Drivers Ed notes

Passenger Restrictions for the IDL

First six months                                                     Time of Day Restrictions

After six months 

Once you are 18 or older you will be issued a basic license and will not have any restrictions

Who regulates the HTS

Government: Laws are passed to make up the Uniform Vehicle Code. Laws are established primarily to keep order and safety on the roadways

Courts: Decide whether drivers charged with violating the laws are guilty or innocent

Highway Traffic Engineers: Plan, build, & maintain the complex system of roadways.

Breakdowns in the HTS

Congestion & Collisions

Cause serious social & economic problems

• Loss of money and injury/death

Most often caused by driver error, inattention,& lack of knowledge about hazardous situations

Nature of the Driving Task

Driving is a social task 

Driving is a person sharing the roadway & maneuvering a vehicle through other traffic under varying road and environmental conditions 

Drivers must interact well with other people using the Highway Transportation System

IPDE     

Identify                      

• Locate potential hazards around you

• Do this by scanning around your vehicle

• Especially at hazardous locations/times, such as

  • When breaking

  • Near schools

  • At intersections

Predict

• Foresee what will probably happen in a driving situation

  • What could that hazard do?

  • Is it going to get in your way?

  • Is it going to cause someone else to get in your way?

Decide

• Decide what to do to avoid the hazard

  • Slow down?

  • Stop?

  • Steer around it?

  • Speed up?

• The goal is to take action before the hazard becomes real

• Sometimes the hazard is already real

Execute

• Do what you decided to do

Path of Travel (POT)

• The area your vehicle will be travelling in or though during any maneuver

• Making sure the POT is clear before moving is the most important part of any maneuver

Controlling the Vehicle

Putting the car in gear

• Always have your foot on the brake when shifting in or out of Park or Neutral

• Put the car in the gear you want

• Release the parking brake last

  • The parking brake keeps your car from moving when you don’t want it to, you will use it every time you park

Push down slow, pull back slow

• Keep your heel on the ground

  • Pivot on your heel between the pedals

• Push down and pull back gradually

  • You can push down as far as you need to, just get there slowly

  • Pedals have different sensitivities in different cars

  • If you’re not on either pedal, your car will still move

    • Use this to go slowly in parking lots

    
    

    When to stomp on your brakes (panic stomp)

    
    

  • Rarely

    • If you have ABS (Anti-lock braking system), push and hold your brakes

    • If you don’t, you’ll need to use “threshold braking”

      • Braking as hard as you can before losing traction

      • The quickest way to slow a vehicle without loss of traction

Braking

• When not on the gas, cover your brake

  • Keep your foot hovering over the brake

  • this allows you to stop quickly

• For a smooth stop:

  • Always check your rear view mirror before stopping

  • Let off the gas early

  • Go to the brake early and push down gradually

  • When you’re ready to stop, ease off a tiny bit

• Feel the car setback - even on the smoothest stop the car will rock a little

• If your brakes fail, pump your brakes

Examples of when you should be covering the brake and using it to allow the vehicle to move

• Backing

• Parking

• Safety Stops

• Driving through small parking lots

Scanning

Scanning is checking your path of travel, and anywhere that obstructions could enter your path of travel from, to make sure they are clear. This involves checking far ahead of you, checking near, and checking side to side

• You should always be scanning the area ahead of you (your POT if going straight)

• Also scan to the sides wherever something could cross or enter your POT

  • Intersections, crosswalks, driveways, parking spaces

  • You should be extra alert for Motorcycles, Bicycles, and Pedestrians because they’re hard to see in traffic, especially when leaving parking lots, private driveways and pulling from the curb

Three Vision Areas

1. Focal

2. Fringe

3. Peripheral - important to see dangers from the sides  

Scanning intersections

• Before crossing an intersection, crosswalk, or anywhere else that traffic could cross you, check “left, center, right, center, left”

• Continue to scan until you are past the intersection

Scanning when you can’t see

• You want to see at least a full block (at least 4-6 seconds) in either direction