Those of you that think driving school is too expensive...consider the alternative...
03-18-2003, 12:08 PM
#1
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Those of you that think driving school is too expensive...consider the alternative...
$$$ in repairs.
I haven't had the chance to track my car yet, but this summer I intend to. The one thing I have done is traveled up to NH for the winter driving event for the last two years. One of the most important lessons I've learned is how to manage steering angle, and braking. Braking hard, and adding more than 1/8th of a turn of steering angle severely affects your ability to STOP. Try it in a wet or snow covered parking lot, and you'll be astonished at the difference steering angle makes.
Anyway, last night on my way home, I saw a deer off to the side of the road. As soon as my headlights picked it up, I eased off the accelerator "just in case". As I approached, Mr. Deer decided to step closer to the road. At that point, I'm on the brake. As he continues to walk into the road, he also starts to panic (not sure which way to proceed). By this time, I've got both feet planted, and I'm calculating whether I can stop in time. Threshold braking gives way to full lock on the front tires (oh well), and the deer and I are headed on a collision course. Keeping the wheel relatively straight helped me scrub off a good deal of speed, so an impact, if any, would have been less than 10 mph. Thankfully, I stopped short of the deer by about 1-2 feet as he skirted across the road. I went back and looked at my skidmarks...only about 20 feet of skidmarks, which I deemed quite good. That means I didn't lock the tires until the very end. The skidmarks were indeed almost straight...also good. In the end, Mr. Deer got off the hook without a scratch, and I narrowly skirted about $500-1000 in damage to my beater (no comp or collision coverage). The cost of two winter driving schools: $400. A bargain in my book!
I haven't had the chance to track my car yet, but this summer I intend to. The one thing I have done is traveled up to NH for the winter driving event for the last two years. One of the most important lessons I've learned is how to manage steering angle, and braking. Braking hard, and adding more than 1/8th of a turn of steering angle severely affects your ability to STOP. Try it in a wet or snow covered parking lot, and you'll be astonished at the difference steering angle makes.
Anyway, last night on my way home, I saw a deer off to the side of the road. As soon as my headlights picked it up, I eased off the accelerator "just in case". As I approached, Mr. Deer decided to step closer to the road. At that point, I'm on the brake. As he continues to walk into the road, he also starts to panic (not sure which way to proceed). By this time, I've got both feet planted, and I'm calculating whether I can stop in time. Threshold braking gives way to full lock on the front tires (oh well), and the deer and I are headed on a collision course. Keeping the wheel relatively straight helped me scrub off a good deal of speed, so an impact, if any, would have been less than 10 mph. Thankfully, I stopped short of the deer by about 1-2 feet as he skirted across the road. I went back and looked at my skidmarks...only about 20 feet of skidmarks, which I deemed quite good. That means I didn't lock the tires until the very end. The skidmarks were indeed almost straight...also good. In the end, Mr. Deer got off the hook without a scratch, and I narrowly skirted about $500-1000 in damage to my beater (no comp or collision coverage). The cost of two winter driving schools: $400. A bargain in my book!
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03-18-2003, 12:51 PM
#10
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nice work...some Hindu God is smiling down on you, no doubt.
I do like to think of the equation as tires provide X grip. You can spend that grip on braking, turning and acceleration...when you ask for more than one of the above, that finite grip is being tasked to two separate, concurrent tasks.
My dad totalled a Cutlass Supreme back in the day when i was in 2nd or 3rd grade, perhaps he should go to that school.
Cheers,
Sameer
My dad totalled a Cutlass Supreme back in the day when i was in 2nd or 3rd grade, perhaps he should go to that school.
Cheers,
Sameer