Improve Your Driving Skills

Anyone willing to improve their driving skills deserves respect. The most skilled drivers, including F1 and WRC, never claim they're the best, and keep training no matter how many trophies they've won.

Steps

  1. If you have access to vehicles of different makes and models, switch them often. This way you'll be working on driving as a whole, not on driving a specific car.
  2. Find a training lot. A disused airfield is the best idea, because it has long straight stretches (the runway), corners (turn way to runway entrance) and wide open spaces (the area in front of the hangars). If you are not so lucky as to have a disused airfield nearby, you may look for these three things separately. You may use abandoned country roads and disused parking lots that measure at least 50 by 50 feet.
  3. When you practice, focus not on the driving itself, but on feeling the behaviour of the vehicle. This includes lateral stability, acceleration, braking distance, etc. When you learn how to feel the vehicle, you'll be able to drive anything at its verge.
  4. Think of any hypothetical situation you may encounter, e.g flat tire, high-speed under-/over steer, pursuit driving, etc. Think what you must do in that particular case, then get in the car and do it. Make a note of your weak points and work to improve them.
  5. Handbrake turning is not only for showing off. It's the best way to correct high-speed under steer. It's also useful on icy roads. It gives you confidence on rough road.
  6. Practice emergency stopping. If your car has ABS, disable it when you practice.
  7. Identify each dangerous situation when you drive and remember it. Then, when you have the time, think of what you could've done better and practice the preventive measures and maneuvers.
  8. Learn to drive backwards using only the side view mirrors. Once you get the knack of it, it's one of the most useful skills a driver can have.
  9. Practice emergency in-turn braking. Do it in a wide empty lot, not on the road.
  10. Test the brakes soon after you start down the road.

Tips

  • No matter how good you are, don't show it unless it's needed. The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth, but it only runs when it has to.
  • Remember: Practice makes perfect. You cannot become a driver by practicing only on a computer.
  • Try tricky maneuvers (e.g. handbrake turning) at low speed and then increase the speed before engaging the maneuver. This will let you feel the behaviour of the car and know what to expect at higher speeds.

Warnings

  • Make sure the vehicle is in peak condition before you practice! If the suspension is damaged vehicle is not running correctly, you can unintentionally put yourself into a dangerous situation!
  • Make sure your tyres are in good condition and are properly inflated. They should have at least the recommended tread. Poor tires put you at risk and into an extremely dangerous situation in which you may not be able to control your vehicle.
  • Top heavy vehicles such as SUVs, vans, and trucks do not take kindly to handbrake turning. Be keenly aware at all times of the lateral stability at different speeds in turns before attempting to handbrake turn or you may end up rolling the vehicle.

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