ADVANCED DRIVING TECHNIQUES

If it’s not smooth, it’s not pro.

That’s the first driving commandment, so to speak. I see all these punks on the freeway constantly redlining it then braking hard all the time, probably trying to impress everyone else at how much acceleration they’ve got, not knowing they’re exponentially stressing their engines, suspensions and brakes. Much like how good fighters never go out there looking for a fight, a good driver should be secure in his/her driving. Every maneuver should be smooth and premeditated, with the exception of those rare instances when the unexpected happens. And trust me, it will.

Like, I was running late for work yesterday morning. As usual the morning commuters were aggravatingly sluggish so I whipped around a bunch of them, trying to catch the green light to the 95. I was tearing down towards the intersection when the light turned amber so I floored it and, anticipating the 90-degree turn, heel-and-toed it down to third gear. I knew the light would’ve turned red by the time I crossed the intersection but I was still going for it, and almost did till I saw one of FCPD’s finest right there by the intersection.

Now, you know FCPD and yours truly don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, so I knew that right there was a ticket waiting for me. So I did the next best thing – I braked. Hard. The wheels locked and there was tire smoke everywhere. Instinctively I let up on the pedal, felt the wheels regain traction and pumped the pedal to a neck-snapping halt, all in what must’ve been 2 seconds at the most. Thank God for small mercies coz if it wasn’t for those slotted rotors, I would’ve found myself smack in the middle of the intersection and into one heck of a situation.

I was just lucky that time, and 5-0 just glared at me as he rolled by.

I only shared that story to get the point across that every good driver knows what his/her car is capable of and, more importantly, what it’s not capable of. Put your car to the test. Learn how fast it can go, how hard it can corner, how quickly it can stop, and all its little quirks. Familiarize yourself with it, be comfortable in it. Cut the music off from time to time and listen to it.

Learn and practice advanced driving techniques – they could save your life. For instance, abandon that old notion that you should hold the wheel with the ten-to-two grip. As the cars have evolved, so should your driving. Adopt the quarter-to-three grip, which is now proven to be the better one. Practice such techniques as:

- rev matching
- heel & toe
- counter-steering [if you ride a bike]
- understeer/oversteer corrective maneuvers
- slow in, fast out cornering

These and many more techniques separate the tots from the adults. Now, get out there and drive!