Some Driving Tips :)

[Lycanthrope]

Thats a problem right there...
Keep left pass right!!
You new to the road, dont hog lanes and dont have an attitude and not move for faster traffic.

I completely agree with this. The simplest rule and so many conveniently forget it--keep left pass right.

Oh, and always try be a courteous driver. We have enough asshats on the road

 

[the_don46]

Now that I've passed my licence, I can drive by myself. I've yet to do it as I don't have enough experience as yet.

I've been driving at night with my grand dad a few times. This is something they DON'T teach you at your driving school, yet 60-70% of all car major car accidents occur at night. :erm:

Is there any important tips I can bear in mind when I drive on the road? I really could use some from you veteran drivers.

One point I know is to drive slow. Just because one idiot on the road wants to overtake you for driving safely under the speed limit, doesn't mean you should speed up. I don't really care if some idiot overtakes me. If the speed limit is 40kmh, I'm bloody damn well sticking to it. I don't see why people want to race at 60kmh in a 40kmh zone. I mean 45 Kmh is acceptable, but even so, it's still wrong to speed....

I only give way to Police, Reaction/Armed Units and Ambulances...

Do yourself and everyone else a favour. If you driving slowly (on the speed limit) and you have the opportunity to move over for a faster vehicle just do it. Please. Don't be another idiot that sits in the fast lane on the highway doing 120 according to your speedometer in your car (which is about 10% optimistic to begin with, i.e. you actually only doing around 112-114kph).

The most dangerous drivers are the ones who are very rigid about how they drive, whether they are slow or fast drivers. These people cause accidents by either not moving over, or driving up another cars ass!

Another important tip is to learn how to predict what will probably happen, as well as predict what could happen. Don't over take on a blind rise, through a bend. Always drive with your lights on from about an hour before sunset (even though you can see) as the people looking directly into the setting sun can see your car better if your lights are on. Never use the parking lights while driving as this is USELESS!

Last but not least, if you faced with a situation where there's a dog in the road, but if you swerve for it and risk killing yourself or hitting an oncoming car, rather (sadly) hit the dog. If it's a person, you have to make the decision to avoid them (as humans have more rights than animals, again sad but true).

Best of luck for the road

 

[Obieone]

Many years back, the traffic dept had a road safety campaign, they issued bumper stickers with the following words:be prepared, be polite,be patient.

 

[SteveO]

good advise here, stick to what the guys have been saying.Notably:

dont hog the fast lane,if you see some guy speeding up behind you and you can move over do it!if you block him off he will get aggitated and thats when the trouble starts.
dont drive like a granny, know where you are going, should you be unsure of this use a gps/map

BE AWARE!!!not only in front of you, know who and what is behind you, should you need to avoid a collision, know that you can move into another lane or break hard etc. Also dont be afraid of speed, sometimes that bit of momentum can get you out of a very sticky situation, however at the same time be very aware that that extra speed could pose a serious threat as well. Breaking is not the only tool you have when it comes to avoiding a collision.

My belief is that the "best drivers" are those who are confident behind the wheel, who feel that driving is like a reflex almost as if the vehicle is an extension of your own body. know your limits and the vehicles limits, stay within these limits and you'll be ok

 

[HavocXphere]

Always check your blind spots... Always, **** has an ability to sneak up on you.

Depends heavily on the car. Usually I drive a vw polo, but had to temporarily switch to an Opel Corsa. Its freaking scary the blindspot on that thing...at least 1.5 car length big. I regularly freak out because there is a car which I only knew about because of the blindspot check. Doesn't happen on the polo or in a 3 series bmw...they've got blindspots that are too small to hide a car so the blindspot check never yields any surprises.

 

[copacetic]

Here's one - Don't get **** drunk and try and steal your friend's car in while the police are watching from the other side of the road.

 

[Claymore]

As others have said, be courteous. Make sure people know what you are doing - indicate early, don't startle people. You want to be as predictable as possible for the benefit of other drivers.

 

[TKD01]

One point I know is to drive slow. Just because one idiot on the road wants to overtake you for driving safely under the speed limit, doesn't mean you should speed up. I only give way to Police, Reaction/Armed Units and Ambulances...

1) Keep safe following distance. Make distance bigger if you're stuck behind a truck / bakkie since you can not see what is going on in front of them.

2) Learn to "read" the traffic. After a while you'll find you're able to anticipate other's actions

3) Reaction/Armed Units is not treated other than normal road users - no need to give way to them like police / ambulances...

4) Drive a bit slower in wet weather but don't crawl (see nr5)

5) PLEASE do NOT drive 40km/h in a 60 zone IN THE RIGHT HAND LANE when its a double lane - KEEP LEFT if you want to spend your whole day on the road! Same thing for highways - do NOT drive 100 in the right hand lane.

Remember - you create risk for yourself and others if you deliberately (or not) aggrivate other road users (see point 5 again)...
Courtesy goes a long way...

 

[Bona Botse]

if your car is only 5cm above the ground, watch out for the damn curb

 

[ToxicBunny]

Ppl have been mentioning this in a round about way...

But assume everyone else on the road is an a-hole and they will do somethign stupid and you'll probably be ok.

 

[TKD01]

Forgot to add to the list:

Rules regarding a circle (roundabout): Give way to your right. Its NOT a "first come first go" like a stop street!

 

[Claymore]

Forgot to add to the list:

Rules regarding a circle (roundabout): Give way to your right. Its NOT a "first come first go" like a stop street!

Let me clarify: give way to the right to cars IN THE CIRCLE. For cars not in the circle, it's treated as a 4-way yield, i.e. first come first served.

 

[froot]

Let me clarify: give way to the right to cars IN THE CIRCLE. For cars not in the circle, it's treated as a 4-way yield, i.e. first come first served.

:hi5:
This is applicable unless it's those big-ass circles where the roadsigns stipulate anyways "give way to the right".

 

[hawker]

Some other tips:

1. Never indicate - this will give away your next move. A real south African driver never uses them.

2. Under no circumstance should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, this space will be filled by at least 2 taxis and a BMW, putting you in an even more dangerous situation.

3. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.

4. Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will only result in you being rear-ended.

5. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving you a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.

6. Never pass on the right when you can pass on the left. It's a good way to check if the people entering the highway are awake.

7. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as a guideline. They are especially not applicable in South Africa during rush hour. That's why it's called 'rush hour....'

8. Just because you're in the right lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that a South African driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.

9. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tyre. Never stop to help - you will be mugged.

10. Learn to swerve abruptly. South Africa is the home of the high-speed slalom driving thanks to the government, which puts holes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keeps them on their toes.

11. It is traditional to honk your horn at cars that don't move
the instant the light turns green. This prevents storks from building nests on top of the traffic light and birds from making deposits on your car.

12. Remember that the goal of every South African driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.

13. On average, at least three cars can still go through an intersection after the light has turned red. It's people not adhering to this basic principle that causes the big traffic jams during rush hour.

 

[FuNkEr]

One point I know is to drive slow.

This can be just as dangerous as driving too fast sometimes.... There's nothing that gets my blood pressure pumping sky-high when I'm in the fast lane and some idiot's doing 60km/h in front of me. But that's just me...

 

[MrG]

If you are driving at night, make sure your lights are on.

Sounds daft, I know. Took me a while to grasp this though.

As dweezil says, time to forget all you were taught, that k53 **** is dangerous.

Ive only done this once before... forget my lights off.. luckily that was for only like 35 seconds. I couldnt figure out why everyone was flashing at me.. I felt like a total idiot after that.