Car Safety

[Shadowhunter]

Before you start your safe driving journey, it's always a good idea to make sure all occupants are abiding the laws (seatbelts!) and secured safely (seatbelts!). What tips do you have to promote car safety?

*Remember that chest clips are not enough to secure your child. Children have been ejected from their seats in accidents and fatally injured due to adults neglecting to fasten the seatbelts properly. Also note that EVERY car seat has an expiration date, and for good reason too. Take the extra minute for your safety to ensure everyone arrives well and happy.



Pets are important too!

Never leave an animal or person alone in a car. Even in cool weather, closed up cars can heat up quickly.

 

[nirtime]

1. Be aware of your vehicle. If vehicle is long and wide pay attention to these characteristics so as to avoid cutting corners too short or pulling short on other motorists.

2. Keep the stereo down as to allow sounds of the outside to be audible- sirens, horns, cuss and the mechanics of the vehicle.

3. Avoid excessive chatter during driving and don't play with unnecessary functions such as the stereo or seat adjustment while in motion.

4. Ensure Bonnet is closed properly. A lot of people drop and press their bonnets. This can be a cause for the bonnet to unlatch itself and fly open during motion. Always allow the bonnet to drop on its own.

5. Keep your seat backrest in a comfortable upright position so that any sudden stops won't have the seat belt slice your torso. ( heard this happened to a guy when I did DDC)

6. Adjust seat height, distance and mirrors. If you aren't the only driver of a vehicle pay attention to mirrors and seating position as improperly adjusted seat heights can impair proper vision of the roadway and create auxiliary blindspots.
Seat distance is equally important as you should allow all your limbs to rest comfortably while driving. (Very important as if your legs are straight and locked into position at the floor of the vehicle a sudden stop or accident can send your leg through your lower torso.)

7. If driving a vehicle equipped with a separate differential lock ensure It is turned off during operation on bitumen surfaces unless absolutely needed.
Modern pickups with a 4wd transfer case are not meant for use on bitumen surfaces and driveline windup can destroy your drive train. This is safety as you do not want this to happen to you at the most unfortunate time.

 

[Shadowhunter]

That's amazing info! I see people slamming down their bonnets all the time, which is probably why people consider bonnets flying up while driving a normal thing that can't be helped. I didn't know all that about proper seating either. Scary, but absolutely essential!

 

[nirtime]

That's amazing info! I see people slamming down their bonnets all the time, which is probably why people consider bonnets flying up while driving a normal thing that can't be helped. I didn't know all that about proper seating either. Scary, but absolutely essential!

Just let the bonnet close by itself. Don't rest it gently and then use your hands to press it down. That can cause problems.

The seating is really important. Especially for the Kia Sportage. Short people will find themselves visually impaired by the side view mirrors and that fat A pillar if their seat isn't high up.

 

[Shadowhunter]

Just let the bonnet close by itself. Don't rest it gently and then use your hands to press it down. That can cause problems.

The seating is really important. Especially for the Kia Sportage. Short people will find themselves visually impaired by the side view mirrors and that fat A pillar if their seat isn't high up.

More people should know about that!


More:

 

[nirtime]

Very good post there Shadowhunter.

People 5 over a speed limit can be the decision as to whether you sweep someone away with your bonnet or stop just before their legs.
Also speeding really doesn't make you reach your destination that much faster.

 

[MangaAddict]

This is a great thread! With soo many accidents happening on a daily basis, this post can help save allot of lives! Read carefully people!

 

[tss]

Just let the bonnet close by itself. Don't rest it gently and then use your hands to press it down. That can cause problems.

The seating is really important. Especially for the Kia Sportage. Short people will find themselves visually impaired by the side view mirrors and that fat A pillar if their seat isn't high up.

I dislike the tiida for this reason. No matter what i do the A pillar blocks my view and i not that short.... i think lol

 

[Shadowhunter]

Someone told me at once that the fastest and safest way to get anywhere in a vehicle is to go at a constant rate in time with the lights. I've asked other drivers to test it and they say it works. If you maintain your speed (using normal, legal, safe speeds of course) and pass through one green light on your journey, going at a steady pace should enable you to keep driving through green lights without meeting any red lights. Once you speed up to make a light faster or beat another car etc (or stop as well) your timing will go off though, and you'll usually be left waiting behind red lights while you rush for a significantly longer period of time than a "slow", steady pace.


As the rain is back:

 

[LadyDeath]

2. Keep the stereo down as to allow sounds of the outside to be audible- sirens, horns, cuss and the mechanics of the vehicle

Some people don't understand but i need to do this when i'm trying to find somewhere, reversing, turning into a street LOL. I just find it bugs my concentration. I don't know how them ricers can handle it nuh

 

[nirtime]

Some people don't understand but i need to do this when i'm trying to find somewhere, reversing, turning into a street LOL. I just find it bugs my concentration. I don't know how them ricers can handle it nuh

It's the worst when people giving you directives to drive and won't stay silent in critical moments as well lol.

 

[Shadowhunter]

I think people talking to you in the car when trying to focus on something can be just as distracting as talking on a cellphone.



Ensure your mirrors are all adjusted correctly and be wary of blind spots: your own and those of the surrounding vehicles you may try to overtake etc.

 

[nirtime]

I don't agree with that maxi view thing.
In no car have mirrors been off like that. The aim is off on those mirrors as well idk where they're aiming that but that's clearly photoshopped and fake.

As for the visible world that's a good reference but if you're still unsure, in a sedan, aim the mirror so that the inside of the mirror reflects the rear door handle. That way you have the rest of the mirror for surrounding lanes thus increasing your field of view.

 

[nirtime]

I dislike the tiida for this reason. No matter what i do the A pillar blocks my view and i not that short.... i think lol

The sportage is worse haha.

As you mention this, people, always look out for people crossing the road from the angle of your A pillar blind spot. I've had to stop hard to avoid two pedestrians who crossed at my A blind and it was not a nice feeling.
Some cars suffer from this problem while others don't. Know your car.

 

[Shadowhunter]

I can't vouch for the photo authenticity as I didn't create it, but the info and concept of mirror positioning has been deemed accurate by numerous professionals although to be honest, most drivers I know use the door handle trick or have even more of their car than just the handle appearing in their mirrors. But if anyone here can try it out and let us know how accurate these diagrams and descriptions are for practical use it would be a great help (as one of the links suggest, perhaps try it out in an empty parking lot first, and if you need to see your car to feel more comfortable judging distances, then position your mirrors to see just the edge of your car, a very minimal amount). I'll attach some videos and links where I got the info from for verification. There's also a great market for blind spot mirror attachments with many authorities and driving professionals vouching for them assisting with driving and cutting down on blind spot issues.

An everyday person: [video=youtube;0EqglmE0r3o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EqglmE0r3o[/video]

Defensive driving: [video=youtube;HBj89kyTvWo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBj89kyTvWo[/video]

From Lifehacker: adjusting mirrors article one and article two.

From Wikipedia: [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_spot_%28vehicle%29"]the Blind Spot (vehicle) entry with information on how to adjust mirrors, visibility and windshield information and more[/URL].

From Wisconsin University: A Blind Spot Article with instructions and more information.

From Smart Motorist: An article with tips on adjusting mirrors, further sources, and information on specific innovations in addition to general info.


Hope it's helpful!

 

[nirtime]

I may have to try this. To euro truck sim I go

 

[Shadowhunter]

I may have to try this. To euro truck sim I go

I've never heard of that lol Just checked it out and it sounds interesting though. Let us know how it goes please!

 

[nirtime]

I've never heard of that lol Just checked it out and it sounds interesting though. Let us know how it goes please!

I forgot tractor cabs have no rear view mirror hahaha. It didn't go so well. The only problem is that it would require getting accustom to not seeing any part of the vehicle which is hard for me since the mirror gives me a gauge of how far my tray is from something or another vehicle

Euro truck is fun with a Logitech g27 trust me

 

[Shadowhunter]

I forgot tractor cabs have no rear view mirror hahaha. It didn't go so well. The only problem is that it would require getting accustom to not seeing any part of the vehicle which is hard for me since the mirror gives me a gauge of how far my tray is from something or another vehicle

Euro truck is fun with a Logitech g27 trust me

Ahhhhhhhh I miss my steering wheel Now I can't think of anything else. EVERYTHING was fun with that wheel lol! You could adjust the mirrors to see the back edge of your vehicle when first starting to use the method I believe.


More:

 

[nirtime]

Essentially everything in this thread is defensive driving. The talk about distance, you can follow a 2 or 3 second rule depending on what you feel more comfortable with.
I personally maximize my distance from the vehicle in front and this has the advantage as if they decide to stomp on the brake at the last minute, it gives me enough time to perceive, react and brake or in the case where traffic slows and speeds up, it makes it very easy to just release the accelerator accordingly without needing the brake as it closes and widens the distance within a safe margin.


As for steering wheels, its always fun to run over a ped or drive like a trini in game hahaha .