What's a simple way to improve someone's driving that most people ignore?

"TheOnelectronic" (theoneelectronic) 10/16/2015 at 02:06 • Filed to: None

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There are plenty of ways to get better control over your vehicle. Practicing in empty lots, driving schools, chrome paint, etc...

But what about the simple things that people tend to forget about?

For me, it’s seat angle. Specifically, sitting up straight.

As a guy with a very long torso, I tend to recline slightly while driving so that my neck is only bent a little bit to fit into a car. But if I need to focus, if I’m on a twisty road or what have you, I’ll get the seat back as vertical as I can stand, and it makes an immense difference. I feel more secure, more planted, more in control of the car. Rather than being thrown around in the seat, the combination of the bolsters and the dead pedal keeps me anchored so that I don’t have to use the steering wheel to keep myself in place. This in turn means I can make much better steering inputs. Just having my body weight stacked over my hips gives a huge boost of confidence.

If you don’t adjust your seat much... try it out. See if it helps you as much as it helps me.

Sam > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 02:16

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The classic shoulder check. Saved me from several near misses.

My citroen won't start > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 02:22

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Left foot braking to decrease reaction time.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Sam 10/16/2015 at 02:23

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Yep. I just can’t trust the mirrors 100% and do that every time.

GhostZ > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 02:25

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Follow distance. There’s probably no single one thing that will reduce your chances of getting into an accident or surviving one than following further behind the cars in front of you.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 02:26

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I’d say hand positioning. Having your hand at 12 is not ideal. The airbag is being covered by your arm and when you need to perform a maneuver then you only have one hand to control the wheel.

A bonus one is to try and understand the weight transfer of a car. Yeah it’s a little advanced for everyday driving but it gives you an understanding of what to do when it’s slippery out and the shit hits the fan.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 02:33

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Correct seat angle helps in rear-enders too. I got plowed in my old MR2 and the seat was back at such an angle I was propelled upwards in a direction the seatbelts weren’t designed for. Left a 1inch square patch of my forehead on the ceiling.

If I had the T-tops off I probably would have kept going far enough to smash my face on the window frame. I think I now have it at about 10 degrees from vertical as opposed to what was probably closer to 30.

Sam > GhostZ 10/16/2015 at 02:42

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Yep. I always think of how long it would take me to come to a complete stop and follow about that far. It also helps to leave about 1.5 car lengths any time you’re in traffic. It makes life easier for people who are merging, which smooths traffic flow for everyone.

Sam > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 10/16/2015 at 02:44

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Yup, and if you somehow rear-end someone else, you can slide under the belt and hurt your legs pretty bad.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > My citroen won't start 10/16/2015 at 03:01

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I occasionally left foot brake. health and safety be damned.

Tareim - V8 powered > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 03:02

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A good way of finding the correct seat position for best control of the wheel is to extend your arms out straight and the steering wheel should be under your wrist, if not adjust the seat until they are.

This made a huge difference for me for both comfort and ability to control the car better during spirited driving

Berang > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 03:37

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Getting the car fit adjusted proper is really important, but sort of just taken for granted or ignored by most people.

If you’re too far or too close from the pedals it will be a lot less fun and or safe to drive the car. If you’re reaching too far for the wheel, or are too close to it, that too has an effect on how you handle the vehicle. But I rarely see anybody write about it. It seems to be a “no duh” thing, and yet for many it isn’t obvious.

Berang > GhostZ 10/16/2015 at 03:40

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Pretty much everybody follows too close. And when you follow from a reasonable distance, people tend to cut you off. ¯\(°_o)/¯

Dunnik > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 03:53

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Oh, it took me, like, a few days to get the seating/driving position just right when I bought my current car, but once I got it right....it’s perfect. I’m not only more comfortable and do not tire on long drives, but as you say, I feel more planted. More grounded. To the ground.

When I feel like giving unsolicited (and often unwanted) driving advice, I urge people to put their hands 9 and 3. It’s easy to explain and the benefits are usually immediately noticeable.

Mirror positioning is also important. Too many people out there have mirrors pointing back at the car.

duurtlang > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 04:48

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Seat angle; in my DD I set it as straight as possible while not hitting my head on the roof. It’s still not as vertical as I’d like it to be, even with the seat in its lowest position. A coupe isn’t the most practical option for someone who’s tall-ish with a long torso.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Sam 10/16/2015 at 05:06

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True that. My old science teacher had massive scars on his shins from that

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 06:44

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Hand positioning on the shifter is important too. Don't just palm it you need to grip with all of your hand. That way you don't accidentally go 4th to 3rd instead of 4th to 5th like some idiot (me).

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Dunnik 10/16/2015 at 08:06

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For spirited driving, 9 and 3. For cruising, 3 and window.

davedave1111 > Sam 10/16/2015 at 08:15

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God, no. Over here that’s an automatic fail on your driving test. You should be concentrating enough on the other traffic around you that you know where other cars are without taking your eyes off the road in front.

Wurrwulf > Tareim - V8 powered 10/16/2015 at 08:34

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This is how I was taught. It’s funny that I’m over a foot taller than my wife, but I drive her Tribute without adjusting the seat. I try to tell her that her seating position is terrible for her, but she’ll have none of it.

crowmolly > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 09:20

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Mirror angle!

You shouldn’t have half the door mirror filled up with the side of your car. You know what it looks like already!

Nonster > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 09:25

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make them take the MSF and ride a motorcycle in traffic. Ever since I started riding a motorcycle I developed the habit of constantly analyzing the traffic around me and placing myself out of potential trouble spots. Avoiding blindspots, avoiding getting boxed in, always looking for an escape route, etc.

Pixel > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 09:30

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TheRealBicycleBuck > Sam 10/16/2015 at 09:44

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Think about your guts too. A seatbelt is designed to hold you in place by your hips. If you slide under, you risk squishing your innards.

TheRealBicycleBuck > My citroen won't start 10/16/2015 at 09:47

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Just don’t rest your left foot on your brake pedal. That keeps the brake lights on and makes the pads constantly rub the rotor.

There’s also the risk of stomping both the gas and brake pedals in a panic stop. I’ve seen it happen.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 10:31

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I have massive knee pain just looking at that picture.

I’m 5’4” and I sit almost as far back as the seat goes. Arms and back the same as the picture but my legs almost straight. I hop into my buddies car who is 6 foot even and I don’t need to adjust the seat just the reach for the wheel. which is why I will NEVER buy a car without a telescoping wheel.

If I drive like the picture my knees and hips cramp up almost immediately.

Urambo Tauro > TheOnelectronic 10/16/2015 at 12:02

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Hand on the shifter during straight-line driving.

Because the driver’s seat is offset from the center of the car, driving with the steering wheel in the center of the lane “leans” the car closer to one side than the other. I see so many drivers riding the edge of their lane because they don’t account for this.

So to center the car within the lane, we look for ways to correct for this. We might angle our side mirrors downward to check the lane markings, or we guess at placing ourselves off-center to make up for the discrepancy.

I like to place my hand on the shifter, and visualize my hand as being in the center of the road, as if I’m holding a railing or slot-track to steady myself. Of course, it’s better to have two hands on the wheel when cornering, as I cheat the center of the lane slightly. But on public roads, I’m looking for the apex of the lane, not the edge of the pavement. When the road straightens out, I want my car to be dead-center in the lane.

Rykilla303 > AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC 10/16/2015 at 13:43

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A long time ago when i was an EMT, a co worker of mine took a guy to the hospital who had lodged a studded bracelet in his forehead driving at 12 when his airbag deployed in a wreck...

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Rykilla303 10/16/2015 at 14:01

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Yeah that sounds horrific. Now I know it’s actually a valid concern. I never understood people who hold their wheel at 12. It just looks ridiculous to me.

Rykilla303 > AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC 10/16/2015 at 14:28

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sadly i still do it on occasion. feels comfy, lol. Left hand at 12, right hand on stick.

Nauraushaun > TheOnelectronic 10/18/2015 at 06:17

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Do things more slowly.

Going fast is great, but you have to pick your chances. Rushing things like lane changes, corners on residential streets, other manouvers...even within acceptable amounts, increases risk. It might turn out fine 99.99% of the time, but every now and then you’ll be glad you took a little time. If you take a little more time doing everything there’ll be less surprises, causing less accidents.

Classic example for me is lane changes. Sometimes you just whack the indicator and jump across lanes because you’re fairly sure there’s no one there. But other times you do a slower lane change and someone is there that you didn’t see. If every lane change is slow, you’re accounting for that small risk of a surprise.