ig advice that could save a

CARS HAVE become very
sophisticated but drivers
have remained surprisingly
low-tech.

By Robert Appel
Contributing Writer

Here, compiled from interviews
with people who drive for their
livelihood, are a series of driving
tips and tricks that could mean
the difference between arriving
late to your destination and not
arriving at afl.

@ If in doubt, get in the right
lane.

As you've probably noticed,
there are a lot of crazies out there
who seem to have no other pur-
pose thaa to run you off the road.
Why take tisks you don't have to?

4 Speeders and crazies
generally drive the extreme left
lene only ~- so, as a general rule,
stay in the right-most lane of the
strect or highway you're on, and
you wil! have handily eliminated a
Major cause of accidents and driv-
ing discord.

@ Drive for the car directly in
front of you.

A technique well worth master-
. ing. More than 90% of the cars
ca the rcad are desigued in such a
way that, when you drive behind
them, you can still see through
their front windshields. (Excep-
tions are any type of truck, most
vans and some four-wheel-drive
vehicles.)

Get in the habit of looking
through the windshield of the car
in front of you and trying to anii-
cipate how that driver will react to
things.

Cnce you masier this technique,
you will find that you are reacting
smoothly and professionally to
things that might otherwise have
taken you by surprise.

“In fact, this technique is so ad-
dictive that, if you should some-
times find yourself behind a vehi-
cle that. doesn’t permit this kind
of view, you will feel compelled to
pass it, :
© Know what is around you at all
times.

Most drivers know that the mir-
rors in the car can be used to fill
the blind spots around them.

What is missed, however, is the .

fact that regular sweeps of these
mirrors will allow you to create a
continuous mental picture of what
is around you at all times, su in-
stead of your mirror-check
creating a new situation for you
every time you look, it is merely

® JUST REMEMBER ...

44 VOLKSWAGENS
ALWAYS COST LESS
at CAPILANO VW
WHY NOT GIVE

AND GET YOUR
BEST VW PRICE

(EEF , ARS
985-0694

% PASSAT « GTI x GOLF x
* JETTA « CABRIOLET

y, Nov. 20, 1992 — North Shore News - 37

filling in the blanks of your ex-
isting mental picture.

Again, this habit might take a
while to develop but is worth-
while.

Say, for example, on your fast
check, your rear-view mirror in-
dicated a car just behind and to
the right of your vehicle; and on
your next sweer shows the vehicle
is not there — you would realize
right away that the vehicle in
question is now most likely in
your right-rear blind spot, and act
accordingly.

Ox the other hand, a driver
who recreates his position with
each new check would simply see
an empty slot behind him and
assume he has the road to himself.
@ When watching a vehicle that

looks as if it might pull into your
lane from a_ parked position,
watch the front wheel, not the
whole car.

It’s a matter of physics and ge-
ometry. It is entirely possible that
the driver of the other vehicle
doesn’t see you and will drive di-
rectly into your lane.

If you watch his whole vehicle
for movement, your perception of
that movement will be izicky.
Even the slightest movement of
the vehicle could be enough for it
to reach your lane, so, by the time
you conclude the vehicle is actual-
ly moving, it might be too late.

On the othe: hand, the front
wheel (tire) turus many times fer
each incremental movernent of the
chassis -- so by watching it, you

will instantly be able to tell if the
driver really is going to dive into
your

@ Turn off the stereo occasional-
ly and listen to your car.

Many mechanical problems,
especially safety-related ones, an-
nounce themselves well in advance
to the driver who bothers to
listen,

Listen to your vel:icle both at
test (ai a stop light) and at speed
to determine whether any new
sounds may have cropped up. If
so, get them checked out im-
mediately,

@ Buy the Jowdest torn and
brightest lights your car can han-
dle.

Although it may be true that
professional truckers use their

le

horn and lights to hold little dia-
Jogues with others in some kind of
code, the average driver uses his
brights and his horn sparingly,
and usually only in emergencies.

With this in mind, yeu owe it to
yourself to make sure your
messages, when sent, are received.
Many cars conie from the factory
with horns that sound like rabid
ducks and lights that meet the
rainimum standards.

Upgrade your lights to state-
of-the-art brands and your horn
to something thzt would not scem
inappropriate for getting attention
quickly.

Distributed by the Los Angeles
Times Syndicate.

FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE, MULTI-LINK
SUSPENSION, LIMITED SLIP DIFFERE
ABS AND A PRICE OF $23,440.

NO WONDER THE G20 15 So EASY

TO HANDLE

We have seen it time and time again.

The surprise and delight people feel on driving
the Infiniti Gao for the first time. (Or the second, third
or two-hundredth time, for that matter.)

This moment of discovery is all the richer when
the G2o is directly compared with other more famous

luxury sports sedans.

Gv

Head-to-head test drives reveal the G2o to be

more nimble and responsive.

And at an equally surprising price of $23,440'

considerably easier to handle.

To more ““illy appreciate the dynamic advantages
of the Gao, arrange a guest drive with an Infiniti rep-

resentative soon. Thank you.

INFIAWIT?.

G20 ¢ J30 © 045
Created by Nissan

Smart people always read the fine print. And they always wear theit seatbelts. “MSRP for Infiniti G20 as of September 25, 1992. Price excludes freight and taxes.

INFINIT! OF RORTH SKORE

1148 MARINE DRIVE, NORTH VANCOUVER

985-0339