Driver’s Ed is a mandatory course that every driver must undertake to legally operate a vehicle on the road. However, just like you suspected, there are things you were not taught in driver’s education. That does not imply that there is anything wrong with driver’s education but some things are only taught through experience. Whether you are fresh off the DMV driving test, or can’t remember the last time you were following instructions from a driving tutor, there is always space to learn a few new things.
How to Jump Start a Car- If you turn on the ignition and the lights come on but the engine fails to power, the battery is the most likely suspect. For safety purposes, the jumper cables should be rubber coated and quality enough to handle the amperage. The red clamp should be matched up with the battery positive pole while the black camp with the negative pole. Park the vehicle with the bum battery close enough not to strain the cables. Switch off both cars and attach the red clamp to the positive end on the faulty battery and the other red clamp on the positive side of the jump car. The black clamp should be attached to the negative terminal of the charging battery while the other black clamp should be grounded on the unpainted steel surface of the disabled car. The next procedure is to start the supporting vehicle followed by the stalled car in that order. Precaution: Make sure both vehicles are parked on a dry surface and avoid getting in contact with any liquid whatsoever. Do not expose yourself to electrocution by touching a live clamp with your bare hands. Alternatively, you can jerk start a manual car by pushing it downhill while the key is turned on, first gear mode is on and the clutch pushed inwards. Once the car gains momentum and you start jogging, release the clutch.
How to Change a Tire- On a long enough timeline, every driver encounters a tire puncture. Just hope you don’t get stuck in the middle of nowhere and you don’t know how to change a tire. Like a bad joke, most drivers get a tire blow out only to find out their smartphone is out of charge or there is no network available. The only option is to get your hands dirty, there is no shortcut around it. Take out the spare tire, jack and lug wrench. Position the jack on the undercarriage right next to the disabled wheel. While the disabled tires are on the ground, proceed to remove the hubcap and loosen up the lug nuts but do not completely remove them yet. The next step is to spin the jack handle upwards until the worn out tire gets lifted off from the ground. Once the car has been swiftly uplifted on one side, you can go ahead to completely remove the nuts and exchange the disabled tire with the spare. Remember to hand tighten the lug nuts in a clockwise direction before lowering the jack by steering. After the spare tire has been lowered to its normal position, use the star pattern to tighten the nuts further. Get back on the road.
How to Get Unstuck- You can get stuck on snow, mud or rock, whichever the case you should at least know how to maneuver your way out. If you are stuck in the snow, do not put too much throttle because it will unlikely help the situation but melt the snow around causing it to refreeze into ice. Examine how deep you’re stuck before attempting any move. If it is just the drive wheels that are stuck, it will be much easier to pull out. But if all the wheels are deep in a mound of snow, be ready to do some digging to give the car more room to maneuver. Trying to move the car back and forth by switching between drive and reverse will also help the situation but be careful not to accelerate before engaging the gear or you could damage the transmission. Moreover, you can put cardboard or floor mats under the front tires to gain more traction. If everything else doesn’t work out, keep shoveling. However, if you’re stuck on mud or sand, spinning the tires will only make it worse. Find something solid like wood blocks to put ahead of the drive wheels and proceed slowly.
The 10 and 2 is Outdated- Majority of drivers who can’t vividly remember their driver’s education days since it was a long time ago drive with their hand at 12 o’clock position. Well, you can’t really blame them because that is how they were taught. But nowadays, drivers are taught to forget the 10 and 2 hands on the wheel position. The reason?…….When an airbag is deployed during an emergency and your hands are at 12 or 2 position, you are prone to serious injuries on both your hands and face. There are cases of drivers who lost almost all of their teeth after the hand positioned at 10 and 2 flung back onto their face when the airbag was out. Good for you, the latest steering wheels have ‘thumb hangers’ that recommend drivers to put their hands at 9 and 3 or 8 and 4 for Italian-style driving.
How to React During an Emergency- In driver’s education, you are only taught how to drive under normal circumstances. But even the most cautious drivers will eventually experience an emergency test in the real world. The best bet at surviving certain emergencies is to train for it. Get to know stomping hard on the ABS brakes will not hurt your car but will reduce the chances of colliding with obstacles. On the other hand, hitting the brakes during a sudden tire blow out will likely tip over your car but driving with the same momentum until the car slows down is considered safe. It is only through emergency practice that you can learn to react appropriately when there is no time to think.