KEY POINTS:
Ultimately, the best way to become a better driver is to actually drive the car. But there are some guides that will help improve your skills before you set off.
The old-style macho have-the-seat-way-back driving position meant you could hardly reach the steering wheel. As soon as the wheel was turned through more than about 90 degrees it also meant little leverage was available. Best have the seat adjusted so that your arms are slightly bent at the elbows when you're holding the wheel at the ten-to-two position.
Next, adjust the mirrors. The internal mirror is obvious enough, and there are two options for the wing mirrors. You can either have them adjusted so you can see the door-handles, or, have them angled out to better cover the blind-spots.
Before you hit the road, make sure the horn, brake-lights, indicators and headlights work.
There's one fundamental rule about driving - every other bugger on the road is as dumb as a post, and out to kill you. Decisiveness, communication of intention, and vision are the key things in staying out of trouble.
Most young drivers don't have too many problems with making a decision and then sticking to it - but a heap of people out there start to change lane then decide against it, or just decide to change lanes and blow the rest of us. Communicate with other drivers (indicators, etc) before you make any directional changes. This includes using the brake lights. A gentle tap on the brake pedal will make the lights come on to warn the car behind that you're about to stop, or turn. It lets people know that you're about to slow down. If travelling in a line of nose-to-tail traffic that keeps suddenly stopping, then show a little brake-light before actually hitting the brakes, and stay back from the car in front.
Watch out for motorbikes, they sometimes cruise up between lines of cars.
Turn your headlights on well before the sun actually sets. Dusk is when it's most difficult to see other motorists. Watch how taxi and courier drivers switch on their lights way before anyone else. It's not so that they can see where they're going, but so that everyone else can see them.
If your car is equipped with front and rear fog-lights use them in times of low daylight visibility. This includes when it's raining.
Lots of people die in single-car accidents on rural roads, when their car leaves the road and rolls or hits something. In other words, lots of people stuff up all by themselves, by driving too fast and beyond their capabilities. If you spend at lot of time on rural roads or highways, book yourself in for an advanced driving skills course and learn how to control skids, and other evasive driving skills.
If you're driving very fast then always look as far ahead as you can, glancing from side to side to assess the potential for stray animals to suddenly pop out in front. At night be doubly careful: any reflectors which appear to move are probably not attached to white posts - but instead may be an animal of sorts.
Passing other cars depends on the situation. The actual passing technique you use depends on the power of your car. Start your passing manoeuvre well behind, selecting the correct gear and accelerating to a speed that will allow you to pull out the moment when the gap in the cars coming the other way arrives. And this is all great if you've got a powerful car.
With a slower car start the move closer to the vehicle you are passing. You don't want to run out road before you're safely past.
Whatever the passing technique you adopt, always check both your inside and right-hand side mirrors before pulling out. This saves you being cleaned-up by the car that started passing you at the same time. Both mirrors need to be checked because a fast car will be able to move from being directly behind you to being next to you in the time it takes for you to check only the right-hand mirror and start pulling out.
If someone coming the other way has made a misjudgment and you're confronted with two vehicles coming straight at you, show your intentions with the left-hand indicator and then pull off out of their way.
On a long country drive, wipe over the windscreen, tail and headlight lenses with the squeegee each time you re-fuel.
To help you stay mentally alert reset the trip meter at each fuel-stop, and check the time you pull out. Working out your average speed each hour then becomes simple, and it also means that you can predict when you'll reach the next stop.
