The fastest way to drive from point A to point B, you know those two places you always need to go between, is on the outstanding superhighway system in these 48 contiguous states. In a large majority of cases when you exit the system you will be within an hour’s drive of your goal.
These roads are built for speed, with center medians to keep oncoming traffic at bay and wide shoulders that give one a place to go in the event of car trouble. With speed limits east of the Mississippi in the 65-70 mph range, they may seem like racetracks, but you rarely see a driver wearing a helmet and fire suit.
Though all the vehicles are moving in the same direction there are still many dangers, maybe more than on secondary roads. When you are behind the wheel of a vehicle, your job is to control it. If you don’t know how far a car will travel at 70 in the few seconds one's attention is diverted, look it up – it’s scary.
Defacto speed limits on these roads are whatever the majority of traffic decides. If you are passing everyone, you risk a speeding ticket; if you are being passed by everyone you, risk being rear-ended by someone reading a paper. Go with the flow.
In addition to high speeds, highway hypnosis is problem. Face it, these roads are boring. You could almost release the wheel and just let the car roll (don’t do it.) Cruise control, the savoir of my aging bones on long drives, exacerbates the problem by allowing yet another body part to disengage. Survival here means paying attention, check your mirrors frequently. Remember the passenger side mirror even if you’re in the right lane; something – most often an emergency vehicle – could be approaching to bypass traffic. Keep your eyes moving; as long as you can maintain a visual sense of the road ahead in you’re peripheral vision while doing so, you’re okay. However, don’t make it repetitive, that’s just as hypnotic.
A colleague of mine some years ago claimed to check his mirrors at five second intervals while driving. Knowing his penchant for precision, I suspected he either counted (one-thousand one, etc.) or had a watch with a sweep second hand visible at all times – I do remember him saying that he and his wife bought Rolex Oysters for each other on their anniversary. Maybe something that expensive has an alarm that can be set to go off at five second intervals.
Getting on and off these roads safely requires that you not disrupt the flow of traffic.
The entrance ramp on modern highways ends with an acceleration lane. The term should be self-explanatory - one accelerates to match one’s speed to the flow of traffic before entering the driving lane. Well… it’s not quite that simple. In addition to matching your speed to the traffic, you also have to locate an available space in that flow. The key to success is to start looking early, as soon as you are able to see the traffic lane, then accelerate only when you have chosen a slot. Truckers are a great asset here since most of them will move left to make space for you if they are able.
Once you have made the decision and begun your acceleration, you are embarking on one of the most dangerous maneuvers in driving, the merge. The real danger here is that you have to depend on the attentiveness, skill, and attitude of other drivers. At some point in the process you enter what aircraft pilots call the point of no return: the aircraft has reached takeoff speed, the runway is ending, it is committed to lift or crash by the very physics of the situation. While that point is not quite as dramatic behind the wheel of a car, it can be equally dangerous. Use as much of that acceleration lane as you need to feel comfortable about executing the merge then do it smoothly, confronting the traffic as if it were an animal you didn’t want to startle – no sudden moves.
A cautionary note: Before accelerating, make sure that you are cleared for takeoff. It can be more than embarrassing to be busily matching your speed to traffic and suddenly rear-end the vehicle ahead of you in the acceleration lane.
Okay, now you’re on the road and rolling merrily toward your destination, not too fast, not too slow, keeping your attention on the process of driving, when a road sign tells you that your exit is a mile or so ahead. It’s preparation time. The first order of business is to get into the proper lane, usually, but not always, the right lane. Once you have signaled your intent and accomplished the necessary lane changes (smoothly – like your entry) you are ready to tell the other drivers of your plan. Signal your intent again; I usually wait until I see the arrow indicating the exit ramp, but you can do it sooner if you like. You will be leaving the highway on a deceleration ramp, which allows you to slow down before entering a different traffic situation. For your safety, and that of your tailgater, don’t slow until you actually enter the ramp. Once out of the travel lane you are free to apply your brakes.
A couple of things to watch out for here: the person in the left lane who realizes suddenly that this is his or her exit, and the one who missed the exit and is backing toward you on the shoulder. In the first instance they’re likely reacting without thinking and will both jerk the vehicle into your lane and apply the brakes. In the second, be really careful because this is an insane action on the part of that driver.
That's enough. Drive safely.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
In the Belly of the Beast 3-Blue Highways
Secondary roads, two or four lane highways with intersections, driveways, and speed limits in the 45-55 range, are usually colored blue on road maps, hence the title. They usually follow the contour of the land they cross, giving us a lovely drive that includes hills curves and sometimes very odd turns.
I remember driving US Route 36 from Indianapolis to Denver, a road generally straight as a ruler except for a ninety degree turn south about eight miles into Colorado. After two miles or so there's another ninety that puts one back on the track west. There is no mountain, lake, house, or anything else keeping the road from continuing straight, so the strangeness of that jog has always intrigued me.
These roads need our attention in several ways:
1 - Two way traffic traveling at speed with no median to keep oncoming vehicles out of your lane. The dangers here should be obvious, but just in case they're not, remember my dad's advice. Your attention to vehicles coming at you needs to compensate for the possibility that said vehicle is driven by someone who is not paying attention. Here, and in all traffic situations for that matter, have an escape route. The best way I've found to train your brain to do that is to play "what if" while there is no traffic to worry about. Example: where would you go if an oncoming vehicle were to veer into your lane? How would you avoid contact, minimize contact, leave the road safely? Do this often enough and it becomes a reaction rather than a decision process.
2 - Intersections with traffic waiting to either cross or join you on your road. Expect anything.
3 - Driveways. Same.
4 - Left turns. Here I'm talking about you making the turn. If there is a left turn lane then one of your problems is minimized - being rear-ended while you wait for clearance. Regardless of whether you are in a reserved left turn lane or not, always keep your front wheels pointed straight ahead. Do not anticipate by turning your steering wheels to the left, because a rear-ender will drive you into the oncoming lane.
5 - Hills you can't see over and corners you can't see around. I once rounded a corner on a country road at speed and confronted an Angus steer. I managed to avoid it but ... well you can imagine. Don't out drive your line of sight. At night you at least have a chance of seeing an oncoming car by its headlights, but you still don't know which lane it's in.
A public road can be a scarey place so be prepared.
I remember driving US Route 36 from Indianapolis to Denver, a road generally straight as a ruler except for a ninety degree turn south about eight miles into Colorado. After two miles or so there's another ninety that puts one back on the track west. There is no mountain, lake, house, or anything else keeping the road from continuing straight, so the strangeness of that jog has always intrigued me.
These roads need our attention in several ways:
1 - Two way traffic traveling at speed with no median to keep oncoming vehicles out of your lane. The dangers here should be obvious, but just in case they're not, remember my dad's advice. Your attention to vehicles coming at you needs to compensate for the possibility that said vehicle is driven by someone who is not paying attention. Here, and in all traffic situations for that matter, have an escape route. The best way I've found to train your brain to do that is to play "what if" while there is no traffic to worry about. Example: where would you go if an oncoming vehicle were to veer into your lane? How would you avoid contact, minimize contact, leave the road safely? Do this often enough and it becomes a reaction rather than a decision process.
2 - Intersections with traffic waiting to either cross or join you on your road. Expect anything.
3 - Driveways. Same.
4 - Left turns. Here I'm talking about you making the turn. If there is a left turn lane then one of your problems is minimized - being rear-ended while you wait for clearance. Regardless of whether you are in a reserved left turn lane or not, always keep your front wheels pointed straight ahead. Do not anticipate by turning your steering wheels to the left, because a rear-ender will drive you into the oncoming lane.
5 - Hills you can't see over and corners you can't see around. I once rounded a corner on a country road at speed and confronted an Angus steer. I managed to avoid it but ... well you can imagine. Don't out drive your line of sight. At night you at least have a chance of seeing an oncoming car by its headlights, but you still don't know which lane it's in.
A public road can be a scarey place so be prepared.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
In the Belly of the Beast 2-Urban/suburban driving
When my father was teaching me to drive, he gave me one piece of advice that has saved my butt more times than I can count; he said, "Drive like everyone else on the road is out to kill you."
Here we're talking about two-way traffic, parked cars, intersections, lights, and stop signs. In other words, many folks everyday experience behind the wheel. There are several other driving scenarios that you'll read about here, but for most of us, leaving home puts us in this first situation for a time. In many ways this is the most complex set of mental activities you will experience behind the wheel, so let's start.
INTERSECTIONS
There are two possible positions you can be in at an intersection, first or not.
If you're first - when your turn comes, check each point of the intersection before proceeding to make sure the other vehicles are stopped. Zipping through an intersection stops being fun when someone from the right or left decides to beat the red or run a stop sign, or the person in the approaching lane turns left as you are going by. If you're on a road with multiple lanes in each direction, you also have to pay attention to the cars on either side of yours as well as the rest of the traffic. Once when I was in the right lane proceeding straight ahead, a vehicle in the lane to my left decided to make a right turn and did, into the side of my car. Since I was already moving and past that car there's nothing I could have done to avoid the hit. However, I did not look to see if the vehicle was trying to make that turn.
Moral: it pays to make eye contact with drivers to either side if possible, so you are all on the same page when it becomes time to move.
If you're not first - In addition to all the stuff above, you have to pay attention to the vehicle in front of yours. Try to stop far enough behind it so you can see the rear tires at the point they touch the road. Sometimes on an inclined stop particularly, a driver may allow the vehicle to roll, you may be that driver. Your brain does a peculiar thing in this situation, it isn't sure who's moving but will invariably react as if you were and hit the brake. Not bad if you are the mover, but not much help if it's the vehicle ahead rolling toward you. By stopping where I suggest, and paying attention to those rear tires, you give your brain a better chance of reacting properly - horn rather than brake, reverse if there's no vehicle behind you perhaps.
More "not first" - When it's your turn to cross the intersection, make sure you have room on the other side before you enter; it can be embarrassing to be the person who starts a gridlock by getting caught in the middle.
BETWEEN INTERSECTIONS
Lots of things can come out from between parked cars: animals, people, toys followed by little people, etc. It's your job to be attentive to those possibilities. There's also the parked car itself: is someone in the driver seat; are they about to open the door; is the engine running; turn signal on; brake lights on? At some level you should be aware of the status of every parked vehicle you pass. You may also encounter bicycles. Bicycles are road vehicles like your car and as such are required to obey the same traffic laws that you are. Probably doesn't happen very often. However, give them a break and a brake. Remember you have tons of metal, plastic, glass,and rubber strapped to your butt; their bike weighs between twenty and forty pounds and provides no protection at all.
I'm sure I could add more stuff here, but I'm also sure things will come up in later posts that can be applied to this scenario, so I'm going to put this one out in the ether for interested folks to read.
Just to wrap things up a bit, you need to attend to everything around you all the time. Don't let your attention wander, and remember my dad's advice.
Here we're talking about two-way traffic, parked cars, intersections, lights, and stop signs. In other words, many folks everyday experience behind the wheel. There are several other driving scenarios that you'll read about here, but for most of us, leaving home puts us in this first situation for a time. In many ways this is the most complex set of mental activities you will experience behind the wheel, so let's start.
INTERSECTIONS
There are two possible positions you can be in at an intersection, first or not.
If you're first - when your turn comes, check each point of the intersection before proceeding to make sure the other vehicles are stopped. Zipping through an intersection stops being fun when someone from the right or left decides to beat the red or run a stop sign, or the person in the approaching lane turns left as you are going by. If you're on a road with multiple lanes in each direction, you also have to pay attention to the cars on either side of yours as well as the rest of the traffic. Once when I was in the right lane proceeding straight ahead, a vehicle in the lane to my left decided to make a right turn and did, into the side of my car. Since I was already moving and past that car there's nothing I could have done to avoid the hit. However, I did not look to see if the vehicle was trying to make that turn.
Moral: it pays to make eye contact with drivers to either side if possible, so you are all on the same page when it becomes time to move.
If you're not first - In addition to all the stuff above, you have to pay attention to the vehicle in front of yours. Try to stop far enough behind it so you can see the rear tires at the point they touch the road. Sometimes on an inclined stop particularly, a driver may allow the vehicle to roll, you may be that driver. Your brain does a peculiar thing in this situation, it isn't sure who's moving but will invariably react as if you were and hit the brake. Not bad if you are the mover, but not much help if it's the vehicle ahead rolling toward you. By stopping where I suggest, and paying attention to those rear tires, you give your brain a better chance of reacting properly - horn rather than brake, reverse if there's no vehicle behind you perhaps.
More "not first" - When it's your turn to cross the intersection, make sure you have room on the other side before you enter; it can be embarrassing to be the person who starts a gridlock by getting caught in the middle.
BETWEEN INTERSECTIONS
Lots of things can come out from between parked cars: animals, people, toys followed by little people, etc. It's your job to be attentive to those possibilities. There's also the parked car itself: is someone in the driver seat; are they about to open the door; is the engine running; turn signal on; brake lights on? At some level you should be aware of the status of every parked vehicle you pass. You may also encounter bicycles. Bicycles are road vehicles like your car and as such are required to obey the same traffic laws that you are. Probably doesn't happen very often. However, give them a break and a brake. Remember you have tons of metal, plastic, glass,and rubber strapped to your butt; their bike weighs between twenty and forty pounds and provides no protection at all.
I'm sure I could add more stuff here, but I'm also sure things will come up in later posts that can be applied to this scenario, so I'm going to put this one out in the ether for interested folks to read.
Just to wrap things up a bit, you need to attend to everything around you all the time. Don't let your attention wander, and remember my dad's advice.
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