open and has a place to tie a cord too. Tie the other end to something under the seat, onto some part of the seat frame. Make sure it is not attached in a way that will hinder the seat slide mechanism. Use a cord long enough to reach all the seat belts. If your vehicle is in a roll over accident and you end up upside-down, the pressure on the seat belt may make it impossible to release the safety belt. You might have to cut the seat belt to escape from the vehicle, simply reach under the seat and find the cord that has the knife attached to the other end. The knife can also be used to defend, if you are attacked and your life is in danger.

Cruise Control and Wet Roads

Do not use cruise control on wet rainy or icy roads, if you spin out, the cruise control will continue to try to get your vehicle up to speed and make your vehicle spin out of control.
Snow, ice, slush, and rain can cause wheel-spin, which can cause loss of control. To regain control of your car it is necessary to reduce power, but, if cruise control is engaged, it will continue to apply power to the wheels, which will keep them spinning. You may not be able to disconnect the cruise control after you lose control of your car.

Skid Recovery

To deal with a skid, the most important thing to remember is you must remain calm. Try not to panic, your reaction may cause the skidding to get worse and you may not have enough time to regain control. Practice skidding in a safe place, so you will know what to do and know how your vehicle reacts to skids. Regardless of whether you drive a front-wheel or rear-wheel drive car, reducing speed will help you get control of the vehicle, take your foot off the gas pedal, avoid panicked, excessive braking, if you must brake, only pump lightly, or feather the brakes.
For rear-drive wheel skids, gently steer in the direction of the skid. As the vehicle regains control, straighten the front wheels just before the skid ends.
For front-wheel drive skids, gently steer in the direction you wish to travel, while letting up on the gas pedal until you regain traction and solid ground, then accelerate to the desired speed.

Braking In Extreme Conditions

In extreme snow and ice conditions, control is lost under full braking conditions. The vehicle will not go where you want to go during a locked wheel skid. The answer to this problem is simple, pump the brakes, because every time you release the brake, control is regained momentary. Brake gently and do small turns, try to get one side of the vehicle tires onto packed snow on the edge of the road. Do not panic, and stay calm.

Night Driving

When driving in the winter at night, take a roll of paper towel and a bottle of Windex window cleaner with you. The wet sanded roads toss up a lot of dirty spray when vehicles pass you in either direction. Remember, your headlights are getting as dirty as your windows. You can clean your windows with the windshield washer, but not your headlights. Stop now and again, and clean your headlights. When vehicles are approaching you, keep your eyes focused to the right side of the highway as they pass, this helps you during the blinding light of the approaching vehicles. Always be ready and aware of any animal suddenly crossing the highway. Glance too the side of the highway as you drive, for any animals, and have a plan ready in your mind, should any animal jump up from the ditch onto the road.

Car Ahead Making Left Turn

When you approach a car stopped ahead, waiting to make a left turn, and you intend to drive through the intersection, pull in behind, switch on your left turn signal also. Park behind with enough room left so that you can see the rear tires of the car ahead of you, this leaves enough room to maneuver in case of an emergency. If you do not turn on your left signal, an approaching car may not realize you are stopped and ram into you. As the car ahead of you makes their left turn, simply clear your signal light and drive on.

Night Driving and A String Of Cars

When there is a long line of cars traveling at night on the highway, do not lead, but try for second place. Use the lights of the car ahead to assist you visibly and watch for brake lights that indicate a problem ahead, such as deer on the road.

Winter Tires

Winter tires are a must for control, and safely driving in winter conditions. All-season tires (three season tires) are designed to work under a multitude of conditions, dry roads, wet roads, muddy roads, and in a wide range of changing temperatures and winter conditions. All-season tires are made of a hard rubber to provide long service. Hard rubber loses it grip on ice at about -7 degrees C. When you consider that only about a palm full of rubber meets the road on each tire, this is not a lot of traction area.
A tire designed for winter conditions is constructed of a softer rubber that resists becoming hard under dropping temperatures. True winter tires reduce stopping distance by 20%.
A true snow tire will have a snowflake symbol on the side of the tire.
A con side of a snow tire is they are made of a soft rubber which wears quicker than an all-season tire. To get around this, the best thing to do is only use the snow tires through the winter. Changing the tires in the fall and spring will give you the best mileage out of the tires. Winter tires mounted on its own rims is the best way to go.
All the wheels have to have winter tires, if you only put winter tires on the driving tires, the vehicle will have less stable handling, the vehicle will end up doing "donuts" in sudden braking and direction changes.

Winter Driving Tips"
Slow down and modify your driving to the conditions of the road. Smooth starting and stopping is the way to maintain traction and control on icy roads. Apply easy pressure to the brakes, gas pedal, and steering wheel. In bad conditions, do one thing at a time, brake slightly, steer, brake, steer. If you do not have ABS braking system, gently pump the brakes, you only have steering ability when the brakes are not in use, a locked tires will skid, with no turning ability.

Papa Bear heater

Papa Bear Heater

The above picture is a Papa Bear Heater which fashioned out of a tin coffee container, used in an emergency to provide heat in very cold winter conditions.

To make this heater, obtain an empty one-pound metal coffee can with a plastic lid, a roll of toilet paper, butane lighter, and two bottles of 99%pure alcohol. Roll the toilet paper back and forth in your hands to loosen the center core, so that you can remove the core. Compress the toilet paper and push it into the coffee can, place the butane lighter on top of the toilet paper, place the plastic lid on the coffee can, and tape it down. Tape the two bottles of alcohol to the side of the coffee can and store it in your vehicle for use in an emergency.

To use this heater remove the two bottles and lid from the coffee can. Pour in one bottle of alcohol and let it soak into the toilet roll, hold the can in your hands and light with the lighter. The alcohol burns exceptionally clean, only the alcohol vapors burns, and is almost invisible, so be careful, not to burn yourself. This is a very safe heater if used properly. When the toilet paper starts to turn brown, the alcohol is used up. Put the flame out with a cover, or one large breath, when it cools down, add the second bottle of alcohol and re-light. When used conservatively, like warming your vehicle to a point that you can tolerate, then blow out the flame, repeat this process, it lasts up to forty-eight hours producing a lot of heat. Open the window slightly on the down wind side of the vehicle to let in fresh oxygen.
Do not pour the alcohol into the tin and store it in your car trunk before it is needed, the alcohol will evaporate, before you most need it!
I recommend adding a type written instruction paper to the stored Papa bear heater, so that anyone will understand how to use this device.

Hunters, sport-fishers and winter outdoors sports people will also find this a very fine companion.

Testing The Papa Bear Heater!

It is all great to read about tips such as this, but can you depend on them in an emergency? I decided to test out one of these devices and pass on the information to you.
The test was done outside at a temperature of +3 F. I had placed the toilet paper roll into the coffee can and added one 500 ml bottle of 99% pure alcohol, there was only enough room to take half of the bottle. By slowly adding more, it took 3 minutes to absorb the complete bottle of alcohol. I lit it up, and noticed the flame was not transparent, but a yellow flame with a tiny bit of smoke, it reached a height of 12 inches. The height of the flame was consistent for the complete test. At full throttle, considerable heat is produced, for 45 minutes, then the paper started to char. the top two inches of the can became very hot, but lower down the can it was only warm. One can hold this devise in their hands, but caution must be exercised because of the tall flame.

If you intend on making one of these heaters, I recommend you try it out first, this way you understand the workings and limitations of it, long before you ever need to use it. When you actually need to use the device, it will be ready for use. The paint on the top edge will be burnt away. Every new stove or heater produces a smell the first time it is used, better to have this over with before it needs to be used in small quarters. When you use the heater, you will need some sort of shelter from the wind, as the flame can be blown out.

I recommend this heater for non-emergency, outdoor uses, such as cross-country skiing, hiking etc. The heater is a simple “crude" device, but It works, and would probably be welcomed under any winter-time emergency condition.
It was suggested to me, a three wick beeswax candle would be a good alternate choice, if you are intimidated by this heater.

Feel free to click the +1 button if you found this helpful.

Determine MPG of your vehicle, and cost per mile (Canadian)

Add to Bookmarks

Index

The URL for this web page:
http://www3.telus.net/shebang/defensivedriving.html

Disclaimer information
and web site policies.

Defensive Driving Tips That Keep You Safe on the Road.