Dec
Emergency Stop
Most car accidents are caused by driver error. It might not be you at fault, but it will be someone’s fault that you crashed. This is why most driving instructors tell their learner drivers rule number one on their first driving lesson.
Rule number one sates “Everybody else on the road is a complete and utter fool. Treat them as such. Stay well away and tell them what you are going to do”. Staying away from foolish drivers is easy. You need to develop the habit of good hazard awareness. Try to see what the other driver is about to do well before they become a problem.
Even the best drivers are caught out occasionally. They will have to react quickly to prevent an accident. This article explains how to stop in an emergency.
Ask your driving instructor if you can practice the emergency stop. You should practice it with in a driving school car. Other drivers expect you to stop suddenly. The driving instructor knows when it is safe to stop suddenly.
You should only use this technique to prevent injury to yourself or another road user.
You are driving along a country road and a small bird flies out of a hedge six feet from you. You would not carry out an emergency stop, it is not going to hurt you or damage the car. If a sheep ran out six feet from you then you would need the emergency stop. The impact will hurt you and the car.
You are driving in town and a little Scottie dog runs into the road a few feet ahead. You would not do the emergency stop. It is not likely to hurt you or the car. A German Shepherd Dog would need an emergency stop because that impact will hurt you and the car.
This does not mean that you should run over dogs or birds. If you can stop in time then stop.
What if a child runs out in front of you? What if a car pulls out in front of you?
You will need to practice the manoeuvre. Only your driving instructor or driving examiner can insist on you doing this exercise. We are trained to decide if it safe. If you are practising with a relative, you both must decide if it is safe.
The Controlled Stop
The emergency stop is best described as the controlled stop. You want to stop quickly and under control.
Do not check your mirrors. There is no time.
Hold the steering wheel firmly.
Brake followed straight away by the clutch
Firm fast breaking to a halt
Secure the car and check no one is hurt.
Move off as you normally would.
Skids
Skids are caused by driver error. The driver was not driving to the road and traffic conditions.
If you are skidding, lift your feet off the pedals
If you are skidding in a straight line just keep the steering wheel straight.
If you are skidding to the right steer to the left until the car is straight.
If you are skidding to the left, steer to the right.
ABS
Most modern cars are equipped with ABS. This is a system of sensors. If the wheels are locking under hard braking, the sensors make the car take over braking. The car will pump the breaks faster than any human can.
ABS allows you to steer in an emergency. IT DOES NOT PREVENT SKIDDING.
If, when braking in an emergency, you feel a ‘thump thump’ under the pedals it is the ABS. Just keep braking.
05:20, 25.07.2010
This is a great site, I love the theme you are using. I Stumbled it for you and bookmarked it on Digg. By the way, if you get a moment, check out my Warcraft Gold Guide
08:01, 24.07.2010
Ah, here’s the thing I’m after
14:42, 07.07.2010
This is just wonderful
Thankyou for making this available
11:15, 02.07.2010
I love your website! did you create this yourself or did you outsource it? Im looking for a blog design thats similar so thats the only reason I’m asking. Either way keep up the nice work I was impressed with your content really..
22:06, 01.07.2010
Only want to say your article is as tonishing. The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i can take for granted you are an expert on this field. Well with your permission allow me to grab your rss feed to keep up to date with succeeding post. Thanks a million and please keep up the ac complished work.
18:56, 29.06.2010
Is there a posted speed limit?
08:48, 21.06.2010
Enjoyed every bit of your article. Will read on…
17:51, 30.05.2010
Hi,this is Shirlee Pacheo,just found your Post on google and i must say this blog is great.may I share some of the information found in your blog to my local mates?i’m not sure and what you think?anyway,Thanks!
18:23, 28.05.2010
The blog was absolutely fantastic! Lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need!
06:12, 27.05.2010
Resources like the one you mentioned here will be very useful to me! I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.
04:54, 27.05.2010
I just cant stop reading this. Its so cool, so full of information that I just didnt know. Im glad to see that people are actually writing about this issue in such a smart way, showing us all different sides to it. Youre a great blogger. Please keep it up. I cant wait to read whats next.
21:13, 14.05.2010
Giant stuff as usual…
03:39, 01.05.2010
I wish more people would write sites like this that are actually interesting to read. With all the garbage floating around on the web, it is rare to read a site like yours instead.
22:50, 22.04.2010
There is plain a lot for me to learn outside of my books. Thanks for the wonderful read,
01:34, 22.04.2010
I know this is really boring and you are skipping to the next comment, but I just wanted to throw you a big thanks – you cleared up some things for me!
08:42, 18.04.2010
You have some interesting posts, thanks for letting me know. Come and read mine to see if you’re interested in a driving school in adelaide!
19:44, 04.04.2010
Extremly helpful… I will come back again!
06:07, 04.04.2010
Hi, your blog page appears to be quite artistic in its style.
03:50, 04.04.2010
Hey There, this weblog seems funny and narrow when I open it using Opera. Nonetheless, it seems to be fine in IE. Does anyone else observe this?