You probably think you’re a great driver. Studies show that most people think they are better drivers than everyone else. If everyone is better, than no one really is. Here’s ten techniques to master to make sure you actually are better than average, you special, special soul.
The quick tips from Car Throttle might seem easy and obvious at first, but think back to all of the times you’ve done something stupid or seen someone else do something stupid on the road and everything on this list seems relevant again.
They may be simple, but ten techniques to being a better you are:
- Look ahead in curves and turns. When driving a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle or basically anything, you should be looking at where you want your vehicle to go. If you are a standard human, your body is already pretty good at following your eyes.
- Pay attention to what’s happening in the distance. Not only will this make you a master at spotting speed traps and road-side obstructions just based on taillight patterns alone, but it will also give you more time to react in a controlled manner instead of being surprised by something.
- Be at the same speed as traffic when merging. Be at the same speed as the traffic you are merging into. YOU SHOULD BE GOING THE SAME SPEED AS THE TRAFFIC YOU ARE MERGING INTO. LOOKING AT YOU BUICK LESABRE GOING 30 ON THE ON-RAMP.
- Don’t just slam on the brakes all the damn time. Sudden braking is most often the cause for traffic congestion. One person slams on their brakes, causing a chain reaction with the time to return to speed growing exponentially for every car that has to slam on their brakes. So just pay more attention and don’t brake for the racetrack all the time. Unless, like, you need to.
- Know how to drive a manual transmission. Not only is it the “ultimate anti-theft device” for cars, but it also makes you more focused on actually driving your car and less focused on that girl that likes every single one of your Instagram photos but never replies to your messages.
- Learn how to control oversteer. As the video points out, this is one of the major things that’s often taught at “advanced” driving schools. But it’s not that advanced! Spoiler alert: sometimes your car oversteers when you are not expecting it, so knowing how to turn into the slide and power out of it just might save your skin.
- Get fancy with heel-toe downshifts. Not only will this reduce wear and tear on your transmission and help you maintain optimal power output in the bends, but it also makes your car sound loud and cool, which makes you look loud and cool.
- Master the art of reversing a car. Nothing impresses a date more than a perfectly executed pull out. I mean from a parking space. That pull out. Pull out (of the parking lot) game strong! That’s what the kids are all talking about, right?
- Practice how to park. Alternatively, a date will also be impress when they stepped out of your hella flush car and see that you’ve parked perfectly even between the lines. Who doesn’t love a good parking job?
- Be patient. Check left, then right, then left again. Patience is that “left again” part. Also just generally chill when driving. Put on some tunes (not too loud!) and enjoy the ride. Don’t yell at the elder in the crosswalk. That will be you one day if you don’t die from stressing all the damn time.
There you go. Some easy techniques to train on and maintain to get you to be a better driver. If everyone follows this, just think of how good our lives would become. You don’t need a European-spec Civic Type R to be a better driver, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt.