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Author: derekbrowns
Don’t Give the Finger and Other Bad Driving Behaviors
So you’re driving down the Deerfoot or other highway and another car is too close to your bumper. You look in your rearview mirror and the car is just staying there right behind you and even getting closer. The driver wants you to go faster or even better, get out of their way. Immediately you become uncomfortable and maybe a little angry. What do you do? I’ll tell you what my first instinct is, what I want to do. I want to roll down my window and yell at the person. Get off my bumper!! Or I want to slam on my brakes and give them a scare as a warning. As a rule, I never make rude gestures but if I did, I might want to give them the finger. Or I’d like to speed up and show them I’m a faster driver than they are.
These are all bad ideas. For one, your emotions are running high and when that happens you are not being a safe driver. And two, if you do give in and do any of these things, the other driver will also get angry and then they too will be unsafe.
Big huge emotions like anger toward another driver are DANGEROUS. Lives are at stakes when you are being unsafe behind the wheel. Your life and other people’s lives. Innocent lives. And guess what? No temporary satisfaction like speeding up, slamming on the brakes, giving the finger is EVER worth it.
Much, much better is to take a deep breath and change lanes and get out of their way. Let them speed and be in a hurry for their own funeral if they want. Your life and other innocent lives are not worth losing over such trivialities.
Want to be a safer, better driver? Sign up for a course at our Calgary driving school. We have all types of Drivers Education Courses.
Drunk Driving Still Popular
In the United States in 2008, 9% of drivers admitted to driving while over the legal limit in the past month. Drunk driving is still very common. That’s a very high number. Why is it so high? I think there are a variety of reasons.
The first reason is that I think people aren’t prepared to sacrifice a good time in favor of safety. If there is no easy and cheap public transportation, taxi, or other transportation service, people will drive rather than go through an inconvenient and lengthy process of getting a ride after a night at the bar. In a lot of cities, public transportation feels dangerous at night. Walking at night is dangerous in a lot of places as well, especially for women. I think having a cheap, reliable and safe public transportation system will help any city combat drunk driving.
Another problem is people misunderstand the affects of alcohol on their system. They feel that since they have a tolerance, they can drive just as well drunk as sober. This is not the case. Reaction times are still decreased, making accidents easier and driving more dangerous. Education is needed in this area to help people understand why driving while intoxicated is not OK.
A certain segment of the population will always drink and drive, because they feel entitled to it. So there may be a point where the number cannot be lowered any further. But I think that number can go down a great deal from 9%.
Here is the source for the story: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-28-DUI_N.htm
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Most Dangerous (but cool) Trucking Jobs
Trucking can be dangerous. Especially if you are trucking in extraordinary circumstances or with hazardous goods. We found an interesting article on the most dangerous trucking jobs and thought it would be good to share: http://truckgps.org/5-most-dangerous-truck-driver-jobs/
The article talks about ice road truckers, which I think a lot of us will be familiar with because of the television show on the History Channel about it. But there’s also truckers who take on the La Paz to Coroico Highway in Bolivia which claims 300 people a year. Here’s a short video:
The article also talks about truckers taking oversized loads, like houses! I can’t imagine how difficult and annoying of a trip that would be for the driver.
Take care of all your Calgary Trucking School and Professional Driver Improvement Course (PDIC) needs at Derek Brown’s Academy of Driving!
Why is speeding dangerous?
For a lot of drivers, it is not intuitive why speeding is dangerous. They feel that they can be just as safe driving above the posted speed limit signs. Unfortunately, the statistics say otherwise.
Transport Canada published a report in June 2008 with detailed information about why speeding is dangerous. Two of the most sobering statistics from the report are:
In 2002-2004, more than 700 people were killed and more than 3,500 were seriously injured annually in speed-related crashes.
Speeding is a factor in about 25% of deaths from vehicle crashes.
Transport Canada reasons that speed limits are the limits for a reason, to go faster on those roads is unsafe. They go onto say drivers focus too much on the thrill of speeding and ignore the risks. I think it’s important to remember that there are plenty of ways to get your thrills in this world, from roller coasters to skydiving that don’t involve as much risk to yourself or others. Even if the thrill involves more risk to you, you aren’t risking the lives of innocents.
The report continues on to say that speeding accounts for about the same number of deaths as drunk driving. So keep that in mind next time you feel the need for speed.
That’s all for this blog. I might go over some more stuff from this report in a later blog. Thanks for reading!
Learn how to get where you’re going with Derek Brown’s Academy of Driving, a Calgary Driving school
Ten Worst Driving Cities
MSN Canada has made a list of the ten worst cities to drive in. The list is as follows
10. Manila, Philipines
9. Toronto, Canada
8. Seoul, South Korea
7. Orlando, Florida
6. Beijing, China
5. Paris, France
4. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
3. Athens, Greece
2. Mumbai, India
1. Rome, Italy
I’ve only been to Paris out of all these cities, but I can tell you that driving would be too much for me there. It’s interesting to me how nonchalant people are about driving. It seems obvious to me how dangerous vehicles are. I guess it is not obvious to everyone.
Derek Brown’s Driving Academy, a Calgary Driving school, and a Calgary Trucking school, will help you remain safe on the road.
What do you think the worst city to drive in is? Reply in the comments!
Repetitive Driving Injury
There is a newish syndrome out there that comes from driving too much. No, it’s not road rage, although that might be considered a medical condition at some point too. It’s a repetitive driving injury. Just like getting carpal tunnel syndrome from typing too much on a computer, people who drive all the time can develop long-term muscle, joint and spinal injuries. Most of the injuries develop from people not adjusting their seat properly. Learn how to prevent a repetitive driving injury.
A study done by ebaymotors.co.uk found that drivers suffer from all sorts of injuries and do so after driving for only a short period of time. 81% of drivers suffer from foot cramps, 74% have back pain, another 74% have stiff neck problems, 74% get side aches, and 73% get headaches and eye strains. It takes 6.5% of drivers only 15 minutes for this injuries to flare up, while for 9% it’s around 30 minutes.
There are different driving positions that the study says contribute to backpain.
Drivers who lean forward and sit straight up with the arms and legs bent. While this is good for attentiveness, it is not good for your back. Relax your back and recline the seat slightly to correct his problem.
Another common mistake is trying to pay attention too many things on the road like your phone, your food, your makeup, or anything else that keeps you constantly moving around. It’s best to just relax and keep your eyes on the road. Sit a little back in your seat and keep both hands on the wheel as much as possible.
A lot of people sit too low in their seat, causing inattentiveness and arm and leg pain because their limbs can never relax. Try moving the seat up and up slightly to fix this problem. It’s good to find a balance between too close and too far, too reclined and not reclined enough.
Calgary Driving School, Derek Brown’s Driving Academy, can help you develop good driving habits through training.
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Big City Driving Tips
Calgary is growing into a big city. With that comes busier, more congested, more stressful driving conditions that you need to be prepared for. Here are some tips for driving in a big city:
Constantly Be Alert!
One needs to be alert no matter when they are driving, but it is especially important when driving in very congested areas like downtown Calgary. Cars, bikes, and pedestrians can come out in front of you at any time. Always have your wits about you and never talk on your cell phone, eat, put on makeup or do any other activity that will distract you from driving.
Slow down!
Sometimes you’ll come into situations when driving in busy areas where you’ll feel pressure to complete driving tasks as quickly as possible. Drivers in cities put a lot of pressure on other drivers to make decisions quickly. However, it is best to make the correct decision slowly than a bad decision quickly. So if you are unsure of something on the road, slow down and make sure you get it right.
Communicate!
Be sure to always use your blinker, even when it seems obvious where you are turning. Communication with other drivers prevents accidents and you never know what information will be important to other drivers. It’s also very important to use your horn if someone is about to cut you off or drift into your lane. That’s what horns are for!
Learn to drive at Derek Brown’s Academy of Driving, a a quality Driving School in Calgary.
Truck drivers: Click here for our Professional Driver Improvement course (PDIC)
Manual or Automatic?
When buying your new car, is it better to go with an automatic or manual transmission vehicle? There are certainly benefits and costs to both. Let’s look at which car is right for you.
Repair Costs
Repair costs are usually lower in manuals because they require less maintenance and usually cost less to fix when they do need repairs. Automatic transmissions, however, are getting better all the time, so, perhaps in a while, there will be no difference.
Fuel Costs
Manuals are more fuel efficient, but newer automatic transmissions are within 1-2 mpg of manuals, so the difference isn’t worth much.
Get up and Go! (Power)
Manual vehicles will usually be your best bet if you want a fast and powerful vehicle. This is where manuals shine in comparison to automatics. Automatic transmissions do not have the same acceleration capabilities as manual.
Where do you live?
City driving in heavy traffic is when automatics shine. There is nothing worse than having to shift every little bit while stuck in a long traffic jam. If you live in a big city with clogged roads, an automatic is probably your best bet.
Conclusion
So the question comes down to each individual. If you’re a power-loving person living in rural Alberta, a manual is probably best. If you only use your car for transportation and live in Calgary, an automatic might better suit your needs. Calgary Driving School and Derek Brown’s Academy of Driving offer lessons in both.
Driving as an art form?
Calgary, like most of North America, licenses are available at a young age, fundamentals are emphasized, and roads rules are clearly and extensively articulated and marked on the road. Calgary drivers schools teach both stick shift and automatic driving. Driving is seen as mostly a practical skill that anyone can attain.
In much of Europe however, the rules are more lax while the training is more extensive. There are also very few automatic cars to be found. They view driving more as an art form to be performed only by the more skilled.
Check out this video of the roundabout at the Arc du Triumph in Paris:
Do you prefer the North American or the European way of driving?