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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Disclaimer

By viewing this blog, the reader agrees to drive safely at all times, obey all traffic laws and accepts full responsibility for his or her actions on the road. The reader hereby agrees to hold Kevin Bennett harmless for any damages, injury, expenses or claims of any kind that result from following advice, ideas or examples in the "Stop Aggressive Driving" Blog. The reader further understands that Kevin Bennett is not an expert in highway or driving safety. The reader further agrees to consult their local D.P.S. or other appropriate government agency for driver safety rules and regulations in their jurisdiction.

Future articles to come....

1 Driving in the wrong lane (last minute lane yankers)

2 Tailgating

3 There are no accidents only negligence.

Obsessive Braking

Have you seen drivers who literally hit their brakes every 15 seconds for no reason
at all? I don't know what their obsession is with constantly pressing the brake pedal.
By all means, if you really need to slow down or stop, then you absolutely should do so.
This article is only about truly unnecessary and obsessive braking.

These people hit their brakes repeatedly no matter what situation they are
in on the road. People behind them, who are driving at a steady speed, are left
to wonder if there is something wrong up ahead because they are seeing brake
lights when everyone should be driving at a steady speed. This sometimes causes
a chain reaction of unnecessary braking.

When I see people constantly hitting their brakes, nine times out of ten, it is because
they are tailgating (driving too close). If they simply follow at a safe distance behind the
car in front of them, they would not need to be repeatedly stomping on the brakes.

Another annoyance is people who hit their brakes every time they change lanes.
Changing lanes is one of the simplest manuvers you can perform in a motor vehicle.
This only requires two steps: check your mirrors for other cars around you and
then turn your steering wheel about 30 degrees and back. There is absolutely
no need to press your brake pedal to change lanes. You are supposed to remain
at the same speed when you are changing lanes, there is no reason to slow down.

Every single day, I see someone on the highway and there is literally no car in
front of them for a quarter mile. They basically have nothing but open highway in
their sights. For some unknown reason they are repeatedly hitting their brakes WITH
NOONE IN FRONT OF THEM. This is one of the great mysteries of the road.

What people don't seem to realize is that the only reason their car is moving in
the first place is because thier foot is on the gas pedal. Just letting off of the
gas pedal automatically slows you down. What I was taught in drivers ed is to "cover"
your brakes which means to "hover" your foot above the brake pedal at certain times
to give you better reaction time incase you actually do need to hit your brakes.

Let me know your stories of aggressive driving, and as always, drive safe!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Jack-Rabbit Starts

One of the more idiodic things you see on the streets is those who
think when the light turns green, it has to be a drag race.
They feel they have to floor it and scream their engine just to
get up to the speed limit one half second faster. How much time
could that really be saving them?

Why not just accellerate gradually by gently pushing on the gas. You are
only talking about a few fractions of a second difference in time.
You are both reaching the same speed limit (assuming you're not breaking
it). So the actual time it takes to accellerate up to the speed limit is
very negligible. Jack-rabbit starts save no time at all in most cases.


Haven't you noticed when you see that guy at the same red light as you.
The light turns green... You proceed at a reasonable pace but the guy next to you
punches it like he's crazy. He goes zooming off seemingly far ahead of you.
But can you guess what happens next? At the very next light, the same
guy is right next to you, or even behind you some times with the mix of traffic.
I'd say this happens about 9 times out of 10 just proving how foolish it is.
So he just wasted all that gas and wear and tear on his car or nothing.
Where's the logic in that?

Let me know your stories of aggressive driving. I wan't to hear 'em!