Driving obeservations

[guy 27]

As some of you may or may not know I do a lot of driving both city and interstate highway driving.

Over the past few month I have noticed that people have been getting lazy with driving habits. This not only applies to the general public but also to a few members here on the forum.
The main thing I want to bring up here in this post is care and precautions with driving on highways.

On my most recent interstate trip during peak holiday traffic. The amount of near accidents I saw was alarming.
I am asking you to read this and maybe even forward this on if you feel necessary.

1) Driving while fatigued.
Please know you are not super human and can drive for long distances without breaks. ( I know this may seem a little hypocritical as I drive Melb - Bris in one hit) You are not the only one on the road and remember others may be more fatigued than you. Fatigue is one of the largest factors of deaths on Australian roads only falling behind speeding and drink driving.
Every 2 hours make sure you stop and take a break. A habit I get into is to walk around the car several times. (This is also a good opportunity to make sure all lights on the car are working)
Avoid driving at times that you would usually be sleeping. If you must leave early than make sure you are wide awake before you set off. (Have a shower and a cup of coffee.) If you are driving past your usual bedtime. Take breaks more often.
If possible swap driving with the passanger. (In situations where I have a passanger on long/overnight drives, I ask them to get some sleep during the day so when night falls neither are asleep.)

2) Safe Distances
This is the one that probably annoys me the most.
People who do not keep a safe distance between the car in front. It is recommended to keep atleast 2 seconds distance. Pick a marker on the road. count the time from the rear of vehical in front to pass it until your front reaches it.
I will always keep at least 2-3 seconds in dry conditions. More in wet conditions and 10 seconds or more between 11pm - 6am to allow for fatigued drivers.

3) Overtaking

It is not legal to go above the speed limit whilst overtaking.
If you come up to a slower moving vehicle. Be patient Remember in some states Learners and P platers are only allowed a certain max speed.
Remember to keep your safe driving distance at all times. Wait for an overtaking lane or a clear opportunity to overtake.
Once you have go in front of the other vehicle always try to allow for a 2 second gap between the vehicles before moving back into the left lane.
( I will never overtake a vehicle unless I have enough opportunity to allow for this gap. It is not worth the few minutes you may save on your drive to cause an accident)

4) The Left Lane
On roads with speeds of 80km/h and above stay in the left lane unless overtaking.
The number of people who ignore this rule is appalling.


5) Road Hazards
Should you come across a hazard on the road judge the situation quickly.
example: traffic come to a stop over a crest in 110km/h zone. Give plenty of brake warning to any cars following. Make sure to give ample room to move your car forward if car behind does not stop in time.
A method I have taken up if I need to slow down is to flash the rear brake lights a few times before I brake. This will get the attention of the driver behind and let them know to prepare to brake.
If there is a car pulled over on the side of the road. If safe move to into the right lane as to not pass by them too closely.

6) Cruise control
If your car has it. Use it. Not only will you improve your fuel economy it makes the drive easier.


7) Merging traffic
If you are merging do not apply the brakes on your car unless absolutely necessary. Make sure you indicate. 99% of the time people will let you in. Keep safe distance at all times from cars in front of you.
Always do a shoulder check when merging as you may have missed the car in your blind spot.
If you are already on the main road always look for merging vehicles. If safe move into the right lane to give them room to merge without hassles. Making them brake for the sake of you not wanting to move over is selfish and dangerous.

8) Your car
Before leaving on journey. make a checklist of things to do before setting off.
For me the day before I always check all 5 tyres pressure, check water level, check oil level, top up window washer fluid, clean windows, check all lights. Make sure I have tools, torch and spare bulbs/fuses in case of emergency.




That is all I can think of for now. If you have any more to add please do.

[brc]

I must say mate, thank you for this advise. I'm sure 90% of the people know a lot of these rules but to refresh peoples memories is very important. Also helps keep our roads safe!

[hazrd]

fantastic write up dude

another safety tip... if in the event of a breakdown, where possible, pull over as far as possible from the road. if you are on a highway/freeway that has an open shoulder (shoulder turns to open fields etc) step out of the car, and move as far away as safely possible.

where you are on a highway where there is nowhere to go when outside of the car (examples like the domain tunnel for the melbournians, the F3 where the rocky walls are for NSWers, and so on) STAY IN THE VEHICLE..
ive seen too many people broken down on the side of the road where they have barely got the car off the road, or just angled it into the shoulder, then just left the car there.. or if they are still there, they are standing next to the car?! :mad2:

when changing a flat.. if your car has it (the calibra has, not sure what other models have it) make sure u take out the reflective hazard sign and set it up about 20 steps away from the car (if your car does not have one of these, make sure u use the hazard lights)


short story... cant remember where i heard it from... there was a guy whose car broke down, he pulled over to the shoulder, went to call for help and realised he had no phone coverage. he saw there was a bit of a hill to the side so he hopped out and proceeded up the hill
as this was happening, a truck was nearing where he was parked and blew a tyre, the truck lost control and ploughed straight into his car... no more than 2mins after him getting out...

be safe out there

[guy 27]

I must say mate, thank you for this advise. I'm sure 90% of the people know a lot of these rules but to refresh peoples memories is very important. Also helps keep our roads safe!

there were way too many people on the roads over the weekend failed at everyone of these rules/points.

[brc]

Thats why my parents told me before I get my licence, "It's not you're driving were worried about, it's everyone elses".

[Shay]

fantastic write up dude

another safety tip... if in the event of a breakdown, where possible, pull over as far as possible from the road. if you are on a highway/freeway that has an open shoulder (shoulder turns to open fields etc) step out of the car, and move as far away as safely possible.

where you are on a highway where there is nowhere to go when outside of the car (examples like the domain tunnel for the melbournians, the F3 where the rocky walls are for NSWers, and so on) STAY IN THE VEHICLE..
ive seen too many people broken down on the side of the road where they have barely got the car off the road, or just angled it into the shoulder, then just left the car there.. or if they are still there, they are standing next to the car?! :mad2:

when changing a flat.. if your car has it (the calibra has, not sure what other models have it) make sure u take out the reflective hazard sign and set it up about 20 steps away from the car (if your car does not have one of these, make sure u use the hazard lights)


short story... cant remember where i heard it from... there was a guy whose car broke down, he pulled over to the shoulder, went to call for help and realised he had no phone coverage. he saw there was a bit of a hill to the side so he hopped out and proceeded up the hill
as this was happening, a truck was nearing where he was parked and blew a tyre, the truck lost control and ploughed straight into his car... no more than 2mins after him getting out...

be safe out there

Another story to re-iterate this.

one of my neighbours owns a company that have many truck drivers. ONe of their best drivers (perfect driving record) had a terrible accident recently .
A bloke had pulled over on the side of the highway, just over the white line. The bloke got out and was sitting leaning against his car on the passenger side.
The truck driver whilst coming from the opposite has passed out or blacked out for a reason still unknown, veered across the lane an ran into the drivers side front quarter panel at 110kmh in a full road train carrying soil and rocks. Owner of the car died instantly, trucky severely injured but ok. Family of car owner pushed for manslaughter charges, according to the police and courts they had no case as the car was not far enough of the road and the driver shouldnt have been there, charges were not laid.

[hazrd]

this ^^^^^^ reinforces my point :yesnod:

[HoldenAstra]

+++1

and don't wear slippers when driving especially in summer.

[Red AH SRI T]

In regards to people having accidents im sick of seeing people crashed or with a flat tyre and not turning their freaking hazard lights on. How hard can it be douchebags?

[ASTRAY]

excellent advice by everyone.
guy, there are so many things you have suggseted, that i do.
walking around car, stopping for cigarette instead of just smoking it in the car.
hopping into right lane when there is a merge lane to the left.
if its hard to tell if there might be someone who needs to merge,. just hop in the right lane anyway.
if you are stuck in traffic where it seems your lane is getting ahead quicker, let one or two cars from the other lane in.

with learners/p platers being in a different state...
from my own experience victorian learners/p platers are allowed to do the sign posted limit, including 110km, nsw are not.
if a nsw driver is in victoria, the nsw driver must follow their own license rules, not victorian rules.
p platers are the same... and yes there is a way for the police to know if you are vic or nsw p plater....
nsw red p plate has white background and red p
vic red p plate has red background and white p.
same with greens i think.
i agree with what someone else here said....
whenever im talking too a friend who is learning to drive, i tell them to trust themselves, and trust no other drivers on the road, that way you are always aware of other drivers driving behaviour.

[Calibrated]

something i have noticed over the last few weeks...

if its raining... your car is fitted with wipers. no, they arent an optional extra. they actually come standard. which means, when it rains. YOU USE THEM.

i dont understand how i can have my wipers on.. and watch you in my rear view mirror. and while my wipers have wiped 4 or 5 times.. yours are still not switched on. how can you even see out your window anymore?

surprisingly enough, thats been on at least 10 cars, that i have noticed anyway.

[BEK-46P]

Beh? What happened to the missing posts?

[imay]

Biggest highway driving problem I continually experience is:
City drivers who suddenly hit a road where they can drive at 100-110 kmh -- that's over 40 kmh faster than they are used to. The average city (metropolitan road user) driver has absolutely no idea about how quickly every thing happens at 100+ kmh. Absolutely no idea about how to drive at these speeds. And we wonder why accidents keep happening on open highways?

It's so scary having some family off on holidays with dad at the wheel just a car length or so behind you at 100, just itching to get past so he can get to his destination just that little bit earlier.
It's so scary watching this family pull out to overtake simply because the driver is so used to being in front of the line of traffic on his way to work.
It's so scary watching this same driver yank his car (filled with unaware family members) back in front of you just as that fully laden semi screams by heading in the opposite direction - oh, there's an overtaking lane just a couple of km up the road too!
It's so scary following this driver and watching him take corners at speeds far in excess of what either he or his fully laden car is safely capable of doing.
It's so refreshing to come across the next town and pull in and take a break, and hope that that family makes it to their holiday destination.

It's so scary to hop back into my car and have the same scenario repeated over and over again.

Take it easy out there guys . . . . please!

[imay]

something i have noticed over the last few weeks...

if its raining... your car is fitted with wipers. no, they arent an optional extra. they actually come standard. which means, when it rains. YOU USE THEM.

i dont understand how i can have my wipers on.. and watch you in my rear view mirror. and while my wipers have wiped 4 or 5 times.. yours are still not switched on. how can you even see out your window anymore?


It's called Rainex. I use it and swear by it. I find wipers very distracting and will only use them when I absolutely have to.
Properly applied Rainex to a clean windscreen before heading off on a journey works wonders. Quite often (highway speeds at least) the air moving over the windscreen is enough to remove the water and leave the windscreen as clear as a wiper would make them. Maybe not in heavy rain, but that annoying misty stuff, most certainly.

[Calibrated]

yeah i know about rainex :p

with these cars, they certainly did not have it. and it was monsoonal rain too.

[auzvectra]

to add 2 the hazard lights, i prefer the parkers aswell. as the time the hazards are off, people could be looking, but look away as they turn on :).

[hilary_1987]

Another point is to make is driving to the conditions, if you don't know the roads that well and the speed is 110 you dont have to do the speed limit, or if the roads wet, if theres heaps of glare off the road, if the road surface isn't that great, just slow down take it easy better to arrive late than not at all.

All the things people have mentioned on here all sound so basic but its so true, just take it on board and think about it next time the situation applies to you, because one simple **** up can take away a persons life so easily.

[glider]

Another point is to make is driving to the conditions

this is the biggest thing people need to be taught imo... I think we need more driving courses being mandatory to teach the stupid ones out there...

[hilary_1987]

Eactly just because people see a sign that says the speed limit its like they automatically think they can do that speed. Down here we had a big add for road safety about driving to the conditions, there was a picture of a speed sign with an asterix next to it and in writing below it said *Subject to terms and road conditions. I thought it got the message accross quite well but whether or not people apply it to themselves is another thing, I think alot of people are stuck in the mentality of "it won't happen to me".

[gmonkey]

by slippers do u mean thongs?? ive worn thongs will driving before and got the accelerator pedal between my foot and the thong. so couldnt get to the brake.. ended up popping outta gear and left foot braking as couldnt get my foot clear.. i now never wear thongs in the car :p

[imay]

ive worn thongs will driving before and got the accelerator pedal between my foot and the thong. so couldnt get to the brake.. ended up popping outta gear and left foot braking as could get foot clear.. i now never wear thongs in the car :p

Not intending to be sexist at all here . . . but what about women in high heels who think nothing of pumping the pedals while still wearing them!!!! My daughter-in-law insists it doesn't impede her driving ability one little bit. Give me a break!

[gmonkey]

haha i think their heels would be a bit tighter fitting than a pair of pluggers :p also id hate to see her carpets floor!! thered by a nice hefty hole in it now id imagine!

[poita]

wenever i can i drive without any shoes on at all

have a much better feel for the pedals then.

plus with my giant feet in the mazda, i sometimes push the acc and brake at the same time

[Keep'emRunning]

A mate and his grand-dad were in a pretty nasty head on in an XB falcon in the 70's.. both received cuts and 2nd/3rd degree burns to their feet from hot oil.

Cars are a bit safer now, but still always wear covered shoes no matter how uncomfortable they can be :)

An observation over most holiday periods.. without notice, drivers stopping and turning and using their indicator at the last second, so you get stuck behind them. Grrr!

[auzvectra]

wenever i can i drive without any shoes on at all

have a much better feel for the pedals then.

plus with my giant feet in the mazda, i sometimes push the acc and brake at the same time


i can 2nd that, i have trouble driving falcons, as they have very lil room btween the brake and kick panel, on the au's i even have to twist my foot to use the accel past 1/4 throttle :(.

[Shay]

wenever i can i drive without any shoes on at all

have a much better feel for the pedals then.

plus with my giant feet in the mazda, i sometimes push the acc and brake at the same time

+1

i NEVER wear shoes when i dont have to, so why wear them when drivin.

[glider]

+1

i NEVER wear shoes when i dont have to, so why wear them when drivin.

because some people have to wear them for work, so just get used to it and do it all the time... I have to wear steel cap boots for work, sometimes I'll leave them on driving home in the car... othertimes I'll take them off... I remember when I was learning to drive the truck the driving instructor said they wanted me to be wearing shoes...

[ASTRAY]

Not intending to be sexist at all here . . . but what about women in high heels who think nothing of pumping the pedals while still wearing them!!!! My daughter-in-law insists it doesn't impede her driving ability one little bit. Give me a break!

also women who hop in the car, remove their shoes, and just kick them back, aka shoes still in the drivers foot well, well almost under the drivers seat, to me its bloody dangerous!
ruth = guilty!
and ive just read this to her and am glaaaaaaaring at her.

[brc]

Worst thing I've noticed is fatigue. The other week (when i went to pick up my new SRi-T) i flew up to QLD and drove back. Between Brisbane and Sydney on the Pacific Hwy the speedlimit changed from 110 to 60. During this time a truck behind me wasn't paying attention. As I'm only on my P's and didn't want to get pulled over I obeyed the speed limit and slowed down to 60 at the sign. The truck was jacking off or w/e. But he didn't slow down... Lucky I was paying attention I dropped it back to second gear at 60kph and just gave it the boot. He JUST, and when I say JUST i mean JUST missed me ! ! less than one meter between us.. Then he had the balls to pull his horn at me!? **** that, I let him overtake me and waiting a few hours until he turned into the servo. Boy did he cop a big one to the nose. Who dares damage my new SRi-T :\!?

Another note, I have to take my shoes off also. I'm size 13 and a lot of the time can't seem to fit my feet properly on the accelerator as it touches the break. FML :(

[Calibrated]

people in north brisbane would have noticed the ****ed visibility this morning. rain so hard you could barely see 30m infront of you. yet some morons still dont think to put their headlights on!!! YES YOU IDIOT GRANNY IN YOUR BLACK CAMRY, AND YES YOU STUPID ISLANDER FATTY IN YOUR DARK BLUE LANDCRUISER. was hard enough to see cars with lights on... i didnt even know you were on the road until you suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the lights.

[guy 27]

people in north brisbane would have noticed the ****ed visibility this morning. rain so hard you could barely see 30m infront of you. yet some morons still dont think to put their headlights on!!! YES YOU IDIOT GRANNY IN YOUR BLACK CAMRY, AND YES YOU STUPID ISLANDER FATTY IN YOUR DARK BLUE LANDCRUISER. was hard enough to see cars with lights on... i didnt even know you were on the road until you suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the lights.

on this topic. I heard that it was now legal in qld to use fog lights in heavy rain. Is this true? is it for front or rear fogs?

[Calibrated]

on this topic. I heard that it was now legal in qld to use fog lights in heavy rain. Is this true? is it for front or rear fogs?
as far as i am aware fogs can be used at any time there is "reduced visibility"

[Shay]

because some people have to wear them for work, so just get used to it and do it all the time... I have to wear steel cap boots for work, sometimes I'll leave them on driving home in the car... othertimes I'll take them off... I remember when I was learning to drive the truck the driving instructor said they wanted me to be wearing shoes...

well, thats fine, i wear shoes for work, and i wear them til i get home, i just mean general day to day i never wear shoes, even in winter i wear thongs...

[sooty]

A pet peeve of mine, and i'm not sure of the rules in other states, is people's inability to decipher the difference between a zip merging occurence, and the termination of the lane, and how to act accordingly. This leads to people using indicators incorrectly and causing all sorts of confusion. With so much money put into ads about speeding etc, surely little refreshers on some of the more poorly understood road rules would be useful 30second adverts. It's not that people mean to drive incorrectly (most of the time), they're just oblivious to what the law says is the correct procedure.

[AfterBurner]

My biggest hate, esp. on Sydney roads is when ppl have a rear end acco or a slight pile-up where all cars are still clearly driveable... Do they move over to the shoulder or pull into the next servo?? Of course ****ing not... they all get out, start waving arms & hands about, then get out the note books, wait for Cops to arrive (who should fine them for obstructing traffic), then when the towies arrive they finally get back in & move their cars away... Fkn cokheads...

If u have an Acco & can still drive the car 20 or 30m off the road, for christ's sake fkn move it...


The other point i find annoying is Headlights not turned on in the rain, as mentioned previously... Another pet hate of mine...

Also, ppl that believe they're not required to indicate prior to changing lanes etc...

[imay]

It's not that people mean to drive incorrectly (most of the time), they're just oblivious to what the law says is the correct procedure.

Or is it simply a matter of drivers don't give a damn! -- Up your's jack, I'm moving in. - Not in front of me you don't, get in behind me.

Along the same lines as this situation - really peeves me when the merging traffic decides to slow right down or STOP to allow traffic coming up in the fast/straight through lane to get ahead. Too much indecision and hesitation, and too much intolerance from on-coming drivers to allow them to enter safely.

[glider]

people in north brisbane would have noticed the ****ed visibility this morning. rain so hard you could barely see 30m infront of you. yet some morons still dont think to put their headlights on!!!

omg you took the words out of my mouth... was coming down gympie-arterial road this morning (for those not playing at home this is a 100km/hr road). the problem I have is (and I'm sure the problem exists for most if not all trucks) the mirrors get water on them and stay there in droplets/mist, and it is impossible to see any vehicle in them, unless they have their lights on... if you have to change lanes... you basically have to indicate for a good 5 seconds... and hope they've got out of the fkn way... sometimes I want to put a big sign on the back of the truck saying... if its raining, put your lights on or I cant see you

[MatsHolden]

as far as i am aware fogs can be used at any time there is "reduced visibility"

That is true. Could be fog, dust, smoke, rain etc.