Many people have dreamed of getting an RV when they get older, and going around the country at a leisurely pace. In this day and age, when hopping on a plane to get from one destination to another is the norm, driving a good old RV is not that common anymore. But anyone who has had the experience of traveling on one will tell you that there is nothing like it. Of course, you have to pay attention to the details and know how to drive safely in that oversized van. Here are some tips to stay safe on the road in an RV.

Take your time. An RV is not meant to go fast. It is the ride of choice for those who want to take it slow and take in the scenery. Going up a hill, you cannot expect to do it the same way as you would if you were driving, say, a Mustang. Don’t rush it!

Never drive down a road/street if you’re not sure there is an exit. Have you ever tried having to bust a U in a small space, or maybe back out of an alley in an RV? If so, then you would know that this piece of advice is perhaps the best that you can ever have. Before you turn into a side street, make sure that you have a way out.

Trust those side mirrors like anything. If you’re used to looking at your rear view mirrors, you better get the hang of relying almost solely on RV’s side mirrors. You will not be able to see much from the rear view mirrors (except your bed maybe) and you’ll need those side mirrors more than anything else in an RV.

Written by Marcel on December 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Driving along the streets especially in traffic can lead to arguments and often encounters that can suddenly look ugly. Drivers go as far as coming to blows while others pull out their guns in cases where they feel that they were beaten to instances like being first or being cut when driving around in the streets. But one thing you should ask for yourself, what do you get out of all of this road rage once everything has been done? Does it make you a better driver or better yet a better person?

This can also be typified as the power tripping driver. Many people who hold key positions in the government or perhaps are granted a license for carrying firearms make them all the more unreasonable drivers, wanting to be the superior person wherever they may be. These instances have resulted in some tragedies and have gone as far as claiming people’s lives or ruining their reputations. Sad as it may, it is all because of lack of courtesy and respect for emotions that drivers cannot contain when they are on the road.

There is no doubt that a lot of us have had our share in terms of encountering such instances. There is no doubt that such outrages will lead to nowhere. The real challenge of driving is not just about how well you drive your car but also about how focused you are on the road. Losing that may very well be a signal to just hire a driver or avoid driving a car to avoid the inconveniences.

Written by Marcel on November 25, 2010 | 1 Comment

One basic thing about cars that some drivers fail to do is on how to handle cars that have suddenly overheated. Normally, cars would overheat due to:

1. Lack of Water
2. Damaged Water Hoses
3. Worn Out Belts (Alternator)
4. Lack of Ventilation
5. Engine Decompression
6. Busted Auxiliary Fans

Normally, a driver would stop the car for fear of breaking down somewhere unknown. But did you know that as much as possible, you should not turn off the engine (as long as it can) manually? If the engine would die normally, then that would be okay. But if you want to put water which is the normal impulse that people would think of, try not to fill up your radiator if you have just shut it down to avoid overheating.

Assuming you have replaced the hose or anything that needs to be fixed that are causes for overheating, try this out.

Cars normally come with a reserve water tank to which reserve water can be placed. If you happen to shut down your engine, it would be best to initially put water there. Once you do, try starting it. If it does, try out these things before turning that radiator cap:

1. Wet a piece of cloth with water and get lots of water.
2. Before you turn the radiator cap, pour water extensively on top of the cap and the radiator. This is to try and bring down the temperature as much as possible.
3. Get the wet cloth and try to place it on the cap first. Wait a couple of seconds and then try to put your weight on it, and slowly loosen the radiator cap. You are bound to feel the pressure from wanting to get out. Do not allow it to do so as extremely hot water is bound to spill all over you.
4. Once you have released the mounting pressure, open the cap and then put water while the engine is running.

Do not turn the engine off (unless you can wait for it to cool down) and place water. The sudden change in water temperature is bad for your engine and may force you to overhaul it if you are not careful.

Written by Marcel on October 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Several reports from consumers have been found to have accidents linked to old tires being sold at many tire centers across the world. Even newly installed tires that have been manufactured years before they were installed onto vehicles have the potential to fail miserably soon after installation. These tires have long since been in inventories that though they are new have been sitting for as long as 10 years, maybe more in shelves and stocks. Tires like all manufactured goods have a specific timeframe fro them to retain their reliability and for something that is supposed to carry your car as you drive around that becomes a serious matter. Many have died as a result of old tires that have been stripped of treads sending vehicles crashing into everything in its path. Tires that blow out takes away control form the driver for the much needed traction which is the main form of control for all motorized vehicles. Tires that have been sitting on shelves for more than 10 years lose integrity with plies separating and shearing off resulting in accidents.
Tires do have a code to indicate when they were manufactured but they come in cryptic codes that only the manufacturer knows how to read. Families of people who have died as a result of tire blowouts, wants congress to issue strict laws that would require tire manufacturers to include manufacturing dates on the information stamped on tires and that a ten year limit to be imposed as shelf life for them.
The deaths have to stop and it would only be prudent for these manufacturers who sell millions of these tires worldwide to take measures that allow consumers to determine the lifespan of their products. Hopefully, these measures would make the Sunday drive safer and people would be assured of safer cars with brand their new tires.

Written by Marcel on October 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

Studying driving is nothing compared to being released on the streets and driving your car. Without someone to guide you, you are on your own and alone in your car. Once that happens, you will be surprised at the difference it will be considering there will be no one to correct you and to tell you to do this or do that. In short, all judgment calls when you start to drive will be left to you. You should have confidence in driving otherwise you are bound to encounter some accidents along the way.

Confidence is something you need to bring when you drive. Driving is not about stirring the wheel and gassing up for acceleration. It takes mind and focus to drive a car so that you can get places. But be sure to put that confidence level in check. At times you may be tempted to drive fast and the faster you go, the closer you are to accidents. We can just check out news about car accidents. Most of them occur due to reckless driving.

These days, wise driving is all about defensive driving. Logically, at any speed you can reach your point of destination. For people who are following a schedule, driving fast is not the solution. You can always leave early so you will not be late for an appointment. In short, there are alternatives. It’s just a matter of thinking sensibly. The difference in choice can likewise be a telling part between safety and driving wisely and of course building on confidence to being a great driver.

Written by Marcel on October 15, 2010 | 1 Comment

Do you see that white vertical line on the roads each time you go out? Well they are meant for something. They are guides and are there to also tell us to stick to our lane. Unlike in most countries where drivers have a tendency to shift lanes and even disregard these lines, they are really meant to guide you to stay in your lane for a more orderly way of driving.

They are also used to make sure that traffic is manageable at times. A road is usually made for 2 vehicles while highways go up to at most 4 lanes. Just imagine a major road without these lines and many vehicles driving simultaneously. You can just imagine the traffic it can cause due to uneven distribution of driving space thanks to lack of discipline and road ethics.

These are normally taught to you when you study driving. They are the basic yet important issues. In some countries, if you do not follow these simple rules, chances are you are dangling for a traffic violation ticket. Violations and fines for obstruction or even reckless driving can be charged on you and these cost heavy fines and a lot of discomfort for you. And in some countries, it goes as far as taking your license and being a cause for concern when it is time for you to renew them.

You can avoid troubles when you drive. Driving is easy if you do it the right way. Just review what they taught you in driving school and you will be fine.

Written by Marcel on October 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment

The advances in automobile technology has been so much that a great number of deaths are prevented especially due to the use of newer materials that has increased the safety of vehicles so much that they are literally cages within the car. Automotive manufacturers have installed airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and the use of exotic alloy metals/materials that are lighter yet several times stronger than normal steel are not common place that the term safety has translated into a total safety zone within the vehicle which prevents the passengers and driver from serious injury. This is a good thing for all of us till accidents occur and people get stuck in these types of vehicles with the best passenger protection technology installed.
Fire and rescue personnel are the ones who bear the brunt of injuries sustained during rescues from such vehicles. Airbags that are triggered by rescue people trying to free trapped people from crashes send the rescuers and the rescue both to the hospital. Regular extrication techniques are proving to be very ineffective as metals and composite materials need very expensive hydraulic systems such as the “Jaws of Life” which can cut the posts off a car in minutes. Those volunteer departments without enough funding cannot afford such equipment which translates to lost time in the critical period it takes to get a person out of the crashed vehicle to the hospital increasing the risk of death or permanent injury.
Firemen and rescue people are now being more careful in their trying to get people out trying to avoid hazards wasting time searching for the wires that send signals to the airbag systems and belt tensioners to free their patients. This might necessitate the need for more safety and rescue equipment which can be effective as the jaws was in it’s early days. Another solution may be a standardized emergency radio disabling system with a frequency that is unique to emergency situations which can disable such safety systems preventing injuries to rescuers as they try to save lives. Carbon fiber which is used in more exotic cars is a very difficult material to deal with for it is many times stronger than steel that only hydraulic cutters can deal with. Better measures such as improved budgets, training materials and re-training of personnel in how to deal with such materials should they need to be handled.

Written by Marcel on September 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

Well, this might have to do more with the way the human body is designed and how much information we can process in a short period of time. Scientific data has shown that our actual active line of sight window (or the area of our vision which is fully analyzed and can be reacted to instantaneously) is limited to a few square inches in front of you. The rest is what is considered to be the peripheral vision area which we are aware of but do not have too much concentration on. Add to it the tunes playing on the radio, the shifting combination of the depressing the clutch and changing gears and you have a lot of information to handle for the human body to actually process (try this test to see if you are a safe distance from the car in front of you).

At 40 kmh, the average car (with stock brakes) can stop reliably in about 5 car lengths which translates to around 50 or 60 feet. This might sound quite far but this is true. Now back to the speed limit thingy, well these are placed due to many considerations such as the type of road surface, the amount of traffic that is to be expected, and the surmised fuel savings and so on and so forth. The one about speed in relation to fuel consumption is a good one, for at 80 kmh, your vehicle is running in balance with it’s weight and the momentum or it’s forward thrust that the engine is running efficiently burning only enough fuel to maintain that speed no more and no less. Now with most carburetor type vehicles that would be a good idea for these vehicles do not have computer brains like the newer models of cars which seem to have technology crammed into each and every corner.

The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) or computer of newer cars has the necessary programming to obtain information from a bank of sensors on the engine (temperature, idling speed, revolutions, amount of air entering the engine and many more) that allows it to adjust the performance of its parts to provide or attain maximum efficiency while maintaining fuel economy. Depressing the gas pedal on a carb-type vehicle and you pour gas into the engine even if it doesn’t need it sending some into the overflow line onto the street. Newer cars have recovery lines which send excess fuel back into the fuel delivery system or the gas tank for re-use. The speed limit is the determined safe speed to maintain necessary distances for braking allowing you enough time to react properly to the events that unfold such as in emergency cases in front of you. The human body reacts quite fast (in milliseconds actually which is the time your eyes see the information, sends it to the brain, processes it and comes up with the necessary response and sends the nerve impulses to the necessary muscles on your limbs for you to react) but at high speeds, that might not be enough. Why race down a street which is only a few blocks long? Just ease on the gas pedal and accelerate gradually for it not only saves fuel, it also saves on the wear and tear on other parts of the vehicle(brakes, suspension and other parts). Enjoy the trip and not the ride for it allows you to ponder about better things than the darned traffic jam ahead of you.

Written by Marcel on June 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment

I don’t mean that you can use your mobile phone to drive. You know what I mean by that – a lot of us have become largely dependent on our mobile phones that we are rarely seen without them. When on the road, the mobile phone is not turned off (not that I am proposing this) and is even used by the person behind the wheel.

Many states have already imposed bans on this habit and rightly so. Driving is a focus-oriented task and the slightest distraction can make the difference between life and death. The split second that it takes to glance at the cell phone screen just might be the split second that you need to save someone else’s life or your life.

So how can you drive safely with your mobile phone?

Use voicemail! Instead of picking up, let the call go to your voicemail. That’s what it’s there for. If the call is really important, then pull over before answering it. If your argument is that you have a hands free feature, let it go. You know as well as I do that carrying a conversation can prove to be a distraction.

Ask your companion/s to take the call for you. If you’re not alone in the car, there is no need for you to take the call or answer the text message. Ask the person with you to do it for you.

If you do have to use the hands free feature (they were made for a purpose, I suppose), then at least make sure that you don’t spend too long on the phone. Also, make the road your primary focus. Last, be aware of your speed – be consistent and don’t speed up or slow down suddenly.

Written by Marcel on January 26, 2010 | 1 Comment

Seriously. I know you’re probably scoffing or chuckling at that title, but it’s Christmas and people tend to forget their senses around this time of the year. In the last two weeks, I have had to go to more Christmas parties than I cared to. I did have fun at most of them, but there was one thing that I noticed: people just didn’t care that much when it came to drinking and driving!

These are people who have stable and excellent day jobs. These are intelligent people who look down on those who may not be as smart as they are. But after each party, the story was the same. Tipsy guys and gals would head on to the parking lot and drive unsteadily home. Some were drunker than the others. Some were merely tipsy. It doesn’t matter, though, once you’ve gotten enough alcohol in your blood stream, you’re a danger on the road.

We all know that, but how come there are still a lot of people who just go ahead and drive? I can’t answer that because I really don’t drive (drunk or not), but if you ever find yourself in that situation in the near future, please, let your common sense prevail. I don’t need to tell you all about the rationale behind NOT drinking and driving. You’re smart – you already know that. I think it’s more about making a commitment to make the right choice when the time comes. Have a Merry and SAFE Christmas!

Written by Marcel on December 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment