Control Yourself and Your Vehicle

Subject: Re: car phones Date: 02 Feb 1998 00:00:00 GMT From: stephen@mendel.UCSC.EDU () Organization: UC Santa Cruz Newsgroups: scruz.general References: 1 , 2 , 3 In article lrc@netcom.com (Larry Colen) writes: >Kurt Thams (thams@snooze.thams.com) wrote: > > >: I know that most drivers think they have quicker response >: ability than they actually do. They also seem to not appreciate >: that their vehicle doesn't actually stop very quickly, even if >: they did have perfect responses. > >It's not reaction time, it's thinking ahead and being prepared. Hmm I think it is like this... see red light start pressing on brakes term= reaction time. >The driver who is aware of his surroundings will see the problem >developing before it happens. The average driver may notice >the brakelights of the car in front of him after he reacts to ^^^^ >the brakelights of the driver reacting to the problem that ^^^^^^^ >all of the drivers should be responding to as the situation >developes. Also, a good driver knows that there is more >to avoiding an accident than hitting the brakes. A car can >steer around an obstruction a lot faster than it can stop. >Hitting the brakes in the rain, on a turn can transfer the >weight (and traction) from the rear tires to the front, causing >a spin. As a matter of fact there is an old racing adage: >when it doubt, gas it. > >A friend of mine was very amused to hear me telling my students that >just because they were ina spin does not mean that they had lost all >control of the car. There are several option for controlling where >a car goes, even after you enter a spin. > >: Another feature of this driving simulator would be an exercise >: where the driver was instructed to do the same trip twice: >: in the first case, driving safely. In the second case, driving >: as quickly as possible getting around other cars. At the end, >: you show the difference in clock time, which would very small. > >Don't bet on it. The speed limit on 17 is 50. In moderate traffic >I can average close to 70. If I was trying to make my best time, >I could probably average better than 80. That's a time savings >of over 30%. Granted, I generally prefer to not to drive too much >faster than 80 on 17, but unless you rigged the demo, chances are >it would show the opposite effect from what you desire. > >: I guess if I was king, another thing I'd like is to force >: people to learn something about how aggressive tailgating, lane >: changing, merging (plus rubbernecking at accidents) causes >: traffic to be much worse than it otherwise would be. > >Aggressive tailgating can actually reduce the damage in an accident. >Remember, it is the delta-V that causes the damage and if two cars >are close together, they don't have time to develope much delta-V >before they collide with one another, minimizing the damage due to >the collsion. > > >-- >Inspiration is a cat. It never comes when you call it, but >just try to get something else done when it wants your attention. >lrc@netcom.com lrc@red4est.felton.ca.us pager:408-OYSTERS -- Stephen Hauskins

My Comments

This writer had a lot of important things to say. He deals with the aspect of being a "good driver" by looking ahead and reacting wisely (knowing when to brake and accelerate). He also tackles the issue of being able to avoid potential accidents by controlling your vehicle if caught in a spin. The writer briefly mentions a "driving simulator," where he has compared two of the same road trips, at different speeds. Lastly, he talks about aggressive tailgating and how this could, in fact, minimize the damage if involved in an accident.

I agree with the writer when he said that in order to be a good driver, you must be aware at all times, looking at what is ahead of you and reacting to it ahead of time (and not falling asleep at the wheel!) But, I don't think it stops there. There is more to it than that. I think a lot of it has to deal with attitude. Your attitude while driving could be a huge factor in how you react to various things on the road. There have been many incidents where self-witnessing has taken place in vehicles. One young woman placed a tape recorder in her car to record her sounds and words while driving. She found some very interesting results, such as her tendency to grunt a lot when dealing with "slow drivers". I think if people were to try some form of self-witnessing while driving, they would be startled at what they find.

One of the last brief comments made by this writer dealt with rubberneckers (Check this brief site out for an amusing story of a certain rubbernecker). I, for one, cannot stand these types of drivers who HAVE to stare at an accident while driving. I mean, looking briefly at it would seem okay. But slowing down traffic more than its needed just to look at an accident is too much! It makes me angry because these people are so curious and it brings about an even greater risk for them to get into an accident because their attention has probably shifted from driving to checking the accident out. Is it just in some people's nature to look? Is it a part of human moral development?

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