Driving is described by Wikipedia as the controlled operation of a land vehicle, usually a motor vehicle such as a truck or a car.
Driving in heavy traffic involves more than simply knowing how to operate the vehicle controls. Driving skill involves knowing how to follow the road rules and regulations. A skilled driver will also have an intuitive understanding when it comes to handling the vehicle. The physical tasks required are that the driver should be able to control direction, deceleration and acceleration.
Driver error causes many road accidents, a major factor in the deaths of over a million people each year. To avoid such error drivers must learn how to drive defensively on top of following the rules of the road. They must cultivate good driving habits such as paying attention at all times and being thoughtful to other drivers.
It is important to make good decisions whilst reading road and traffic conditions. Drivers must maintain correct hand placement and proper seating position at all times.
Distractions should be avoided where possible as they can compromise any driver’s mental skills. A study on how mobile phones affect driving safety said that drivers speaking on cell phones drove in a worse fashion than drunk drivers. Another survey also said that music could possibly affect driver’s concentration spans.
Lastly and most importantly, always follow all road rules and regulations. There are many laws to abide by regarding road safety as road accidents continue to pose an extraordinary danger for drivers.
Driving pleasure is the feeling of enjoyment received from driving a motor vehicle. Factors that contribute to your driving pleasure include the levels of responsiveness of the vehicle to driver manipulation of the controls. The more a vehicle obeys and in turn executes the driver’s commands, the more driving pleasure will be experienced.
From a vehicle development view, driving pleasure is defined as “the driver’s feel for vehicle manipulation under various road conditions.” Car design features that can increase a driver’s driving pleasure and their safety may oppose each other, causing engineers to find a middle road or choose between the two.
There are various factors that can affect driving pleasure, the first of which is speed. Driving at high speeds thrills certain drivers. The throttle response is important to give the driver the feeling that the car is responding to them. The easier it is to manipulate the vehicle’s motion, the greater the pleasure is that is derived from it.
The vehicle’s power can contribute to the driving pleasure, and steering response is important to help the driver feel in control. Driving on a track versus a road can be more challenging and provide more of a thrill for some drivers, whereas others are more concerned with the ride quality.
Physical comfort components like air conditioning and comfortable seating contribute to driving pleasure. The ergonomics of a vehicle’s controls can make a big difference in the comfort levels. Lastly, most drivers prefer a low level or absence of noise levels, harshness and vibration.
Since 1997, US therapists have been acting to certify road rage as a medical condition.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders already classifies road rage as an official mental disorder. The acts that are typically associated with the occurrence of road rage are caused by an intermittent explosive disorder. This conclusion was made from 9 200 surveys in the US between 2001 and 2003 that were funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. What causes this intermittent explosive disorder has not yet been described.
There are various outlooks on whether road rage is indeed a mental issue. One thing is for certain, though—it is a relatively serious act. It is described in the American Heritage Dictionary as violent behaviour exhibited by drivers in traffic, often as a manifestation of stress: “Motorists in the United States fear road rage, and the world’s largest auto club wants anger-management education as part of the penalty for such behaviour” (Brad Liston).
Road rage can endanger public safety. What makes it a tricky situation is that it isn’t possible to realise intent by only external observation. This means that when police stop so-called “road ragers”, they can only be charged with minor offences like reckless or careless driving.
Road rage is likely to cause serious injury and even death, and road rage incidents will be penalised more than those caused by simple negligence. Websites have picked up on the road rage phenomenon and many of them are now dedicated to listing the license plate numbers of dangerous road rage drivers.
A backseat driver is a car passenger who is not driving but does not appear to be comfortable with trusting the skills of the current driver and/or feels it is necessary to act as a tutor to said driver.
Some of these so-called backseat drivers display this sort of behaviour because they are feeling unsafe or out of control as they are not in control and driving the vehicle. This causes their jumpy and nervous actions and the anxious criticisms and suggestions with regards to the present driver’s actions.
The Department of Transportation of Maine published a web poster that asks “Are you a Good Back Seat Driver?” They go on to ask “True or False: Being a Backseat Driver means it is okay to be noisy or distracting to the driver as long as you are giving them safety tips.”
The Inland Register published by the Spokane Roman Catholic Diocese used it in a sermon and said: “Even our phrase ‘back-seat driver’ reflects this new-found freedom. Which of us who has graduated to the status of driver enjoys a passenger, especially one out of reach in the back seat, who seems to know how to drive better than we do? ”
The San Bernardino County Sun’s article ‘The Art of being a Backseat Driver’ summarizes many different comments on backseat drivers that are found on multiple blogs. There are even some blogs dedicated to the subject, such as the Back Seat Driving blog, that was formerly called the “LA Car Blog.”
In the good old days motorists were mostly capable of performing minor car repairs themselves, but with automobiles that became more and more complicated to repair, this task become harder.
Some of the early motoring clubs encouraged members to help each other out. Willing members were put on a rota of who will help out when, and some clubs kept some cash aside to pay for a tow vehicle when needed.
In 1900 some motoring clubs became large enough to be able to offer roadside assistance to their members. In the UK, they consisted of the Royal Automobile Club and The Automobile Association. They tried to limit services to repairs where possible, or a tow home or to the local garage. During the fifties, both institutions installed radios to help them dispatch patrols straight from their position to the incident.
Before this invention, patrols had to go to a Patrol Box and phone in to the office to hear if there were any jobs! In the early seventies Recovery clubs became popular. They offered a service that would get people home from anywhere in the United Kingdom. They started something new by offering to cover motorists who had an accident.
Unlike the AA and others, the club hired recovery operators as agents. They selected these agents from the best coachworks and garages. The club’s inspectors carried out regular inspections of the facilities and equipment. It was not long before the AA and the RAC decided to offer similar services to get people home.
Best Motoring is Japan’s superior automobile magazine, DVD, and video series. The first edition was printed in 1995, and non-traditional challenges and races marked the videos.
The drivers featured are premier racers of Japanese racing series, including the Formula Nippon, JGTC, and the D1 Grand Prix. Some regular hosts and drivers include the ‘Drift King’ Keiichi Tsuchiya, Juichi Wakisaka, and Manabu Orido.
Taro Koki founded Zigzag Asia in April 2000 and owned international distribution rights for Best Motoring by creating Best Motoring International. Initial releases were poorly dubbed in English. They decided, however, from volume 3 onwards to have an English narrator, and they kept the original Japanese audio stream for the presenters. They also started using subtitles instead of dubbing for translation.
Best Motoring’s Japanese version is a monthly video edition that focuses on mainly non-tuned factory cars. Hot Version, on the other hand, is the bi-monthly series that tests mainly tuned cars. Video Special is also another series released irregularly, and it concentrates on a specific car model.
The differences between the English and Japanese version are that the English one does not call its series by a volume number. Many spin-off series’ followed, including the Hot Version Specials VTECT Club and the AE86 Club. VTEC focused on Honda VTEC cars, whereas AE86 Club concentrated on Toyota AE86 models.
Best Motoring International is the English compilation of some of the favourite video clips from all three of the Japanese video magazines Hot Version, Best Motoring, and Video Special.
The independent road safety company, The Institute of Advanced Motorists or IAM Motoring Trust, is an arm of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.
The Trust was formed on the first day of 2007 when the IAM took over responsibility for the AA Motoring Trust work. The organisation’s objectives concentrate on the promotion of practical policies to improve road safety, road safety research, safer roads, drivers and vehicles advocacy, and the promotion of responsible motoring.
The Institute of Advanced Motorists is the United Kingdom’s premier road safety charity. They dedicate themselves to raising driving standards through their Advanced Driving Test, influencing road safety policy and engaging with motorists.
Their website has a members only section as well as news and driving tips. You can also use it to find a driving instructor or other related site links.
One of their driving tips articles is on how long motorists should wait between the ‘bottle’ and the ‘throttle.’ It reminds us that alcohol stays in our blood for over 12 hours and we must not necessarily think that it is safe to drive the morning after. Sleep and coffee will not be enough to reduce your levels within less than 12 hours.
The IAM also offer tips on how drivers can better cope with severe weather conditions. This is very helpful for UK motorists who often have to face snow, ice and blizzards. They say that it takes us ten times longer to stop when the roads are slippery and that we should stay at a constant very low speed when driving.
