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BRAKES
TO SLOW, GEARS TO GO
Driving
tips from the IAM: 50 years of driving road safety
27
January, 2006
This
week's initiative to offer an advanced driving scheme to
"white van man" was welcomed by everybody except,
predictably, the people it was aimed at.
[ADA
explanatory note: For non-British readers, the inevitably
disparaging term "white van man" refers to the
often-reckless drivers of countless thousands of white cargo
vans on the roads of the U.K.]
Nobody
likes to be told that possibly they could improve their driving.
And when the news broke, White Van Men took to the airwaves from
their cabs to protest. They claimed they were being picked on
and that there are plenty of other drivers who are equally poor
(mini cab drivers, 4 x 4 owners for example).
But
despite this initial hostile reaction to Transport Secretary
Alistair Darlings initiative, common sense tells us that there
is some excellent thinking here.
First
of all, any driver education has to be welcome. There is no such
thing as a perfect driver, and we can all gain from refreshing
our skill at the wheel, without exception.
Mr
Darling has pledged a £1.3m fund for Safe and Fuel Efficient
Drivers (SaFED). Saving up to £500 of diesel per vehicle should
appeal to white van drivers, even if the road safety or
environmental benefits don't.
Interestingly,
one of the key course techniques is better use of gears. By
avoiding over revving and missing out unnecessary gear changes,
drivers can not only reduce fuel consumption, they can also cut
down wear and tear on the transmission.
Those
of us taught to drive years ago were conditioned to move our way
up and down the gear box systematically 4, 3, 2 and 1. But thats
because vehicles in those days had inferior brakes and we needed
to bring the cars to a halt by using the drag of the
transmission.
These
days, we recommend "block changing". Use the brakes to
slow down, then, when the speed is right, choose the gear that
is best for that speed. So you may move from fourth, say,
straight to second, after you have finished braking. Brake pads
are cheaper to replace than clutches. You can also block change
to move up, skipping intermediate gears.
So
remember "gears to go, brakes to slow".
Issued:
27 January 2006 NR 06/50thtps/3
Additional
Notes About the Institute of Advanced Motorists
The
IAM, which
marks its 50th anniversary in 2006, claims to be the UK's
largest dedicated road safety charity. The IAM saves lives on
the road by enabling people to drive better and preventing
crashes. The IAM is by far the largest provider of advanced
driving test preparation, which is statistically proven to
reduce the chances of crashing by between 50 and 70 per cent,
and is also the largest supplier of risk management and driver
training for fleet operators through IAM Fleet and sister
company Drive & Survive.
Through
these programmes, it already influences the driving of over
90,000 road users every year in the UK and Ireland. The IAM now
plans to make an even greater contribution to improving road
safety within the next five years. It plans to attract whole new
sectors of the public to prepare for, and take, the advanced
test, but also to reach out to those who may never aspire to be
"advanced", and influence them through innovative
education programmes, partnerships and the media.
Copyright
© 2006: Advanced Drivers of America, Inc.
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