Driver Training

[Crash Test]

I believe it's GMT

[mtpanorama]

Now i went for a long drive today and decided to pay attention to my steering position. I do actually hold it at about 9.30, 2.30. The wheel in my falcon has the arms joining the wheel at 9 and 3, and i find it uncomfotable holding it at this point. So i hold the wheel just above this join with my little fingers resting on them. I was looking at the airbag and thinking about it going off and i recon it would miss my fingers anyway. My hands are actually bellow the level of the air bag. But i am not going to test my theory.
I also used the hand over hand method which for most corners you dont even need to take your hand off the wheel.
One thing that i did notice was how much i drive with one hand on the wheel. Because i drive a manual i found that when i was going around corners, particulaly from a standing start i would need to change gears half way around the corner, so i would just turn the wheel with my right hand. Its funny the things you notice that you do when you pay attention

[Alan Jones]

Originally posted by mtpanorama

One thing that i did notice was how much i drive with one hand on the wheel.

I also noticed that. One on the wheel,the other elbow and arm on the windowsill, and the occasional fag if I'm by myself.

[Crash Test]

My day to day car is an auto, but I still seem to spend half the time with only one hand on the wheel... although, after that Champ Car shunt on the Gold Coast, I've notice myself slow down and grip the wheel with two hands for dear life

[DAVID PATERSON]

Elephino, what your describing is the push-pull method, but we all knew that. Hand over hand, or should it be called arm over arm is the one that can tie you up in knots if you suddenly need a bit more lock.

Mt & AJ, I believe it is design flaw of all Falcons, that actually encourages you to sit one hand at 11 or 1 o'clock and rest the other on the window sill or console lid. It seems to be much more comfortable that way in Falcons, than in other cars.

[elephino]

Last time I checked, the push pull method is where the hands don't really move much and shuffle the steering wheel around. Especially as what i described has one hand going over the other hand.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Elephino, gees where going around in circles here, but I think I've identified what the source of the problem is. What you call hand over hand, I call push-pull. What you call push-pull sounds daft and i hope nobody actually drives like that, though i sure some do. What I called hand over hand is probably better known as arm over arm and can tie you in knots.

[elephino]

Unfortunately the style that neither of us like is quite often taught by a number driving schools. It looks quite awful watching kids being taught a slow and cumbersome way of turning a steering wheel.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Slow and cumbersome is how I'd descrivbe the vast majority of drivers on the road today.

Did anyone watch Today Tonight/A current affair last night. It was supposed to show the terrible learner drivers that are a blight on our roads. What it actually showed was one of the worst driving instructors I have ever seen. Absolutley appalling, completely useless and a paid professional.

[garcon]

We have those too. Apporoved Driving Instructors don't even have to have done any advanced driver training themselves, and have no universal guidelines of how/what to teach, except for "what will get you through the test".

Many times I have encountered a driving instructor's car being driven very badly - and then discovered there's no passenger, so it must have been the instructor him/herself!

The "proper" way to steer (push-pull from ten to two/quarter to three) is slow and cumbersome if you've not been taught properly. Once you learn how to do it smoothly it becomes second nature. It's still not the fastest though - police training does advocate crossing hands "if necessary"...

[elephino]

They drag out a new version of that story every year. The old people driving badly must be coming up in a few weeks then...

They always choose those with huge egos and no brains. Never typical nor a range of young (or old) drivers. If, for instance, I was on there I'd show what can be done if taught properly. I'm not saying I'm perfect nor a great driver but I know I'm a huge amount better than any of the youngens that they've had on ACA/TodayTonight. I'm still sure I surprised the AAMI driver training people with my knowledge and skills already learnt - it did help I'd done a real driver training course already.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Michael self praise is no reccommendation.

Among the under 21 male drivers, I would suggest that the immensely confident and far from competent are in fact a very large group, far from being a small minority.

[fast95pony]

I took a high performance school last spring. It's a annual event run by the local sports car club . It was a 2 day course and I learnt a great deal. We drove our own cars. I was suprised at how high my cars limits were. The course was a precurser to getting a competition licence, so it was more about how to drive around a track , than defensive driving. It was a real blast !!

Alan

[Bluebottle]

My dad took an advanced driving test a couple of years back, he passed the test and thorougly enjoyed the experiance (and the reduced insurance premium that comes with it!) It's something I've been thinking about doing but have never got around to it. Perhaps I should do it before I do a day at a race school...

[garcon]

Do it aswell as the day at the race school - they're both fun and both useful but in different ways - one teaches car control at the limits, the other will teach observation, hazard perception, 'defensive driving' etc.

For the advanced road course, find your local IAM branch - cheaper and more thorough then the private offerings, as long as you have a few Sunday mornings to spare...