My niece has reached driving age, and honestly, it’s so exciting. Weirdly, perhaps the most surprising part is that she’s into it; a lot of today’s teens don’t really care about driving and don’t really want to get good at it, either. Thankfully, both her dad and her aunt (me) are car fanatics. This means the poor kid is bombarded with advice.
I feel like I have four favorite tips that I like to give to new drivers, regardless of age.
My first, and perhaps my favorite bit of advice, is to look farther than your vehicle’s hood. It sounds silly, but a lot of folks don’t really look ahead and only look at what’s going on directly in front of their bumper. This is risky because conditions can change ahead of your vehicle, and you want to be aware of your surroundings so you can react to them. An overloaded truck that might spill an end table onto the highway, a bicyclist who might swerve unexpectedly, an Altima that might suddenly Altima … the sooner you spot these things, the more time you have to anticipate what might happen, and the more prepared you’ll be to react.
With that in mind, I think it’s also important to have an escape plan. By this, I mean you should scan your surroundings for hazards and places to go if conditions go downhill. Is there sufficient room to change lanes? Is the shoulder safe to enter if needed? A good driver is always ready to X when Y happens, if it happens.
My last two pieces of advice are tied together. I’ve noticed some self-taught drivers develop bad habits, primarily inconsistent speed (instead of holding, say, 50mph, they accelerate to 50, let off the gas and drift down to 40mph, then surge back to 50, and repeat) and braking with their left foot. The latter makes it easy to accidentally confuse the pedals and cause an accident, and the former wastes fuel and may give passengers seasickness.
[Ed note: I once had a ride home in a Town Car from a driver who was not only unable to maintain speed as Mercedes describes, but he couldn’t hold a line, either; he constantly drifted out of lane and corrected, and on/off ramps were navigated by tugging the wheel to direct the car away from the outside barrier, letting the car get close to it again, and re-tugging. Instead of maintaining a constant radius, an off-ramp might be twenty straight-line facets, with the Town Car wallowing like a rowboat the entire time. I have never been so nauseous in my life. – Pete]
Admittedly, my lovely wife pumped her gas pedal a lot when I met her. I remembered myself feeling sick and not knowing why. Then, I saw that the engine revs were constantly going up and down – the car had a CVT – and then looked at the gas pedal. Then, we watched a marathon of Canada’s Worst Driver (an episode is embedded above), and, amazingly, it made a night-and-day difference. Honestly, if you’ve never seen Canada’s Worst Driver before, I highly recommend it. The show is great edu-tainment.
Those are just the pieces of advice at the top of my head. How about you? What would you teach a new driver?
Top graphic image: DepositPhotos.com
I’ll assume people have already covered the various things you should do to AVOID getting into an accident. So, I’ll talk about what you should do immediately AFTER an accident (or, after the initial impact to be precise).
My advice is: after the first impact, if your car is still moving, KEEP DRIVING IT! I don’t mean to drive away of course, but I mean keep steering and braking and (if necessary to avoid another impact) accelerating too. I speak not from personal experience, but rather from the literally thousands and thousands of accidents I’ve watched on video… after the initial impact, SO MANY drivers are just ‘along for the ride’ and not bothering to try to avoid another imapact. I understand they’re probably still in shock from the first hit, but I’ve seen lots of cars just coast unguided after that into a wall or guard rail or another vehicle. Sometimes, the result of subsequent hits that could have been avoided doubles the damage to the car, or worse, the people inside.
Anyone who’s paid for bodywork knows how expensive it is, and if you get rear ended, and the cost to fix your car is X, then cost will actually be X+Y if you didn’t bother to step on the brakes to keep your car from eventually rolling into the car in front of you, causing front-end damage (the Y).
Also: no feet up on the dash EVER from your front-seat passenger, unless they want to risk life-changing injuries if the driver falls asleep and goes head-on into a snowplow coming the other way. And: if you’re going to crash or are crashing, don’t keep your thumbs hooked around the steering wheel.
Also (again) for pete’s sake, keep a working fire extinguisher in your car. I also have a glass break/belt cutter too, a flashlight, and a modest first-aid kit just in case. If not for me and mine, then I have them for others.
New(er) cars are so much safer than older cars. Even a cheap/small new car vs. a bigger, old, ‘safe’ car: the old car might look a bit better after the crash, but the humans (and pets) riding in the newer car will probably have less severe injuries. I daily a Volvo 240 wagon: despite being renowned as a very safe car (and it was, 50 years ago when it was designed) I am positive that it’s less safe in a big accident than a 20 year old Volvo, or a 2 year old Nissan.
Get out of my way!
J/k – lot’s of good advice here. Do all those and also teach them how to change a flat tire PROPERLY. And explain to them what a smaller diameter donut does to a diff if you put it on a driven axle. I absolutely LOVE seeing people blaze down the highway at 85 with a donut for a front wheel. Diff pin, spiders, side gears all having a party in there.
Both of my kids were not allowed to drive on their own, until they proved to me that they could change a tire.
Late braking before the apex. It’s the hardest thing to learn.
Oh, also:
-the angle of the front tires and general lane position will tell you infinitely more about a driver’s intentions than turn signals ever will.
Love this advice. Even when I was a teen, I begged my mom not to tap the brakes going through an intersection on the green. The nose of the car dips and someone turning on red might, just might, think you’re turning without a blinker.
If you live where there is inclement weather, then make them drive in it with guidance.
Snow storm? Great, we’re going for a drive through the shittiest roads we can find.
We’re also going to an open lot of some kind, and we’re gonna slide the car and recover it. I’ll bring pylons if I must.
In dry conditions? Pylons and empty/dead-end roads are a perfect place to practice emergency maneuvers. (Accelerate to 50-60km/h, and swerve through the pylons, aka emergency lane change).
They need to both have false confidence removed, and proper confidence instilled through knowledge and practice.
Hell, once they’re comfortable, take them to a local autocross event. The more they can make their vehicle of choice dance, the better their odds of accident avoidance are.
This is what I told my son after he came back from one of his early driving lessons with an instructor that didn’t go well:
Stop is on the left, go is on the right. That big round thing in the middle controls the direction. Stay between the lines, go the speed limit, don’t hit anyone and don’t get hit. That’s driving.
“Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.”
Just mentioned that movie to a friend an hour or two ago! He’s sick on the couch and “One Crazy Summer” came on – he hadn’t seen it and asked if it was any good. I said, “It’s like Better Off Dead, but with sails instead of skis.” The Japanese guys learning English from Howard Cosell is one of the funnier bits I’ve seen in a movie.
I’m damn near 50 and when asked for advice I very frequently give that response – regardless of the context.
ANTICIPATE. Plan ahead and don’t simply react to the driver in front of you. This will prevent a lot of problems.
My advice, since she’s probably student age (and even if AFAK alcohol is not allowed before 21 in USA) :
Drink exclusive or Drive.
You can’t do both, period.
You’re 2 seconds away from a life changing manslaughter charge everytime you get behind the wheel. Pay attention, no rush is worth that.
This is excellent advice that probably many long-time drivers need to hear.
A friend of mine had a bumper sticker that sums it up perfectly:
Other people exist
Learn what it feels like when ABS kicks in. That vibration, noise and panic is not a good combo. I always role modeled “brake tests” when the road was snowy, sandy or wet to show that I was testing for the conditions, and also to show them what ABS does.
We also went beyond the usual and turned off traction and stability control in snowy lots and on frozen lakes. Good times while learning. I took the entire neighborhood of kids out on the lake for “sliding practice”. You learn understeer and oversteer in real time in about 20 seconds when on ice.
I concur wiith the snowy & Icy lots*driving*
That’s what I did to learn beyond the basics driving on thos conditions after I put my car in a piile of snow and had to spend half an hour shovelling snow to extract it from there.
Luckily for me I has the nice Chamrousse ski resort parking lot all for myself and other students from Grenoble that had the same iidea) to play wiith. Lots of ice and snow, massive snowbanks in case you reach the limits skidding…
And a surface large enough to spin around several time and try to get control back.
(loosing control was easy enough : accelerate to 20km/h, press the brake hard, turn the wheel… if you do it right you are skidding in a direction you didn’t expect to go)
Try brakes in the dry too. My lgt turned from throw to pressure in brake effect, which most missed. Best to learn the real stopping power in a empty parking lot.
Man, there is a lot to distill here. Basically, be smooth and predictable. Pay attention to what you are doing. Pay attention to what everyone else is doing. Do your thing and prepare to react if needed. Try to stay away from the lunatics (phone addicts, freeway racers, Brodozers doing 90 and tailgating everyone) seriously, just let them go by you. Keep your vehicle maintained so you have no surprises. Get to where you are going safely.
In a car: they won’t care if they kill you
On a motorcycle: they won’t know that they’re going to kill you
On a bicycle: they want to kill you
Drive and ride accordingly.
I have loved cars and bicycles since I was a kid. With distracted drivers these days all my bike rides are in the woods. I save the car antics for HDPE and autocross. I have too much of a loving spouse to try a motorcycle since I would instantly love it and then be dead.
Absolutely agree. I’ve raced mt. bikes over the years and road going guys absolutely blow my mind. I live on a pretty busy road (13 mile in Detroit) and these guys ride on two-lane, no-shoulder, pothole-filled roads with their back to traffic. I would never ride down an active road – perhaps even one with a bike lane.
I’ve definitely cut my bicycle riding down just out of fear of the drivers with whom I have to share the road. I won’t recount all the terrors and horrors, but you’re not often more than one degree separated from someone who has been clipped, hit (especially “and run”), paralyzed, or killed.
I love cycling, or used to. Now it stresses me out so badly I just avoid it. It helps that my favorite bike was stolen, but that’s beside the point.
Man, there is a lot to distill here.
-Basically, be smooth and predictable
-Pay attention to what you are doing
-Pay attention to what everyone else is doing
-Do your thing and prepare to react if needed
-Try to stay away from the lunatics (phone addicts, freeway racers, Brodozers doing 90 and tailgating everyone) seriously, just let them go by you
-Keep your vehicle maintained so you have no surprises
-Get to where you are going safely
Simple advice given by my father (who was given this advice by Graham Hill): “Never assume you’re a good driver until you’ve got at least a million miles on the clock.” Over-confidence is a killer (especially back in those days!), but knowing you still have some learning to do keeps you safer and will eventually make you a better driver
More advice for parents buying the kid a first car. Something big and low powered for at least the first couple of years.
And the basics for the the learner which are not always explicitly taught — scan your instruments every five mins at least, and your rear view mirror at least every minute.
100%^. I grew up outside Detroit and the rich guys would buy their kids convertible cameros and mustangs for their senior year in high school – which in Michigan includes a lot of ice and snow. It’s a bit amazing any of them survived at all.
I’ll add one that helped me a lot: Drive as many different vehicles as you can get your hands on. A variety of different-feeling cars, and different views over the hood, will keep you on your toes. You don’t want to get too comfortable with any one car; you want to improve your general driving skills, and to do that, it’s immensely helpful to experience how different cars react to inputs.
Lots of good advice, but I think I have one thing to add:
Limo stops.
I’m not sure if anyone else was taught this, or what it was called, but I was taught to always come to a stop like you’re driving a limo. So smoothly you wouldn’t upset a glass of champagne.
Essentially, you want to come to a stop by first applying very light brake pressure, slowly increasing it until you’ve bled off half of your speed, then gently easing off, ideally coming to a stop with your foot barely pressing the pedal.
It’s not for being comfortable or keeping your groceries upright, but because it makes the car more controllable when there’s limited traction. If you encounter an unexpected patch of ice, you have room to correct – and even if you can’t, you’re moving much more slowly than the usual ‘wait until the last second and dive stop’ that most people do.
Yes! It’s also a fun challenge to see how smooth you can get. I taught my son and he’s great at it.
My dad drilled that into me as well, so much I think of him every time I do a smooth one.
My dad taught me this also….since he was typically the passenger/victim of my teen driving…didn’t like whiplash stops.
Cruise control can be your friend, but also try really hard to adhere to having at least a two-second cushion in front of you. Most importantly, know what it feels like when you get into ABS and also know that you can still steer around things at that point. ABS was not yet a thing on the cars I drove until 2001. My son and I spent some time exploring that in an empty church parking lot. He’s now 31 and not been involved in any incidents.
Mercedes’ number one rule is mine as well, but when I train a driver, the first step to train her for freeway driving (after discussing the basic laws of physics) involves hours of right seat time for the student. I give her control of the mirror, then just drive, telling the student to turn her head to me when I ask a question. Then after a bit I ask “where is the blue Corvette” or “how is the green van driving.” Then I discuss how I should react if the green van is driving like a drunk or the blue Corvette is being aggressive, and discuss how to avoid the knots of cars that gather on the interstate.
I drove professionally for years, and have been asked to train many aspiring drivers and a couple who were sick of paying high insurance rates. If the student knows what’s in front of him, what’s behind him, and which cars are driven by jerks, that student will be a safer driver than most. And if the student is uncooperative and bitchy when you do the interstate seat time, you don’t have to waste time trying to teach someone who doesn’t want to learn from you, someone who prefers to learn the laws of physics after overcoming friction with speed squared.
And if the student cooperates, you can have fun when you find a snowy or sandy parking lot to practice skid recovery. Yes, the cops will hassle you – but by asking “would you rather he practice his first skid in the hammer lane of the turnpike?” I have so far successfully avoided getting cited for whatever law is offended by skid practice.
Then, if it’s your child and you can afford it, send the driver to a high performance driving school.
A great time to work on all of this sage advice is while riding along with your young driver as they practice driving before testing for their license. In California where I live, drivers under age 18 are supposed to log 50 hours of practice with an experienced, adult driver before taking their on-road driving test. Far too many parents sign off with little to no practice time, assuming that the time that their kid has spent driving with an instructor – perhaps 8 hours – is enough. With both of my kids (now 23 and 28), we tried to get as close to 50 practice hours as we could. Those practice hours are the time when the experienced, knowledgeable driver can coach the new driver through a whole lot of scenarios. Some key principles include:
Also: Have your kids complete the Tire Rack / BMWCCA Street Survival driving school. It’s a very educational experience, and not expensive!
> instead of holding, say, 50mph, they accelerate to 50, let off the gas and drift down to 40mph, then surge back to 50, and repeat
People do that?!
Also, what’s wrong with braking with your left foot (in an automatic)? I hardly ever brake with my left foot, but I do keep it trained to brake properly if needed, especially when parallel parking or starting on a steep hill like in San Francisco where I worked for a while.
One thing I learned the hard way: always check your blind spots when changing lanes. The mirrors aren’t enough (unless you have a fancy modern mirror that overlays video from your blind spot).
People do that?? I was on SC 39 for 25 miles yesterday, 45-50 for a while, then 60-65, then 45, then a straight stretch – accelerate of course! After 20 miles at the back of that parade, then having to go 80 to get around the jerk, I can assure you that people do that.
sadly, people do that. I’ve ridden with coworkers that just could not stop changing speed constantly. it was sickening. when I pointed it out, he couldn’t understand how you could go a constant speed without constantly changing speed.
What the f.
Nobody taught me *not* to do that. So I wonder what is driving the decision to drive that way.
I had an ex that did that.
There’s a reason she’s an ex.
Left foot braking should be done later.
Starting out throttle and brakes at the same time are common.
Here’s a simple one: when making a right hand turn, keep at least a couple of feet from the curb, drive straight until your rear tire is aligned with the corner of the curb, then turn right. Do this, and no curb rash. Learned this while driving 6 wheel satellite trucks, never hit curbs again.
Love the Altima reference! The Autopian staff are the best.
My 2 nieces and nephew are all newer drivers last few years. Good thing my brother and I had them practicing for years before driving age from ATVs and golf carts, then trucks so they know driving fairly well. But in the cold north, it’s the prep!
For the ladies who just got late 00s Honda Accords:
Good tires and distance and don’t mess with your phones! But an extra blanket, coat, mats for being stuck, water, tampons (ugh) and some snacks in case. Poor ladies go through so much more bs than the boys do.
For the lone nephew:
Same supplies (sans tampons lol) but tow strap for his GMT 800 so he can help his sisters if they get stuck!
My daughter is still 11 so I have some time but should follow suit with the advice. Caio!
Honestly, men (or teenaged males) would be well advised to carry hygienic supplies for women. A couple of items take almost no room in a bag and are really appreciated when needed.
And your nephew should also not be messing with his phone 😛
Back then, I never thought of that but would run to the store if asked. I knew guys who wouldn’t. Also, there were personal preferences as to brand and size. It’s not like one size fits all.
True. But IME having *something* beats having nothing when the need arises. 🙂
You’re not wrong and you have your heart in the right place. The women I typically travel with now are post-menopausal and so that’s less of an issue. Bladder capacity is still a thing, but I don’t be a jerk about it. Solo, I can easily do 8 hours. At least if it’s sunny. My night vision is not what it used to be.
Driving in the dark isn’t awesome.
I crossed the Siskiyous southbound on I-5 this morning in fog that was so dense I couldn’t see more than 200′ at times. I-5 is pretty windy through there. It’s posted for 60 mph except for the tighter turns and yet bro-dozers were passing me, often 20 feet off another bro-dozer’s bumper.
I hadn’t seen fog like that since 1991 when I moved from Sacramento to Rochester, NY. And then I got to see lake effect snow that I had never seen before.
I drove through the notorious Tule fog in California’s central valley one winter and it was terrifying. You couldn’t even see the reflective posts every couple hundred feet before exits.
Getting a young bro to do that would be close to impossible for most, but I get what you’re saying.
Good call on the phone too!
Oh—thought of one. If you see someone driving dangerously *do not attempt to pass*. The compulsion will be to pass and get far away, but no—stay behind so you are in control of the spacing, and leave lots of it.
“Think of ALL of the people in your high school; all of them. Now realize they are on the road with you in vehicles. Pay attention accordingly.”