High Speed Driving - Do's and Don'ts

TSIVipul · Jul 27, 2014

Disclaimer: Long post – beware of overtaking… err reading time and better keep slow and safe. The views mentioned are completely mine and neither we nor TAI by any ways promote unsafe driving practices or the violation of speed limits anywhere throughout the world. Rest, the deviations from the mentioned tips can be observed based on the driving style of individuals. Drive Safe, wear seat belts and follow speed limits.

Hello guys, after the successful completion of my financial planning for making car purchase series that comprises of the following three threads, we are back to driving tips classes to learn and share more about safe driving practices:

Going by all this and after bearing me for three threads(I am sure none of you has been able to bear three of them) we can expect that right cars have been brought by the buyers, now let’s move ahead with something that has the dealing with true hardcore metal and true raw power – let’s just hit the roads with our rides and no more boring finance management classes(Ehh, I know I can make anyone sleep) and comes the interesting part driving, more driving and even more of it.

This series is based more on experience, the practices we regularly follow to keep ourselves safe, quick and comfortable on the road and letting others also enjoy the drive without causing any damage to their safety, joy or comfort. In this new series we have tips and tricks of negotiating different situations one faces during regular drives and in various environments. Adaptability is the principle behind this series and all we are going to discuss here is how to adapt according to the need of the situation. Any person who is married can give us some golden examples of ‘how to adapt according to the need of situation’! [;)]

Jokes apart(Ehh, sounds tough though), here we are going to discuss on how we need to change our driving style and some thumb rules that one needs to follow to keep themselves as well as others safe on the roads. Since every kind or road, area or even vehicle requires a different kind of hand or foot for controlling(forgot to mention – mind also required :stupid:

) the vehicle so all we are going to discuss is of the points that one must keep into mind while driving in different environments that can help one enjoy the drive – safe and comfortable. So this series comprises of four threads:

So as the thread title suggests, this is the fourth(and last) thread in the series and is called High speed driving - Do’s and Don’ts

Moving ahead in our same old and boring style(I told na, I can make anyone sleep), here is the list of chapters you will have to bear:

Who Said Speed And Safety Can’t Go Side By Side?

Know The Road

Know Your Ride

Know Yourself

Theory Of Relativity – What Are High Speeds And ‘Where’?

Whether I Do 80 Or 120, Does It Make Any Difference?

Empty Road Is Tempting Road And Temptation Kills

Expressways Aren’t Playgrounds

It’s Raining But I Need To Be There On Time

I’ll be Saving My Time And Money By Hitting The Road In Night!

Misconception I: My Car Has Got ABS And Airbags, I Am Safe!

Misconception II: My Brakes Are Good Enough To Stop The Car In Time!

Carelessness Is Killer – How To Deal With That Burst Tyre?

Running Elephants And Running Heavy Vehicles Are better Undisturbed

Some Special Cases And Points To Remember(Final Tit Bits)

TSIVipul · Jul 27, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Chapter 1
Who Said Speed And Safety Can’t Go Side By Side?

Speed and Safety altogether! Sounds strange, right? ‘Safety’ is like a physical constant we study in science which has nothing to do with the parameters it is being added to but has the capability of changing the entire equations and the final outcome of them. Is slower one safe? I disagree, if it is so then slow moving traffic would have never seen accidents.

One can be quick as well as safe, all they need to follow are some safety tips like:

Follow lane discipline
Proper indications before making maneuvers
Proper maintenance of one’s ride
Buckle up
Keep well under speed limit
Avoid drunk or fatigue driving

Follow the concept of ABCS – Air, Brakes, Control, Speed and Seat belts. Let me elaborate it a bit:

Air: Proper inflation of tyres.
Brakes: Should be monitored time to time and must be given proper maintenance when required.
Control: Steering, Brakes, Wheel Balancing etc anything that affects the control or ride of the vehicle must be closely monitored and given proper rectification if any issues do arise.
Speed: “If everything is under control, you are not going fast enough” and “If anything goes out of control then you will crash fast enough to kill you”. So better is to select life and safety over speed.
Seatbelts: I guess their importance require no special mention. They are life saviors and we strictly recommend them.

By following these tips, one can keep his/her ride well suited to carry good speeds, safely and joyfully. No need of being slow to keep safe – keep driving at the speed limit and enjoy the drive, just be careful of the signals, warnings and take care of the safety because “Maybe the life you will end up saving is yours”. [:)]

Chapter 2
Know The Road

So you love blind dates! Well, who knows when the hit and trial may work out for you. We wish same was for driving too. Here the blind date may be with a truck, some animal or even with death in extreme cases, I am sure the mood to go on a blind date is shaken now. Any ways, like we never go for any relation in our life without knowing the other person, same is with roads. Knowing the way you are going to travel not only adds to convenience but also adds to safety too. Knowing the road consists of:

Know the location of cities the road is passing through, byepass ways, eateries, fuel bunk locations etc. knowledge of all this can save you from wasting your time, getting you proper points of break when needed. Knowing of proper eating points is as much important as the safety is – it affects your health. Once I ended up with bad food and bad stomach on mid way and I can tell you that the 4 hour journey was like a 40 years of expedition for me that time.
Know the road: It’s all about knowing of the road and its sections along with the appropriate time for passing through any section. Example: Some roads are good for day driving but are dangerous in night, or some roads are partially closed during night for construction etc. So its better to know of the road and the points mentioned in the former point before leaving for the drive. According to the road, plan your journey time taking some time extra considering the jams etc.
Does the road passes through any city? If yes, then better you plan for an early or late hours trip so that you can easily cross the city and in case it’s simply unavoidable then it’s always better to have a list of secondary routes also prepared with you as cities are very much jam prone during day time and having an another route option can save you a lot of time and money.
Know the places the road passes through like hills, villages or some low lying areas because if so are the cases then better you cover any risky areas during day(Landslide prone zones, low lying areas where rain can cause floods etc).
Now you know about the road you are going to travel on, next comes the knowledge of your car before you actually press on the gas. Well, just like any love affair, the sexy thing about knowing your ride is that in nearly every drive you end up discovering something new about your ride and when you do it – your love for your ride and confidence on it increases exponentially. So, let’s move on and know what all one needs to know about his/her ride before leaving for that high speed drive.

Chapter 3
Know Your Ride

Going by scientific terms, we have roll centers, lateral load transfers, yaw torque and some more such boring words which actually have nothing to do with you but have a lot to do with your car. When God made cars, he made them different(oh, c’mon man – how boring world would have been with just one type of cars) and he made them different so that they can perform different tasks. Knowing your ride is all about being aware of the capabilities of your vehicle. Now you can’t simply expect a Santro to overtake a long hauler as quickly as a V8 S-Class on a dual carriageway and if you expect – then the on-coming traffic is ready to fix your appointment with yamaraj. So all you need to know about your car before you go for the drive is:

Has it got right set of shoes? Well, for sprinting you need to have a right pair of shoes else all you will end up in is hurting yourself. Same is with cars, at high speeds the thing that is at biggest risk is ‘tyres’. Example: If your car has got 195/65 R15 tyres then they will be running at around 20.76 RPS(Revolution Per Second) or 1245.87 RPM when you are doing 120 kph. Now if you take friction, surface temperature, centrifugal forces and all such boring stuff into account then actually your car runs on a small live bomb at such speeds and if not taken care of – this bomb will explode and results of this are unknown to none.
So, the selection of right shoes is a must. Example: You can’t expect A/T or M/T tyres to perform well on highway speeds(100-120 kph) and they will actually spoil the control instead of enhancing it.
So we are done with the shoes and next comes the Engine. Well, it’s the most important part and knowing your engine and gearbox is as important as knowing the habits of your better half is. Being aware of the power and torque delivery of your engine you are aware of how the car will behave in any gear at any speed and hence helping you calculate what gear and engine rpm is must for any maneuver at any speed.
Steering response and handling: Steering ratio for all cars is not same and so does the response. Now you can’t expect a Toyota Etios to be as quick in responding to steering inputs and change its directions as you can do in a Ford Fiesta. So, being the driver you need to be aware of how your car responds to the steering inputs and how much does the body of your vehicle rolls while negotiating a corner. Afterall, knowing this you can always calculate the right amount of steering input as well as the speed at which your car can safely take corner.
Braking of your vehicle: Is your vehicle ABS equipped? Are there any other assisting features like ESP etc? You need to be aware of it all and how the vehicle is going to behave under hard braking. Example: Hard braking in a Honda City is easily manageable but doing same in a Tata Safari can be a bit tricky. So all you need to understand is how your vehicle is going to behave under braking and based on this you actually decide the braking force you need to apply during the conditions which demand braking applications. Being aware of the braking behavior of your vehicle, you can avoid various accidents like overturning etc.
Behavior of your car in rain, on flooded roads etc. You always need to be aware of how your car will end up behaving on wet roads, in dust storms, flooded roads etc. This simply gives you a safer side as you are aware of the capabilities of your vehicle.

Well, writing it all was easy but learning is equally difficult but then that’s the sexy thing about the ownership experience. Any relation keeps on being interesting until there are new things to discover about your better half every moment you are together, same is with the ownership of your vehicle, so keep discovering and enjoy the love for your vehicle. [:)]

TSIVipul · Jul 27, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Chapter 4
Know Yourself

Well, I have nothing to do with Baba Ramdev, nor I am going to push you on the path of Yoga with tasks like “Know yourself” or the “Quest to know the truth of life”. All I want to mention here is that one needs to be aware of self. Now you think, if Mr. Natthulal is suffering from severe vision disorder and is unable to see anything far away clearly and then he is doing 120 kph in his shining new Mercedes Benz, what result will one expect?

The point behind this chapter is simple, there is always a difference between doing slow speeds and high speeds and if anything goes wrong while one is doing high speeds then the results may be far more devastating than what one can expect at lower speeds. One must avoid high speed drives when:

The person is not physically fit
The person is suffering any kind of physical injury to any body part which is actively used for controlling the vehicle.
The person is less experienced.

It is all about being how confident you are about your vehicle, your drive and yourself above all. All in all, before going for any high speed drive, it is equally necessary to be fit for the drive both physically and mentally.
[:)]

Chapter 5
Theory Of Relativity – What Are High Speeds And ‘Where’?

I am sure Mr. Einstein won’t be happy knowing this ‘Theory of Relativity’ of mine but everything is related to another by some way or another.
Okay, so we have a speed limit of 100 kilometers an hour on Yamuna Expessway – one of the finest(maybe the finest itself) road in India. There’s no second thought that even 100 kph also feels slow by the standards of that gem of an expressway but then it’s not so for whole country.
Even high speed is also a relative term, on a hilly road even 60 kph also fells in the category of high speed, on a dual carriageway 80 kph seems to be enough while in the city premises, doing 60 kph is nothing but suicidal. Although we have good expressways where high speeds can be easily maintained but still we strictly recommend one to drive under the speed limits only and the reasons behind it are:

Your safety is above everything. Example: The tyre burst incidents of Yamuna Expressway are hidden to none, nor their results are. Speed limit is set taking care of travel time, safety and comfort and actually is a good compromise of all. And no doubt, doing 100 kph you are also saving fuel, enhancing your engine life, saving wear of your tyres and a lot more.
Driving in the speed limit means you are driving at the speed of traffic and it gives you a distinct advantage which results in lesser usage of clutch, brakes and lesser gearshift, hence making the drive a breeze.

All in all, its all about being quick and safe at the same time and high speeds are better attained at expressways only, not only it will make it comfortable for you, but safety is even more important. After all being late is always better than never reaching the destination, maybe the life you will end up saving is yours own.
[:)]

Chapter 6
Whether I Do 80 Or 120, Does It Make Any Difference?

Well, doing 80 or doing 120 definitely makes a difference. No doubt you are a fantastic driver and you know very well hoe to get the things under control but what actually makes the difference is how your vehicle is going to behave under that speed and adding to it is the distance you are covering every second.

80 kph = 22.22 meter/second
120 kph = 33.33 meter/second

Now take for an instance, a vehicle suddenly comes into your way at a distance of 40 meters(You are driving a Nissan Sunny). So the thing goes this way:
Your reaction time + time for fluid mechanics as well to work = 0.5 second(so less because you are a very efficient driver)
In that 0.5 second you will end up covering:
11.11 meters@80 kph
16.66 meters@120 kph
So basically, before the brakes are actually applied, you have already covered 11.11 meters when you are doing 80 kph and 16.66 meters when you are doing 120 kph.
This makes that the distance between you and other vehicle is 28.89 meters when you are doing 80 kph and 23.34 meters when you are doing 120 kph.

Now, here are the braking times and braking curve for some cars:

These are the braking distances* for some cars:

Its 46.57 for Sunny and 49.97 for XUV

So at 80 kph your car will come to complete stop at 11.11 + 27.28 = 38.39 meters. Its definitely a close shave as all you have stopped is just 1.61 meters before colliding with other vehicle. Now if we take 100 kph, then you are covering 27.77 meters per second and your reaction time distance covered is 13.88 meters. So all you are left with is 26.11 meters to stop.
Now stopping distance at 100 kph for Nissan Sunny XV is 46.57 meters, this makes you short by 20.46 meters. In other words, you can expect to hit the other vehicle/obstacle at a speed good enough to make major damages to you as well as your car.
This was the scene at 100 kph, so it’s a no brainer that at 120 kph your stopping distance will be long enough that maybe you may end up hitting that other vehicle at 80 kph. With a rise of 20 kph in speed, the stopping distance became 1.7 times, going by even this trend we can find that at 120 kph, the stopping distance can be as high as 79 meters.

I hope it is well understood that how a difference of ‘only’ 20 or 40 kph can make some major differences.
[:)]

TSIVipul · Jul 27, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Chapter 7
Empty Road Is Tempting Road And Temptation Kills

Okay so you found an empty road and the 1.8l turbo petrol you are driving is capable of eating up all of this stretch in a couple of seconds. But…err.. a big but(no pun intended) wait! You aren’t the only one who has become a bit careless on seeing an empty stretch. That lone truck driver a kilometer ahead of your car is even more careless and so are the cyclists, farmers and natives of this area. All of them are careless as the road at their place remains empty for most of the times.

On the empty roads, it is frequent that you can see people making such maneuvers which can cause pile ups if done in traffic. Overtly relaxed driving, un-indicated lane cutting, over speeding etc are quite common things that one can observe on empty roads. Adding to it are the cyclists, locals, farmers etc who actually think just once before crossing the road even if they see a vehicle approaching. After all, just like we do – they also hope that we will save them and pass through the available space on the road.

So while driving on empty roads, it is always better if you use some of your anticipation and try to cover a wider view especially if you see any signs of population nearby. Tractors coming out of farms, cyclists etc can be easily found crossing the road. They do it seeing your car quite far but the issue is that they are crossing at a speed of 1 meter per second while you are approaching them at 20 meter per second and this fails their calculations. But if you are alert enough, then you can easily avoid getting into any trouble on empty stretches.
[:)]

Chapter 8
Expressways Aren’t Playgrounds

Okay, so you found an empty expressway, no other vehicle is visible at any distance and hence you have decided to make some unique moves. Well, just like you there may be some other driver far behind you doing some speed even more than double of yours, now I am damn sure you won’t like coming in the way of a 150 kph doing Audi Q7 driving your Alto at 80 kph and simply cutting the lanes on the empty expressway.

An incident: On an empty stretch of NH-58, a group of students travelling in their Swift at around 60 kph simply cut into the lane of a Volvo bus doing around 100+ kph while they were simply trying to take a U turn and haven’t checked if anything is coming from behind just because the highway was just empty. Bur driver did everything to save them but all in vain and the bus gave a hard hit to the car from back. 2 dead and other injured and when the injured guy(sitting next to driver) recite the tale that “we are at no fault we were going slow in left lane and we were just taking U turn to go other side of median to a restaurant and then everything shook” then everyone was like “What the hell!! Such suicidal step!”

So while driving on expressways, some thumb rules those are meant to be strictly followed are:

Keep under speed limit.
Keep left to let the faster traffic pass without any issues – this will keep you safe and comfortable.
Before changing lane, keep an eye if any vehicle is coming from back in the same lane.
Keep your eyes and ears open for any kind of signals like horns, dipper etc.
Avoid overtaking from left, especially the left most lane.
Maintain a safe distance while driving at high speeds as if the front moving vehicle stops then the net distance covered by you may end you up into its boot.
Keep a far eye on the movements of other vehicles and if you observe anything like every vehicle braking at a point etc then be ready to follow the same to save yourself from any surprises.
Take care of heavy vehicles like loaded trucks, they are very slow in changing lanes and if you observe one switching from one lane to another slowly then better let them switch as their drivers literally can’t make any sudden maneuvers to save you if you enter the wrong place. Once they have switched the lane, then accelerate and move on.

Chapter 9
It’s Raining But I Need To Be There On Time

So the road is wet, this is the situation where high speeds are never recommended but still no one hesitates to touch the 80 or 100 kph mark on the wet roads. On the wet roads the grip is definitely very less as compared to the dry roads and near negligible as compared to the ‘hot-roads’ of summer.

In the rain, one actually faces three issues:

Wet surface
Poor visibility
Spray from other vehicles

Wet Surface: Lesser grip and definitely by no ways meant for speeding. No rocket science here, all one faces is the lack of grip which results in frequent loss of grip even if brakes are applies slightly hard or sudden high steering inputs are given. Braking distance is remarkably longer than on dry surface and hence not suitable for anything above 80 kph to be precise.
Poor Visibility: Heavy downpour always brings down the visibility issues too. Well, headlights on and on low beam and better this time your ‘high’ speed be limited to 40-60 kph even on highways. After all before doing 20 meters per second, you need to have a clear visibility of at least 60 meters.
Spray from other vehicles: This is the dirt and this is actually the thing that damages your wiper blades too. Look at the pic and you will understand what I am talking of:

Spray from other vehicles is the thing that simply makes driving the rain near impossible and faster the vehicle is going, higher will be the spraying. So it is always better not to follow any fast going vehicle in the rain or on wet roads. You will do nothing but troubling yourself.

TSIVipul · Jul 27, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Chapter 10
I’ll be Saving My Time And Money By Hitting The Road In Night!

Sounds like a good idea, travel in night and you will save time considerably and will definitely get a better fuel economy too. Thanks to lower traffic and the cold as well as denser air entering your intake. But night driving has its own disadvantages too which are to be taken care of:

Ride needs to be in near perfect condition. In the night, if anything goes wrong then the help is not at all easily available – even in the cities.
Sleep fatigue is to be taken care of, especially when you are doing three digit speeds as one second will be taking you 20 meters and this is really not good if your car is going at that pace without being controlled.
Better carry Red Bull, Caffine etc for night driving and it is always better if you don’t relax yourself while that high speed drive.
Feett movement is necessary and you need to keep on doing it, else this will have a bad effect on your response time and response time is all that decides between life and death at high speeds.
Headlights are to be in perfect condition to provide you best possible visibility at higher speeds. Just think of a case where you are covering 20 meters in a minute but the your headlights are showing you only 30 meters ahead of you. That means if anything is on the way then you won’t even have the time to apply the brakes after you recognize what’s there.
High speed driving at night must be strictly limited to 100 kph max, you never know where you will find a reflector, tail lamp-less truck waiting for you to come and enter under it.
In case you do face any issue like a punctured tyre etc, then it’s better you pull your vehicle on the side with enough clearance between your vehicle and road that you can walk there. Turn on hazard lights, keep safety triangle at least 20 feet away from the vehicle facing the oncoming traffic and then change the tyre. It’s not only you driving at high speed after all and others can also lose control, better if their loss of control does not cost you your life.

Chapter 11
Misconception I: My Car Has Got ABS And Airbags, I Am Safe!

This is my personal favorite, some years back I myself used to think the same and it is not a tough task to spot someone telling us how his car is super safe as it has got ABS and airbags. So, when you drive your ABS and airbags equipped car with 5 star safety rating at 120 kph. Have you ever confirmed the speed at which and environment in which the crash test of your 5 star rated car was done? Ehh, I spoilt the party I guess.

First of all, airbags are something that no one wants to see opened in front of their eyes(I have seen it opening on my face and its literally horrifying). Coming to the point, the work of ABS is to keep the vehicle steerable in the emergency and the airbags do the work of assisting the seatbelts by providing a cushion(hard cushion indeed) when your vehicle crash at a speed above some threshold value.

Now, during the high speed drives, first of all having ABS and Airbags stand no use if your speeds are far above the speed limits(60 kph or 60 mph max) at which these features do provide the safety. While you do speeds like 150 kph then these features actually stand no value and they are also helpless in saving you as the structural rigidity of your vehicle is lost while absorbing the force of such collisions. In fact one needs to be lucky to survive a direct hit at even 100 kph without any major injuries.

So it again zeros down to the speed limit set by our government of 100 kilometers per hour, exactly the speed at which the features of ABS and airbags are also capable of providing you their safety and make the difference between life and death.

Chapter 12
Misconception II: My Brakes Are Good Enough To Stop The Car In Time!

If last one is my favorite then this one is my hot favorite. I have witnessed people claiming that their car can come to a complete stop in 5-6 meters from 100 kph speed and I am always left thinking of an image where the car is stopped and passengers are flying breaking the front windshield.

I’d refer one to go through the chapter 6 again to understand the braking distance of their cars and how the speed makes a difference. Rest here are the braking distances of three cars. Viz: Hyundai Elantra CRDi, Nissan Sunny XV(Petrol) and Mahindra XUV 5OO W8:

View attachment 141351

Applying Only Brakes Will Never Save You:
As already mentioned in chapter 6, most of the times you are short of the stopping distance in emergency situations. Now you can’t also go and collide your car with other vehicle straight ahead. Here comes your steering wheel to rescue you. Use brakes + steering combo as shown in the picture and you are safe.

But be careful, don’t brake so hard that your wheels get locked or the lateral load transfer gets so high(mostly in SUV’s) that your vehicle end up overturning as soon as you give steering input.

TSIVipul · Jul 27, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving- Dos and Dont's

Chapter 13
Carelessness Is Killer – How To Deal With That Burst Tyre?

When you are running, basically those are your shoes which take most of the beating, so is with the tyres. Let’s again have a look at the aforementioned tyre speed calculation just to understand actually how fast your tyre is going when you do 120 kph in your Honda City:

Tyre Size: 195/65 R15
Speed: 120 kilometers an hour
Revolutions per second: 20.76
Revolutions per minute: 1245.87

Now you know that every minute your tyre is turning 1245.87 times when your car is travelling at 120 kph(this is for City, for cars like Alto etc with smaller tyre diameter, the speed is way higher). And the surface is also not perfectly even.
If we take all the physical forces like temperature, pressure, friction etc into account then one needs apply no rocket science that why it’s said that temperature of tyres can reach 100 degree centigrade and pressure build up inside can each even 100 psi.
Result: Like in any chain, the weak link breaks it all. So is with tyre, any weak part and all the force from inside and outside is basically concentrated on that part and get it wrecked – this is what we call tyre burst in layman language.
How to avoid tyre bursts:

Maintain right tyre pressure.
Keep speeds well under limit. Every tyre also comes with the permissible top speed mentioned on it. Better exceeding this limit is avoided.
Bad sections are better covered at lower speeds as on the bad sections the mass distribution and impact forces are not properly concentrated on the contact surface of tyre and this can give devastating results.

In case the tyre is burst at high speed, what is the first step to follow? Apply brakes and get killed – is what most of the drivers to. With a burst tyre, the diameter of the tyre is suddenly reduced to near half and the vehicle has a tendency to move in the direction of burst tyre(if the tyre is front) and do severe fishtailing(if the tyre is rear). Well, whichever tyre is burst, it is always better to apply light brakes(just to transfer some weight to front and steerable wheel(s)) and then use light steering inputs to get the vehicle in control. Even if the vehicle runs some distance uncontrolled then also don’t panic but steer it into straight line again or steer it towards any field, farm etc or any direction away from oncoming traffic, divider etc. It will take a bit of time and your vehicle will be fully under control. Now apply the brakes, stop and change the tyre – simple.
[:)]

Chapter 14

Running Elephants And Running Heavy Vehicles Are Better Undisturbed

On the highways, especially during night time it is quite common to witness buses, trucks or even those long trailers doing 80-90 kph speeds. Well, these vehicle already do carry a lot of momentum with them and I am sure no one would like to mess up with them or coming in the way of an uncontrolled truck carrying 400 quintals of goods.

When these heavy vehicles are running, then the fact is that with the momentum they carry due to the load and the speed and with those puny tyres and drum brakes, you really can’t expect them to remain fully under the driver’s control even if slightest of the things go wrong. Now if a bus or truck is carrying up some serious speeds on highways then it is always advisable not to cut into their lanes unnecessarily or try to overtake them through small gaps adding to it, it is simply suicidal to fill the gap between two quick moving heavy vehicles. If the front one stops, then your car will be simply grinded between the two – one moving in front of you and the one whose stopping distance you robbed by filling it up.
[:)]

Chapter 15
Some Special Cases And Points To Remember(Final Tit Bits)

I have frequently came across some smart people who have a habit to quickly rush to occupy the lanes and overtake other vehicles once they vacate their lanes like as shown in the picture:

In this case all one does is nothing less than suicidal as you never know what’s ahead of the vehicle which is changing its lane.

Look at this picture:

This case is personally experienced by me and I was saved only because I followed the indication of the truck driver and slowed down my car. I was driving my Corolla on NH58 and was overtaking a Maruti Suzuki long hauler when the driver suddenly started waving his hand in panic asking me to stop(I was doing around 80 kph). I didn’t knew what’s the matter but still I slowed down and then discovered a Scorpio crossing the highway. So I recommend one to take care of such signals.

Overtaking:
One should never show hurry in overtaking and it’s always better to first slow down, observe and then overtake. It’s so simple, instead of pressing on gas while approaching other vehicle, better is if you leave the gas, observe and anticipate of other vehicle driver can make any move as per the road and traffic. Once you are done, then press again and overtake.

Your Shoes:
Some days back I faced a very weird situation where my footwear got me nearly killed. Look at these Springblades of mine:

It is due to the shape of their sole, once I got them stuck on accelerator pedal while I was shifting my foot to brake and once I got my right foot stuck on the floor mat(its corner as the mat was not rightly put)while backing off and shifting my right foot to brake.
So it is always advisable to wear comfortable and simple design footwear while going for high speed drives as your footwear also effects your reaction time.

Cruise Control and Speed Governor:
If possible then these two features are very useful in maintaining the speed and making the high speed highway drives a delight. Not only they take away the fatigue, but also adds to FE and above all – driving discipline.
[:)]

I am done, thanks for reading and DRIVE SAFE!

Waiting to listen from you guys…

*Braking distance courtesy: Autocar India and Overdrive Magazines

Akash · Jul 27, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Note: Thread Now Live from T.I.P Zone. Thanks for sharing.

Prads · Jul 28, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Very good write up Vipul,
Chapter 6 is something i strongly go by,especially the speed factor at night.
I have mentioned it many times here on this forum that at night never cross 80km/hr cos the reaction time & braking distance on average mean you wont stop in time if something is blocking the road,that is once you have spotted it with your high beams which is approx 50 meters away.
The only time i have done 120 at nights is when there is a car doing similar speeds safe distance away,in one such driving scenario i use to see the car in front not stop in time for speed breakers & me slow down calmly & carry on.

Also another addition to chapter 9 is driving in mist / fog - Our brain takes visual cues to determine speed,with fog you wont have much surrounding visually to determine speed,hence keep it at 60km/hr by periodically looking at the gauge , i have noticed people loose judgement of speed in fog! I picked this up from a documentary i saw during my childhood & its very true.
An example of visual judgement of speed is a narrow street where 80km/hr feels faster cos of the amount of detail flying past you,as against same speed on a wide expressway where your eyes wont have much things to see flying past you.

Sidd7hartha · Jul 28, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

@TSIVipul, Sir, what speed you think safest in our country's high/expressways ? I don't know whether you visited kolkata or not. Here in VIP road leading to kolkata Airport if you drive @60km/hr,[must be running @ 80 km/hr ]you will find vehicles crossing you fast by your side,though traffic signals not far ahead.

GrandRk · Jul 28, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Great article TSIVipul, rated 5 stars.

The things which you have metioned are very useful for every peron behind wheel. Thanks to the easy and graspable writeup... [:)]

nickandre · Jul 28, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

a friend of mine to had the same shoes as you did, apart from being terribly un-comfortable to walk it got stuck in a pedal, but since they were cheaper fakes he tossed them in the bin.

by the way great article.

TSIVipul · Jul 28, 2014

Prads said:

Thanks a lot sirji [:D]

Well, in that case I am a preacher who himself don't follow half of his lessons.

On the fog point, I just missed it out because neither anyone does speeding in fog, nor we by any ways promote even slightest of the speeding in fog or poor visibility, even on empty expressways.

Sidd7hartha said:

See sirji, I believe that doing 100 kph(speed limit for most of our expressways) is actually a safe deal. At this speed you stand a chance to control your vehicle and also you are safe even if you by mistake enter the lane of a fast moving vehicle coming from behind, if you are doing 100 kph, then the driver of coming vehicle also gets some time to control the things.
I personally always advise to drive at the speed of traffic, being slower than others you not only risk being tailgated, but also cause uncomfort to others as well as yourself. If 60 is slow, then try 80 or 90 or 100, what's the big deal? the pedal is under your right foot afterall.

GrandRk said:

Thanks a lot sirji. [:D]

Well, if it comes to use for readers then I have attained my objective behind all this work.

nickandre said:

OT: Springblades are actually damn comfy shoes and I use them for running and playing basketball. Its just that they are not silent when you walk, else they are comfy. I have broken one set and this is my second one - both originals.

But these shoes definitely pose problem while driving, be it car or motorcycle. On motorcycle too they sometimes get stuck on brake lever. In fact I personally found Nike Airmax(great - my regular shoes), Woodland Outdoors(poor for biking) and Reezigs(especially Reezig) to be very comfortable for driving.

maximas007 · Jul 28, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Thats a great article and had broken many of myths . Thank you buddy and gave five stars wish I could give more [:)]

.

furious_driver · Jul 28, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

Great post @TSIVipul.

Read all your past post's and it is very informative. For past 6 months, my car driving is increased and i have learned a lot of basic etiquette from my friends and brother. But if I could have gone through your posts earlier, may be I wouldn't have pestered them. :D

TSIVipul · Jul 28, 2014

Re: High Speed Driving - Do’s And Don’ts.

maximas007 said:

Broken myths!! Sounds to be a bit surprising. Can I know of the myths broken?

furious_driver said:

Just discovered that even I also missed on some etiquettes and some points like ORVM adjustments etc. Will be doing them shortly(it all requires time and I am out of that - in fact this last thread also came after more than an year of the third one).

High Speed Driving - Do's and Don'ts

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