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Safe driving tips

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by SPEEDEAMON, Feb 22, 2010.

  1. SPEEDEAMON

    SPEEDEAMON Professional Car Nut

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    SAFE DRIVING TIPS

    GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR

    How to achieve good vision while driving during a heavy downpour.

    We are not sure why it is so effective; just try this method when it rains heavily. This method was told by a Police officer who had experienced and confirmed it. It is useful....even driving at night. (I haven't tried this so I can't vouch for it)

    Most of the motorists would turn their wipers on HIGH or FASTEST SPEED during heavy downpour, yet the visibility in front of the windshield is still bad......

    In the event you face such a situation, just try on a pair of your SUN GLASSES. All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windshield is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain. You still see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet of rain falling.

    You can see where the rain bounces off the road. It works to eliminate the "kickup" if you are following another vehicle kicking up a rooster tail and the "blindness" from passing semi's spraying you too.

    AQUAPLAINING

    A 36 year old female had an accident and totaled her car. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydro-plane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!

    When she explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON . She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain. But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.

    The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.

    NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.

    Drive safe even if you had all the recall services done.
     
    #1 SPEEDEAMON, Feb 22, 2010
  2. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    #1 maybe that has something to do with the polarizing effect some lenses have?
     
    #2 a_gray_prius, Feb 22, 2010
  3. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    No comment on #1

    #2, Every owners manual warns you not to use cruise control on slippery roads, not just Toyota, but every manufacturer.

    [​IMG]
     

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    #3 dogfriend, Feb 22, 2010
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    This is a reprint of an Internet spam worm. It's been floating around for awhile, and is mostly BS. Obviously, cruise control can be a problem in slippery conditions, but it will not make your car fly into the air.

    I get this sort of rubbish forwarded to my inbox by well meaning friends, along with all sorts tests to tell whether you are right brained or left brained. The real brain test occurred when they decided to forward in the first place... ;)

    Tom
     
    #4 qbee42, Feb 23, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  5. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I never use cruise control anyway. The first rain after a dry spell is often quite slippery, I think due to all the oil on the road floating on the water.

    Something I've noticed while driving at night in a snowstorm is that you can often see better with the headlights off. High beams only reflect more light - it doesn't help to see the snowflakes better when you want to see the road. Of course, I've only done this on a remote mountain road on the way to a ski hill, not on a busy highway.
     
    #5 hyo silver, Feb 23, 2010
  6. mojo

    mojo Senior Member

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    The Cruise control tip makes sense with a rear wheel drive vehicle.If the speedometer is gauging the speed of the front wheels.
    But I wonder with a front wheel drive vehicle if the problem would even occur.
    The front wheels would spin faster ,then the cruise control would automatically slow down the spinning not speed it up.
    Then add to that the Prius traction sensor and I really wonder if this tip applies .
     
    #6 mojo, Feb 23, 2010
  7. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    This is what low beams are for.

    Not that all low beams are good either. The original lights on my Subaru had a reflective flat floor inside the housing, which cast a sheet of light nearly straight up to illuminate overpasses (for drivers behind, as this is above my field of view), and any eye-level snowflakes and fog just in front of the grill. After my 'boo-boo', the replacement lights had a darkened floor, getting rid of this nasty close-in high illumination.

    As for the OP,
    (1) my dark glasses are neutral gray, not polarized, so this trick won't work;
    (2) cruise control with hydroplaning doesn't cause acceleration, but it does disconnect the driver from immediately responding correctly when the wheels break traction.
     
    #7 fuzzy1, Feb 24, 2010
  8. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    No, that was my point. In some conditions, admittedly rare, I've found no beams at all to be better than low beams.
     
    #8 hyo silver, Feb 25, 2010
  9. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    [​IMG]
     
    #9 a_gray_prius, Feb 25, 2010
  10. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Ohhh, now you're talking a different kinda high beams altogether.....:rolleyes:
     
    #10 hyo silver, Feb 26, 2010
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