SIMULATOR THEATRE I: Practicing Basic Control Tasks Behind the Wheel — Transcript

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1. 0:03[Music]
2. 0:08he
3. 0:12[Music]
4. 0:33the average automobile in the United
5. 0:34States is over 17 ft long nearly 7 ft
6. 0:38wide and weighs more than 2500 lb it can
7. 0:42turn full circle and less than twice its
8. 0:45length and can maneuver into a space no
9. 0:48more than 2 ft longer than its own
10. 0:50length this automobile can reach speeds
11. 0:53in excess of 100 mph although the
12. 0:56highest us speed limit is generally 70
13. 0:58mph
14. 1:00even at the top legal speed this 2500lb
15. 1:04vehicle exerts an impact force of over
16. 1:0725 tons and requires over 300 ft more
17. 1:11than the length of a football field to
18. 1:13bring to a stop yet when it's driven and
19. 1:17handled properly it gives drivers a safe
20. 1:20convenient freedom of movement unknown
21. 1:22just a few Generations ago to enjoy that
22. 1:26freedom there are certain basic task you
23. 1:28need to master and controlling your
24. 1:34vehicle this tape deals with some of the
25. 1:36most important of those Basics as a
26. 1:39driving instructor I teach student
27. 1:41drivers of all legal ages the basics of
28. 1:44safe driving and with just a little
29. 1:46practice they all learn them well enough
30. 1:48to become safe licensed drivers yet we
31. 1:52read every day of accidents caused by
32. 1:54drivers losing control of their cars the
33. 1:57reason well they forgot
34. 2:00that these Basics are not just sometime
35. 2:03things so as we go over them I'd like to
36. 2:06stress that you need to not only learn
37. 2:09and practice them but to make it a rule
38. 2:12of your driving to follow them every
39. 2:14time you get behind the wheel okay let's
40. 2:18begin take the simplest first leaving
41. 2:21your car parked on level ground there
42. 2:23are four actions to take first after the
43. 2:27car has stopped shift into Park second
44. 2:31apply the parking brake both are
45. 2:33essential what looks like level ground
46. 2:36often is inclined enough that a car can
47. 2:39roll uh-oh that's number three don't
48. 2:43forget to turn off the engine and take
49. 2:45the
50. 2:46keys then number four lock your car even
51. 2:50if you're leaving it for only a few
52. 2:52minutes it can be hotwired and driven
53. 2:54away in less than 10
54. 2:57seconds parking uphill has been the
55. 2:59undoing of of many drivers who forget
56. 3:01one simple safety step if you're parking
57. 3:04next to a curb just before the car stops
58. 3:07turn the wheel hard left then shift to
59. 3:10neutral and break slightly as the front
60. 3:14wheels settle against the curb shift to
61. 3:17park and set the brake just as on level
62. 3:19ground one caution be sure to park no
63. 3:23more than a foot from the curb so this
64. 3:26won't happen
65. 3:29where there is no curb be sure to pull
66. 3:31off the road as far as possible and do
67. 3:34the same things with one exception turn
68. 3:37the wheel sharp right before shifting to
69. 3:40park and setting the
70. 3:42brake parking downhill next to a curb
71. 3:46turn the wheel sharply to the right and
72. 3:49let the front wheel settle against the
73. 3:50curb logical isn't it but too many
74. 3:54drivers forget it not a good way to make
75. 3:57friends one more clue on parking this
76. 4:00time downhill without a curb same as
77. 4:04with a curb turn the front wheels hard
78. 4:06right then gearshift into park and break
79. 4:11the logic of parking is to use the curb
80. 4:13as a stop and where there is no curb
81. 4:16turn the wheels away from
82. 4:19traffic okay get ready to move into
83. 4:22traffic don't forget to signal and check
84. 4:25for oncoming Vehicles you're responsible
85. 4:28for staying out of their way and
86. 4:30remember traffic coming downhill may be
87. 4:33coming faster than on level ground of
88. 4:36course you'll check the traffic side
89. 4:38rear view mirror but there's a blind
90. 4:40spot to your left rear that the mirror
91. 4:42cannot show you always glance over your
92. 4:44shoulder to make sure that the area is
93. 4:48clear also visually check the blind spot
94. 4:51before moving out and centering your
95. 4:53vehicle in the traffic lane in traffic
96. 4:56make a habit of always following three
97. 4:59safe driving practices continually scan
98. 5:03left right and Center as far ahead as
99. 5:06traffic or sight lines will let you
100. 5:09maintain proper spacing between yourself
101. 5:11and other vehicles never drive so close
102. 5:14or so fast that you can't stop in time
103. 5:17if traffic ahead suddenly came to a dead
104. 5:20stop the right following distance lets
105. 5:23you see further ahead so you can take in
106. 5:25the big picture of what's Happening
107. 5:27ahead of you just as important you can
108. 5:30avoid the car ahead if it stops suddenly
109. 5:33a good way to maintain a safe following
110. 5:35distance in normal driving conditions is
111. 5:38to use the 3 second rule staying 3
112. 5:41seconds behind the car ahead of you
113. 5:43here's how to measure it pick out a
114. 5:45fixed checkpoint ahead in this case a
115. 5:48telephone pole it could just as easily
116. 5:51be a line on the road or Shadow Laying
117. 5:53across it when the vehicle ahead of you
118. 5:55hits that checkpoint begin Counting 1,1
119. 5:5910002
120. 6:0113 when you say the three your vehicle
121. 6:04should not yet have reached the
122. 6:06checkpoint if it has slow slightly to
123. 6:09increase the cushion between you and the
124. 6:11car ahead the 3se second system works
125. 6:14well at all speeds because as speed
126. 6:17increases so does the 3second distance
127. 6:19between you and the car ahead don't
128. 6:22forget though as road conditions change
129. 6:25traffic becomes heavy or you run into
130. 6:28rain snow or fog you will want to
131. 6:30increase that distance to four five
132. 6:34perhaps as much as 10 seconds in very
133. 6:36adverse
134. 6:37conditions what if the driver of the car
135. 6:40behind you does not use the 3second rule
136. 6:43and tailgates you what can you do to
137. 6:46protect yourself well you have three
138. 6:49options you can increase your speed to
139. 6:51move at least 4 seconds ahead of the
140. 6:54tailgator then if you have to stop or
141. 6:56slow suddenly the rear car has time to
142. 6:59respond Bond and the extra distance lets
143. 7:01you signal your intent early often you
144. 7:05can't increase speed without tailgating
145. 7:06a car in front of you in that case
146. 7:09increase your distance from that car by
147. 7:11slowing slightly then if the lead car
148. 7:14stops suddenly you can do it more slowly
149. 7:17giving the tailgator more time to
150. 7:20respond when you use this technique of
151. 7:22slowing to increase stopping distance
152. 7:24the tailgator May speed up to close the
153. 7:27gap if so move slightly to the right so
154. 7:30he can see traffic farther ahead he very
155. 7:33well may pass you at that time because
156. 7:35Tailgators will generally do that at the
157. 7:37first opportunity a final option is to
158. 7:41pull out of traffic and let the
159. 7:43tailgator go you can also do this if
160. 7:46traffic is piling up behind you and
161. 7:48can't pass because of Hills curves or
162. 7:51oncoming traffic and remember different
163. 7:54Road surfaces provide different traction
164. 7:58you add rain to a dry Road surface and
165. 8:00what was once enough stopping distance
166. 8:03becomes an invitation to an insurance
167. 8:05claim the same is true of a gravel
168. 8:08surface and ice is far worse when it
169. 8:12comes to steering a car A good rule to
170. 8:14use while learning is to make slight
171. 8:16Corrections often practice will tell you
172. 8:19how much some beginners over steer
173. 8:22causing their vehicle to weave others
174. 8:24under steer going too far in a straight
175. 8:27line before correcting with a practice
176. 8:30proper steering will soon become second
177. 8:32nature for you you'll almost think of
178. 8:34your vehicle as an extension of yourself
179. 8:37and practice with an instructor in both
180. 8:39Rural and City settings will help you
181. 8:42quickly Master right and left terms but
182. 8:45sooner or later you'll need to perform
183. 8:47another steering maneuver that gives
184. 8:49many beginners trouble backing up with
185. 8:52speed and direction under control
186. 8:55practicing a few simple Basics can make
187. 8:57it an easy job backing up safely
188. 9:00involves knowing where to look how to
189. 9:02steer and how to control your speed
190. 9:06first something you should not do Never
191. 9:09Back by using your rear viiew mirrors
192. 9:12why well because they give you tunnel
193. 9:15vision mirrors show only a small
194. 9:17fraction of what you need to see while
195. 9:19backing a side mirror shows only one
196. 9:22side the inside mirror shows only a
197. 9:25narrow view of what's directly behind
198. 9:27they offer no peripheral Vision so while
199. 9:30you're backing safely based on what you
200. 9:33see you can encounter things that you
201. 9:36don't see and some things that well
202. 9:39don't see
203. 9:41you uh let's try that again the right
204. 9:44way first make sure there are no
205. 9:47obstructions pedestrians or oncoming
206. 9:50traffic on either side then get in
207. 9:53correct position to clearly see behind
208. 9:55you your hand is on the steering wheel
209. 9:57at the 12:00 position your body is
210. 9:59turned sideways with your arm over the
211. 10:02back of your seat note that in this
212. 10:04position you not only see your intended
213. 10:07path of travel but your peripheral
214. 10:09vision also notices anything moving on
215. 10:11either side of your car keep your foot
216. 10:14on the brake pedal as you shift into
217. 10:16reverse and then release the brake
218. 10:19pedals slowly letting the vehicle creep
219. 10:23backward control Direction by moving the
220. 10:25top of the steering wheel in the
221. 10:27direction you want to go just as when
222. 10:29when driving forward don't over steer
223. 10:31make your Corrections often and slight
224. 10:35keep your foot over the brake pedal
225. 10:36always prepared to stop often you will
226. 10:40back to a crossroad or a crosswalk in
227. 10:42which case come to a dead stop then turn
228. 10:46forward and carefully check that both
229. 10:48directions are clear in the case of a
230. 10:51crossroad continue backing and turn to
231. 10:54position yourself in the driving lane in
232. 10:56the direction you wish to go
233. 11:00one driving maneuver that many beginners
234. 11:02don't think about and some aren't even
235. 11:05taught is the proper way to turn a
236. 11:07vehicle around now I'd like to show you
237. 11:09the two best methods because well
238. 11:11they're the lowest risk they involve
239. 11:13using a driveway or a side road like
240. 11:16this to use a right side driveway for
241. 11:19your turnaround First Signal your intent
242. 11:22by using your right turn signal then
243. 11:25stop with your rear bumper a foot or two
244. 11:27beyond the driveway and back slowly to
245. 11:30the right until your vehicle is
246. 11:32completely off the highway before
247. 11:34pulling out on the highway signal a left
248. 11:36turn and wait for any traffic to clear
249. 11:39before pulling out the advantage of this
250. 11:41method is that you re-enter traffic
251. 11:44going
252. 11:46forward a second method uses a driveway
253. 11:49or side road on the left check traffic
254. 11:52from both directions Signal a left turn
255. 11:55and turn left into the turnaround
256. 11:57pulling completely off the highway
257. 12:01stop with your wheels completely
258. 12:02straight check traffic again especially
259. 12:05from the right before you back out onto
260. 12:07the highway remember this requires you
261. 12:10to stop in a traffic lane so be sure you
262. 12:13can complete the turn before any traffic
263. 12:17arrives well certainly there are other
264. 12:20ways of turning around the U-turn for
265. 12:22example which is illegal in many areas
266. 12:25or turning around when you cross a lane
267. 12:28of traffic
268. 12:30or turning around completely on the
269. 12:33roadway but even experienced drivers
270. 12:35should rarely use these three Maneuvers
271. 12:38because they represent much higher
272. 12:41risk three guidelines to remember for
273. 12:44making safe turnarounds prefer a method
274. 12:47that uses a driveway or a side road now
275. 12:50if possible use the one that lets you
276. 12:52reenter the roadway moving forward and
277. 12:55prefer the methods that block the fewest
278. 12:58traffic Lanes and for the shortest
279. 13:01time sooner or later every beginning
280. 13:04driver has to face one nagging reality
281. 13:07Rising price of gasoline now 25 years
282. 13:11ago it cost about 62 cents a gallon far
283. 13:14below today's prices there are several
284. 13:17driving techniques that can help you get
285. 13:19the most miles out of every gallon you
286. 13:21burn let's take a look at some of
287. 13:24them today's cars can generate very high
288. 13:27speeds and most Auto routes and
289. 13:29expressways are designed to handle those
290. 13:32speeds but remember the faster you push
291. 13:35Beyond a certain speed the less fuel
292. 13:38efficient your engine is for example if
293. 13:41your car gets 20 m per gallon at 55 M an
294. 13:44hour care to guess how much it gets at
295. 13:4775 on average 14 miles so you lose 6
296. 13:51miles for every gallon burn and aside
297. 13:54from risking a speeding ticket you'd
298. 13:56lose 120 M on a 20 Gall tank full and at
299. 14:01today's prices that can be
300. 14:04expensive many new vehicles get top
301. 14:06efficiency between 50 and 55 M an hour
302. 14:10keep it there and you save money when
303. 14:13the weather is cool enough you can use
304. 14:15another fuel saver drive with the
305. 14:17windows closed to cut wind resistance
306. 14:20and save as much as a mile a gallon in
307. 14:23cold weather your heater doesn't use up
308. 14:25fuel so it's a net savings but in warm
309. 14:28weather and Air air conditioner would
310. 14:29offset the fuel saving so this is a low
311. 14:33temperature tip but here's two you can
312. 14:35use any time of year at traffic lights
313. 14:38or stop signs Coast to a stop drivers
314. 14:41who break quickly at the last second
315. 14:43waste Fuel and when you start build up
316. 14:46to Road speed slowly jack rabbit starts
317. 14:49eat more fuel per distance traveled than
318. 14:51just about anything else you can do the
319. 14:54greatest fuel consumption is within the
320. 14:56first few minutes after starting a cold
321. 14:58engine a warm engine is much more fuel
322. 15:01efficient than a cold one and one final
323. 15:03tip avoid excess idling because it uses
324. 15:07fuel for no reason and eventually it can
325. 15:10damage your engine today we've just
326. 15:12scratched the surface on the kinds of
327. 15:14techniques you need to practice to
328. 15:16become a safe driver you'll earn others
329. 15:18as this course goes on but parking
330. 15:21entering traffic steering backing and
331. 15:24turning around are involved in nearly
332. 15:26every other part of driving so practice
333. 15:29them with an instructor or a licensed
334. 15:31adult until they become second nature
335. 15:34but no matter how skilled you get always
336. 15:37think about what you're doing when
337. 15:39you're behind the wheel that way you'll
338. 15:41not only take control you'll stay in
339. 15:44control drive safely
340. 15:59oh
341. 16:00[Music]
342. 16:09[Music]
343. 16:20[Music]