How to Drive

There are numerous stuffs that need you to drive, such as a normal car, a racing car, a tractor, a truck, a bus or a motor boat. All possibly will involve a different driving method, but each of them requires obtaining driving lessons, of some kind. Driving is not just getting into an automobile and getting off. There are a lot of safety measures that have to applied and discovered.

Steps

Get a driver's or learner's permit, if your state requires one.

Find a reputable drivers school and take driving lessons.

Study the driving rules in the book that you received when you signed up for the permit. If you do not learn the rules, and how to use them, you cannot get your license.

Practice with someone on a daily basis. It could be a friend, or a relative. Make sure that they have excellent driving knowledge, and that they have the patience to be sitting beside you, while you learn.

Watch others while they drive and ask questions. While there is no substitute for firsthand practice, this can be a good opportunity to review rules and techniques.

Apply for your driving test, after the required amount of lessons. The test involves, usually, depending on the state, a written test as well as a driving test.

Pass both tests, and you will be permitted to drive.

Tips

If possible, try to sign up for grassroots motorsports events to practice car control. Autocross is an especially useful event to participate in, as it provides a safe environment for you to learn car control at relatively low speeds. Active safety is also an important step to being a good driver.

Most people find it easier to start with a vehicle that has an automatic transmission. This will get you out on the road faster, but learning to drive manual is a very valuable skill, even though it has a steeper learning curve.

A copy of your state's "rules of the road" can be gotten from any Department of Licensing office. You may also be able to find one online.

Always remember what you have learned in driving school. As soon as you get into the car, even before putting the key into the ignition, put on your seat belt.

Adjust your mirrors, both side and top to make sure you have a good view of the cars on either side and behind you.

Always use your hand signals, or car turn signals. Remember that the person in the car behind you cannot read your mind. They don't know which direction you are going to move unless you signal.

If you're completely new behind the wheel, find someplace safe to get a feel for controlling a car the first time. Start on a slow back road or large, empty parking lot, out of traffic.

If you fail the driving test, try a different licensing office next time. Some of them are tougher graders than others.

Warnings

Always drive at least a car length behind the car in front of you. If you have to make a fast stop, you do not want to crash into the front car. When going fast, mainly 60 mph or more, you will need even more than one car length in order to come safely to a stop, so understand and observe the two-second rule, as outlined in the Wikipedia link below. Take weather and road conditions into account.

Know your vehicle; how long it takes to stop, the responsiveness of the steering wheel, etc.

Use caution when driving. Do not speed, nor drive too slowly.

NEVER drink While and before driving.

NEVER drive if you are very tired.

ALWAYS wear a seatbelt!

Try not to stop suddenly unless its an emergency. This is especially true of higher end vehicles such as sports cars, as they have brakes that vehicles behind you can barely match in stopping power. Sudden stops can lead to vehicles behind you ploughing into your rear.

Note: This article can only guide you on your way to driving so don't depend on it as your only source.

How to Drive a Car

There are various kinds of automobile that you can learn how to drive, however, there are certain steps that you have to keep it in your mind when driving a normal car.

Prepare your self for the experience! Riding with you is a matter of life or death.

Keep the car in good working order before you drive it. Checking everything every once in a while is a good idea.

Have insurance and the paper to prove it.

Make sure somewhere in your checklist when you exit the vehicle that you turn off the lights.

Have your license with you.

Avoid parking illegally, your car may be towed, or you may be cited and have to pay a fine.

Be courteous to the others on the road.

Don't run red lights.

Carry cash for toll booths and tips for parking attendants.

Be safe and follow all the posted and implied laws while driving.

Learn to drive. It might be a good idea to take professional lessons from a driving institute. However, if this is not possible, enlist the aid of your staffer who is a careful driver and has been driving for a while.

Be alert. Check the rear view and side mirrors; make sure you can see all traffic and pedestrians behind you and in front of you. Make it a habit to know that you have mirrors and use them every few seconds while driving.

Watch out for bigger vehicles like trucks, buses, semis, and SUVs that charge the road. Sometimes people with big cars drive like bullies, and you need to understand that if your car comes head to head with them, your car will lose.

Tips

If your car is equipped with ABS, you must press the brake as hard as you can in emergency stop. This will activate ABS and bring your car to a complete stop in the shortest distance while allowing you to retain control over your car. Do not 'pump' the brake nor loosen the force applied to the pedal no matter what. While ABS is active, you may feel vibration through the brake pedal but this is expected and completely normal. Just continue pressing the brake as hard as possible until your car stops.

Take it easy. Slow down, put on some relaxing music and just cruise. You may be surprised how much less stress is involved in driving if you eliminate the need to hurry. Give yourself extra time and learn to enjoy driving.

Wear your seat belt: your face will thank you later.

Practice makes perfect.


Warnings

Always follow the rules of the road valid for your state or country. Make sure you know all the rules before starting to drive, or else you or your car might be badly damaged.

Remember, if your car is equipped with ABS, never pump your brake. Just brake as hard as you can.

Be aware of any limitations of provisional licenses, for example in the UK you cannot drive on a motorway without a full license.

Make sure you practice uphill starts when learning to operate a manual transmission. Because starting a manual transmission from a stop requires letting off the brakes and engaging the clutch (essentially placing the car in neutral), the car will roll backwards until first gear is engaged. To stop this from happening, apply the hand/parking brake, then release it as you release the clutch and the car begins to move forward. Otherwise, you risk rolling into the car behind you. Practice this technique on a sloped driveway or parking lot where it's safe to make mistakes.

In some cities, shifting late (just before red-lining) not only makes you sound like a maniac, it can also be considered "reckless driving", which is illegal and can get you a nasty ticket/fine.

Never shift into low gears at high speeds (i.e. 1st gear at 50mph). This will greatly damage or destroy your cars engine and transmission.

This is by no means a replacement to going to drivers ed.!

Street racing is dangerous, and illegal in most countries, so don't act stupid!
Always wear a seatbelt!

Always use your turn signal, and use low beam headlights when there is an approaching vehicle or when there is a vehicle in front of your vehicle.
Make sure you're in the CORRECT lane while driving.

DO NOT drink and drive. You could kill yourself or someone else.

Note: This article can only guide you on your way to driving so don't depend on it as your only source.

Driving More Efficiently

Practicing the following fuel efficient driving techniques can improve fuel economy more than 10%:

Observing the Speed Limit

In highway driving, over 50% of the energy required to move your car down the road goes to overcoming aerodynamic drag (pushing air out of the way). As you drive faster, aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance increase. As a result, at speeds above 55 mph, fuel economy decreases rapidly.

By driving 65 mph instead of 70 mph , you'll save gas. Of course it will take you longer to get to your destination, but for each extra hour you spend driving you'll save $5.00. Owners of larger trucks and sport utility vehicles may save as much as $10.00 for each extra hour spent driving.

Staying within the speed limit is not only a matter of safety and obeying the law, it can also save you money!

Over-drive Gears

Over-drive gears improve the fuel economy of your car during highway driving. When you use over-drive gearing your car's engine speed decreases. This reduces both fuel consumption and engine wear.

Using Cruise Control

Using cruise control on highway trips can help you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will reduce your fuel consumption.

Anticipating Traffic Situations

In city driving, nearly 50% of the energy needed to power your car goes to acceleration. Unnecessary braking wastes that energy.

Avoid extreme acceleration except in emergency situations. Hard acceleration causes your engine to enter a less efficient "fuel enrichment mode" of operation.

If you anticipate traffic conditions ahead of you and don't tailgate, you can avoid unnecessary braking and acceleration, and improve your fuel economy by 5-10 %. This defensive driving strategy is not only safer, it will also reduce wear on your tires and brakes and save you money.

Avoiding Unnecessary Idling

Warming up your car isn't necessary for most cars today. No matter how efficient your car is, unnecessary idling wastes fuel, costs you money, and pollutes the air.

Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated

Your tires are designed to operate at peak efficiency only when they are inflated to the proper air pressure. You can read the maximum inflated tire pressure on the sidewall of the tire. By adhering to these recommendations your car will not only get better tire wear, but you will get better fuel mileage because you'll have less rolling resistance.

How To Calculate Your Vehicle's MPG - Miles-Per-Gallon?

I was asked by one of my blog visitors what the formula is for calculating how many miles-per-gallon she was getting on her car. Then it hit me that while I've been calculating my own cars' MPG for years it never dawned on me that some people didn't know how to do this.

So here's how to calculate your own car's MPG:

1. Fill up your fuel tank and write down the odometer reading from your speedometer.

2. Drive the car until you need to fill the tank again. Let it go down to about 1/4 of a tank or less.

3. Fill the tank again and record the odometer reading and the number of gallons it took to fill it. Be precise; record the gallons exactly including the portion of a gallon usually represented by a decimal in hundreds of a gallon. For example 15.78 gallons.

4. Subtract the previous odometer reading from the new one to determine how may miles you have driven between fill-ups.

5. Now simply divide the miles traveled by the number of gallons used. This will tell you how many miles-per-gallon you are getting.

6. For example let's say you went 356 miles between fill-ups, and it took 15.78 gallons to fill the tank. Well, 356 miles divided by 15.78 gallons equals 22.56. So you got 22.56 miles-per-gallon on that last tank of gas.

7. Check your miles-per-gallon over four or five fill-ups to get a good cross section of different driving conditions such as city, highway and so forth. Then take all your calculations and average them out (add them together and divide by the number of calculations) to get an overall picture of your gas mileage.