Driving Tips

Lane Changing

Before lane changing, insure an appropriate safety margin is selected. A 2 second gap in dry conditions or 4 seconds in wet conditions should be maintained between yourself and the vehicle in the lane you are changing into. Use your rear vision mirror to assist you in selecting a safety margin for the rear vehicle in the lane you are changing into (the vehicles headlights appearing in your rear vision mirror is a good margin).

Lane Changing

Before lane changing, insure an appropriate safety margin is selected. A 2 second gap in dry conditions or 4 seconds in wet conditions should be maintained between yourself and the vehicle in the lane you are changing into. Use your rear vision mirror to assist you in selecting a safety margin for the rear vehicle in the lane you are changing into (the vehicles headlights appearing in your rear vision mirror is a good margin). Remember to do a blind spot check by head-checking over your shoulder towards the lane you are changing into as the rear vision mirror and side mirrors are unable to pick out blind spots. Your blind spot can be found with the assistance of a helper. Place that person about a metre besides the front passenger or driver side door. While looking at your side mirror, instruct the person to slightly move towards the rear of the vehicle until they disappear out of your mirror. This is your blind spot. Before head-checking, make sure you are not approaching a different speed limit sign so you may adjust your speed accordingly.

Speed

Drive five kilometres below the speed limit to absorb slight speed fluctuations that may occur while you are driving. For vehicles fitted with a manual transmission, select the appropriate gear for the speed limit, if the engine begins to rev too high, this will give an indication of speeding. Remember that the speed limit only means this is the maximum speed allowable for a section of road. If conditions do not permit driving at the speed limit, then you must adjust your speed to match the road conditions.

Safety Margins

Maintain a 2 second gap in dry conditions behind traffic to allow ample time to slow down and stop without hitting the vehicle in front. In wet conditions, this gap should be increased to 4 seconds as it takes longer for the vehicle to slow down and stop on a wet surface. Following distance can be calculated by taking a point the vehicle in front is crossing and counting the number of seconds it takes to reach that point.

Steering

Place hands at the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions on the wheel. This placement allows for more efficient steering, requiring less effort to turn and navigate bends. Also this position allows better balance on the steering wheel.

For any other questions please feel free to contact us.