Thursday, December 18, 2014

Driving Tips

When it comes to driving, there are always dangers. However, adopting a few practices can help us avoid getting into accidents. As a result, here are some tips and tidbits to help improve your driving experience.

Avoid rushing. Try to make it so you don't drive recklessly by giving yourself enough time to make it to your destination. If you are stuck in traffic or something similar in nature, just explain it to your appointment. Don't do something that might cause an accident and make it so you can't make it there anyways. Also, by not rushing, you can stay awake and aware of the bad drivers who make dangerous and stupid maneuvers.

Know your Yellow Lights. From what I have seen, Yellow Lights typically stay for about one-tenth of the Speed Limit in seconds. So for a 50 MPH zone, the light will stay yellow for about 5 seconds, but don't take it for granted. Some areas do have it shorter so you should pay attention and drive through only if you believe you can make it before it turns red. This means don't try to make left turns when the light is already Yellow. It will generally be red before you even start turning. While you can make a yellow light if you are going straight, you can truly never make it while turning left.

Don't start as soon as you see Green. Part of the reason is said above. People will try to make left turns even when the light turns yellow. This means the light will turn green for you before they finish. Wait until it's clear before you start.

Change lanes safely. Don't change lanes as soon as the car passes you because they might unexpectedly slam on their breaks as you aren't looking. Don't change lanes when you just pass a car either because they might be accelerating and not notice you, especially if you are speeding at 10 MPH faster than everyone else.

Turn Red Lights into good things. If your significant other is with you, make red lights romantic. One way red lights have been less tedious for me is that it means I can get a nice hug or kiss while we are waiting. There are other things you can do too such as use them as opportunities to check your gas tank or change the radio. Just make sure you stay aware of your surroundings.

Plan your route. GPS is a great tool but people's dependency has caused them to stop planning their trips. This means these drivers don't know which lane to get into or when they need to make a turn right after making a turn. If you plan your route, you can determine the lanes you need to get into and keep you from making many dangerous maneuvers.

Look ahead. You should always pay attention to the car in front of you, but you should also take note of the car in front of that one. Whatever the next car does will generally impact the car in front of you and therefore you can anticipate what you need to do. No reason to accelerate if you know the head car is braking. Also, Red always trumps. If the light is green but the car in front is braking, then you need to brake.

Know the roads. Once I was driving and the woman behind me was being impatient going just at the speed limit. However, I feel like she didn't know the road because there is a good reason for the speed limit. Because you are going uphill, she didn't know that it becomes a steep drop all of a sudden and there is a traffic light in the middle. Until you make the last-second turn, you don't know if it's green or red. Also, if you don't press the brake, you can easily accelerate from 45 to 60 MPH. However, that isn't the only reason. There is another light at the bottom of the hill. However, even thoguh you can tell if the light is red, you cannot tell how many cars are stopped at it. There can be as many as 20 cars and you wouldn't be able to tell because of a wall that blocks the view until you make a turn. You cannot go fast than 45 MPH if you want to brake in time. If you know all of this ahead of time, then you can avoid making foolish mistakes.

Keep a safe distance. Tailgating is stupid, even more so when you are tailgating a truck. If the car has to brake all of a sudden, then you can be incredibly screwed and it's all your fault. Note that it's harder to brake when you have a bigger car than the one in front of you, meaning it is more likely to cause an accident. Also, when you do it behind a car bigger than yours, you block your view so you can miss what's happening ahead or the signs that tell you where you need to go. Besides, if you keep a good distance, even if the car ahead of you is braking for a second, you can just coast and you'll be fine. No braking necessary in so many cases if you keep the right distance. A good distance is generally 2 seconds behind the car in front. You should also be able to see the light in front of it under the car. Also, if you keep a safe distance, this allows for smooth lane changing that doesn't even affect your speed much. It's a win-win practice.



Friday, December 5, 2014

Speed Prompt

Hi everyone,
    I had the intention on writing a post on Balancing Good and Evil, but I am going to need more time to think about it. Until then, I have a prompt for you to consider. What tells your mind if you are moving fast? Is it a visual queue? For example, if trees are close together, I feel sometimes I'm moving faster even though I'm only going 40 MPH as opposed to when I'm going 60 MPH and the trees are far apart. Then again, perhaps it's because those trees might be on curve and the ones far apart are on a straight road. Maybe it's a feeling of resistance and bouncing. If you are in a car with a bad suspension and low to the ground, you might feel like you are going faster than if you were going faster in a truck with a smooth suspension. What are your thoughts?

N. D. Moharo