For quite sometime, the u-turn slots created by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in the Philippines has become a regular part of our road life. This also effectively limit the flow of traffic to two way in major intersections. The purpose of this scheme is to ease traffic in our major roads, however, the effectiveness is being disputed and debated.
But to a new driver, these u-turn slots can be dangerous, if not fatal, specially to the speed freaks.
Remember when you applied for a license? We were oriented that the innermost lane (the left lane) is for fast moving vehicles. But this may not be applicable in Manila’s national roads because of the presence of u-turn slots. Stepping on the gas, specially at night, may spell disaster.
As safety precaution, when driving in Metro Manila and if you are not familiar in the area, stay in the middle lane and/or don’t speed up.
A post on Automotive Blogger cites that distracted driving is an even worse killer on the road than drunk driving.
Distracted driving is the number one killer of teens in the United States. According to the American Beverage Institute (ABI) distracted driving is an increasingly dangerous problem, even more so than driving drunk. In the past 20 years drunk driving deaths have gone down, but the number of traffic fatalities has remained the same. The ABI attributes this to an increase in aggressive, negligent and distracted driving.
While the ABI doesn’t have a strict definition for “distracted driving” they imply that it includes driving drowsy, talking on the phone or texting while driving, speeding or being aggressive, and basically not paying attention to the road. This is a pretty broad array of behaviors but the popularity of cell phones over the two decades and the increase in road rage certainly helped the rate of “distracted driving” fatalities shoot up.
There are a lot of distractions while on the road, and this includes talking or texting on your cellphone, fiddling with the stereo controls, fixing your hair, reading road signs too long, or even talking to your fellow occupants. Even worse is driving while fatigued or drowsy (as your energies are focused on keeping awake). Best thing to do while driving is to keep your attention to the road and on your driving. Be safe.
I never imagined a sports car would be more fuel efficient than my own sedan. Here’s some news about the Nissan Skyline getting about 16 Km to the Liter.
The so-called ‘eco-driving challenge was conducted by a team of product development experts on the roads from Tochigi to Kanagawa. The 2.5-liter Skyline model driven was powered by the VQ25HR V6 engine, capable of generating 225 horsepower and 26.8kgm of torque.
The team succeeded in covering a impressive distance of 1,024.4 kilometers with an average fuel consumption rate of 16.3km-per-liter. The main objective of the eco-driving challenge was to promote greater awareness of Nissan’s advanced fuel-economy technology as well as demonstrate the efficiency of the new VQ engine under real-world driving conditions. - Huliq
I’m not sure if this test wasn’t exactly done under controlled conditions, but the news item said the team drove through real world conditions, which included a one-hour traffic jam and road construction works, and the like.
I’m impressed.
This is Sonnie, the blogging hr generalist, now signing on. I will be working with Angelo to give you field reports as we traverse and learn the art of driving in the jungle roads of Metro.
No driver is perfect. That means no matter how good you may be, you would still inevitably make some mistakes one time or another. Let’s just hope that these mistakes don’t cause anyone harm. But at least you can control your own acts, and try to minimize erring while on the street. It’s a whole different story when other drivers are involved, because you don’t know what’s in their minds.
Accidents happen whether it’s you or another driver who makes mistakes on the road. That’s why it’s a good defensive driving idea not to trust anyone else on the road. No, this doesn’t mean you have to be aggressive and treat everyone else as an enemy. Trusting no one simply means you have to anticipate the actions of other drivers. And you should act on the cautious side.
If you are too trusting, you are relying on that other driver for your safety. Is he worthy of that trust? Every few seconds, some drivers in this country find out this is a poor bet. Maybe some of those other drivers are returning from a beer festival! Maybe they just lost a job, or worse, a loved one. The other driver might be an 11-year-old who found Dad’s keys. Approach driving with the idea that every other driver is an unpredictable menace and out to get you. Most collisions occur when the “other guy” does something we don’t expect, or when we do something they don’t expect. -Road Trip America
I’ll be filming some videos soon. First up will be the shuffle steering technique I earlier wrote about. Then I’ll probably record something on how to properly drive with a manual transmission. The text I cited was descriptive enough, but audiovisuals are better. And I don’t believe I’ve seen any comprehensive video tutorial online yet (most discuss the _hows_ but don’t really show videos of how you use the clutch properly).
Any other video requests? Just not drifting or trick driving please. At least not until I master them myself (and also get a test car to use as I wouldn’t want to waste my tires and suspension).
This is rule #1 in defensive driving. You should always pay attention to the road, and driving should have your undivided attention. Try to refrain from using your cellphone, fiddling with the stereo controls, or even chatting with your passengers.
One statistic often quoted is that most collisions happen within a short distance from home. Why is this true? Since we mostly drive in our own neighborhoods, the odds are we’ll have most of our mishaps there. Close to home we get more comfortable and perhaps let our guard down (and the other guy does the same thing); you’ve heard that “familiarity breeds contempt?” Better yet, familiarity breeds inattention. We don’t often consider that serious or fatal injuries can occur in low speed collisions.
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Paying attention can become a habit, but you have to work at it. Make conscious, persistent choices NOT to eat while driving, or whatever you do that takes your attention off where your moving vehicle is pointed. Connect your mind to your eyes and work at consciously analyzing what you see while you drive. We call this “situational awareness.” Driving is the most dangerous thing most of us ever do. It deserves your full attention. Mastery of this one habit can almost make you bullet-proof. Not quite, but almost. - Road Trip America
