DRIVE WISE. WHERE EDUCATION MATTERS.

CHECK LIST

Checklist One must always prepare for the event of an emergency. Always keep some money beforehand in your car, a power bank to charge your phone; make sure your tyres have sufficient tread left and are inflated to their recommended levels and your windscreen wipers are in working order

6 MOST COMMON DRIVING MISCONCEPTIONS

In many different countries , several vehicle users are clouded by mistaken beliefs about cars and driving. These are the seven most common driving myths which we have tried to explain and expel.

Handbrake is the solution.

1. Most drivers believe that to pulling the handbrake will stop the car quicker in any given situation. However, from medium to high speeds, doing so unsettles the car and also locks the brakes. If your car begins to skid, the best way to straighten the car is to leave the car in gear, turn into the skid and giving a good boost of power. Pulling the handbrake and locking your wheels will only take away the finite amount of control that is available at that precise moment.

2. AWD is safer  While most manufacturers will have you believe that All-Wheel Drive or Four-Wheel Drive is a safety feature,this system only allows for better performance in acceleration and on wet or loose surfaces. AWD does not provide better grip, however, the intelligent traction control systems with torque vectoring can distribute power to the wheel with the most amount of grip to allow better stability in high-speed cornering or avoiding maneuverers. However, this feature can actually mask how slippery the road is and lead to drivers being overconfident.

3. Fog Lights Fog lights are designed to be used when the fog is so dense the headlights reflect back off the water droplets in the fog and make vision difficult. Many motorists drive with their fog lights on at night even though there isn’t any fog. Driving with fog lights on when visibility is clear only blinds oncoming traffic which is extremely dangerous.

4. Wider is better Wider tyres can only provide better grip as long as the weight of the vehicle and tyre pressure stay the same. Replacing standard tyres with wider ones will only change the shape but not the size of the contact patch. If you require extra grip on a slippery surface, it is better to just let some air out of your tyres for better traction and the inflate them back to their recommended optimum pressure.

5. Right lane hogging While cruising along a multi-lane highway, many drivers tend to hog the right lane well under the speed limit believing it to be the safest form of driving. This forces faster vehicles to change to the middle lane to overtake from the left which is dangerous. The safest lane is the extreme left lane as it will allow other drivers who share the road to overtake in a safer manner from the right on which cars are meant to drive at faster speeds.

6. Indicating Rights Some drivers feel that if they have given the indicators, they have full right to merge in front of a vehicle. But indicators are merely indicators to other drivers to let them know that it is what you intend to do. At no point must you force another driver to slow down or make an evasive manoeuvre which at high speeds can be dangerous and can lead to a major crash. Check your mirrors to see if you have sufficient and safe space before you change lanes or make a turn.