Jun 22

Learning To Back Up A Vehicle Safely For The Beginner And Inexperienced Driver
Backing up your vehicle can be quite simple, once you get the technique down pat, like anything else. It should be a lot easier than going forward. There is a huge difference in speed, than maneuvering the vehicle forward. Keep in mind. The faster your speed is, the faster you have to process information. That said. Driving backwards should be a lot easier than going forward, because you should be going a lot slower. Now if you?re speeding going backwards, the opposite is true. Right? When backing up a vehicle, always look in the direction that you are backing. When your maneuvering the vehicle to the left, look left. When you?re maneuvering the vehicle to the right, look right. When you?re driving straight back always look over you?re right shoulder. Always glance over the opposite shoulder first, before you proceed to back up. So if you?re backing and looking right, you should be glancing left first, before you start to roll backwards. Backing to the left, glance over right shoulder first. Always recheck you?re blind spot again, if you take more time, before you roll back. There are a few things that you have to do first, depending on the size of the vehicle. You may have to honk your horn to worn pedestrians and other vehicles. One important thing you must do is looking around before you back up. The other important thing you must do is look where your backing at all times. The only reason to glance forward is to make sure your front end clears the vehicle, hazard, or pedestrian beside your car if you intend on turning the vehicle. Did you notice I used the word glance? It?s pretty easy. Driving forward, you look forward, driving backwards; you look backwards until your vehicle comes to a complete stop. Everything else is just a glance. When you must back up, only go back far enough necessary to drive forward, especially if you?re view is limited. Putting it in simpler terms. If you?re vehicle has enough clearance to move forward. Stop and proceed forward. Do not guess. Move back more if your not sure. When you?re not sure which way your vehicle wheels are turned. With your foot on the brake pedal and the gearshift in drive or reverse, depending on direction, release up on the brake pedal slowly and look and see which direction your vehicle is heading, and correct accordingly. Let?s take a quick lesson on backing up. May I suggest you find a vacant parking lot like a mall or a school when it is closed? Make sure you get out of the car and look around for kids playing first. (Do not attempt this maneuver without an experienced driver sitting next to you or kids playing in the area.) With your foot covering the brake, slowly release the brake until the vehicle starts rolling. Keep your foot above the brake only to move it to the accelerator to get the vehicle in motion moving your foot back over the brake to keep the car from getting out of control. It?s called covering the brake. Looking in the direction you want to go, place your hand at the twelve o?clock position, practice turning the vehicle from side to side bringing it back to straight position and holding it straight for awhile. Stop after approximately the length of a football field and do the same thing going forward. The reason I would like you to do the same exercise going forward is that soon you will realize turning the wheel going forward is the same as turning the wheel going backwards. Once you turn the wheel right or left. Bringing the vehicle back to straight position will require you to straighten the wheel once the vehicle is straight again. Repeat the maneuver going backwards until you arrive at the approximate point that you started. Also practice turning the vehicle on a bigger degree of a turn when you get a little more confident. Be certain that you are covering the brake pedal at all times. Slowly backing up to your ability only. Also practice backing up between the lines of parking stalls. Do this a few times or a couple of times a week and you will master the art of backing up safely. Your knowledge on backing up is equally as important as driving forward. Just remember that doing it safely is the most important part of backing up. In other words, looking around before rolling back and looking where you?re backing. Do not roll back looking forward. Do you look back when you are driving forward? . Lets talk about the blind spot. Position your hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and look straight ahead. You should be able to see out your back window and your side mirrors. Those mirrors are good for viewing traffic coming up behind you. Your blind spot is situated over your shoulders on the backside of your passengers back windows. By glancing in that direction, you will be able to see a vehicle coming along side of you, that you cannot see with your mirrors. Including traffic or pedestrians approaching from the opposite side of the roadway, or parking lots and intersections. When you want a better understanding of the blind spot. Have a friend or family member stand directly along side the back corner of you?re vehicle, and have them side-step away from your vehicle, and looking in you?re side and rear view mirror until they are not visible, then glance over you?re shoulder. That would be you?re blind spot. Driving safely is almost impossible without the understanding of your blind spot. All it takes is a quick glance, and if you think you saw something, glance again, before you turn the vehicle wheel, and or move in that direction. Do not turn the wheel at the same time your checking. It defeats the purpose of checking to see if it?s safe. I like to use the word glance, especially if you?re moving the vehicle. When you?re not moving forward or backwards, take a good look around before you roll. It is important to look in the direction you?re going. For further information on driving techniques, please find a recognized driving school nearest you. Owned and operated a driving school for several years. Taught over 2000 kids and older people how to drive. Now operating a golf tee time site at <a href="http://www.golfanchor.net" target="_blank">http://www.golfanchor.net</a> and a sister golf site at <a href="http://www.golfanchor.com" target="_blank">http://www.golfanchor.com</a>
Source: www.ArticlePros.com

Advantages Of Diesel Engines
If you wanted to own a new car powered by a diesel engine or if you own one now, you no doubt appreciate the qualities this engine provides you with. More torque, better fuel economy, and easier maintenance are but a few of the attributes of owning diesel powered vehicles . However, there are some motorists that still complain about the engine’s weak power, especially when accelerating from a full stop. What you may not be aware of is the fact that a diesel engine can be tweaked to give more power without harming the fuel economy . New diesel engines cars use air compression to create combustion versus the fuel/air mixture that is required by gas engines. This attribute means that diesel engines don’t require spark plugs and therefore don’t need to be tuned up . Diesel fuel has a much high fuel density than gas, which results in fuel economy increases of 20 - 30% over gasoline powered vehicles . Diesel engines are also cheaper to maintain as they have less parts than that of a gasoline powered engine. The life span of a diesel engine is also much longer . If you’re looking for torque, for pulling a boat or other equipment, then the diesel engine has the supreme advantage. Diesel engines are surely slower, especially when starting from a dead stop, although when you climb hills or go over bridges, the diesel engine is surely up to the task . With new trucks, diesel is normally the leader over gas engines in terms of performance and miles per gallon. Diesel trucks will get more miles than gas trucks, and the price for diesel is a bit cheaper than gas these days . And with gas prices on the rise, diesel will continue to dominate for a long time to come . http://www.new-carpurchase.blogspot.comDiesel engines are also cheaper to maintain as they have less parts than that of a gasoline powered engine. The life span of a diesel engine is also much longer . If you’re looking for torque, for pulling a boat or other equipment, then the diesel engine has the supreme advantage. Diesel engines are surely slower, especially when starting from a dead stop, although when you climb hills or go over bridges, the diesel engine is surely up to the task . With new trucks, diesel is normally the leader over gas engines in terms of performance and miles per gallon. Diesel trucks will get more miles than gas trucks, and the price for diesel is a bit cheaper than gas these days . And with gas prices on the rise, diesel will continue to dominate for a long time to come . http://www.new-carpurchase.blogspot.com
Source: www.ArticlePros.com

10 Tips for Improving Fuel Efficiency
10 Tips for Improving Fuel Efficiency 1] Slow Down On The highway Your car is optimized to drive at 40-60mph(80-100km/hr), when you drive 70-80+mph fuel efficiency drops by up to a whooping 33% . Yes 33% , that is not a typo. I had heard this before and thought it was an exaggeration, then I drove the new Chevrolet Cobalt which has a fuel efficiency gauge in it and I saw it first hand, what a surprise. Is it worth speeding to save 5 minutes off your commute to work so you can just get held up in city traffic? Between the lost fuel efficiency, the extra wear and tear on the car driving beyond optimized speeds and inherent safety concerns I will need a good reason to start speeding on the highway from now on. 2] Cruise In The City The same idea applies in city driving. Speeding up to make the next red light guzzles gas and is hard on your car. This can decrease fuel efficiency by 5%. Why hurry up just to make the next red light? Let’s face it, speeding in the city doesn’t get you anywhere’s faster. If you drive like a bat out of hell you might make an extra light or two and chop a mere 2-4 minutes off your commute assuming you make it there alive. I drive at sane speeds throughout the city while most others fly by me and hard brake at the next red light, I then pull up beside them or even pass them as I may not of needed to stop as the lights are usually synchronized for sane driving speeds not surprisingly (it also takes more gas to get back up to speed than to maintain it). So have some fun watching people fly by you and seeing them at the next red light knowing your car is much better off. 3] Tire Pressure Here’s one everyone can do easily. It only takes a couple minutes to check your tires pressure. Under inflated tires can result in 3% less fuel efficiency. 4] Link Your Trips/Errands Plan your trip to include as many destinations or errands as possible. Fewer trips means less cold starts, better fuel efficiency and less driving than multiple small trips. 5] Avoid Unnecessary Idling. You’re getting 0 mpg for this one. If you’re going to wait 5-10 minutes for a friend give your car and wallet a break. For those who live in colder climates this is a bigger issue. We all want our cars toasty warm in the winter time when we get inside. Today’s cars really only needs 30 second of idling to warm up even in cold weather, then 1-2 minutes of driving to get it fully warmed up. So bundle up and save yourself a bundle. 6] Maintain Your Car Inexpensive oil and air filter changes can boost your cars performance and increase your cars lifespan. A blocked air filter can decrease fuel efficiency by as much as 10% and a misfiring spark plug won’t help either. So try to follow your cars service manual.. It beats dealing with an unexpected major repair and major inconvenience.. 7] Monitor Your Fuel efficiency I like to measure how many miles / KM I get on half a tank after filling it up. It’s easier to measure this way as we don’t let our gas tanks completely run dry and its impossible to estimate how much was left when you fill it up again. You can see how your driving habits affect your fuel economy and if your habits haven’t changed and you fuel economy drops off, then maybe its time for some car maintenance. Purchasing a fuel consumption gauge (if you car doesn’t already have one) can give you real time feedback and more accurate reading. This provides great instant feedback on driving habits. 8] Remove Unnecessary Items From Your Car For each extra 100lbs you lose 1-2% fuel efficiency, so get the golf clubs out of the trunk until your next tee off time. Leaving items on your roof rack also creates extra drag which makes your car work harder, so lock your mountain bikes up till the next trip. 9] Jack Rabbit Starts Some people like to suddenly accelerate by putting their foot to the floor. This guzzles gas and gives marginal speed improvement to a gradual acceleration. 10] Back Off Tail gating results in unnecessary breaking and accelerating. Hang back a little more and you can avoid the added stress and save some gas. It’s also safer to drive this way, give yourself an extra second to avoid an accident ! Paul Fezziwig writes for and administers 'Green Cars Now', http://www.greencarsnow.com , a website devoted to promoting fuel efficient vehicles and better driving habits.
Source: www.ArticlePros.com