I was teaching an Essential Driver Training (EDT) 12 - Nightdriving lesson this evening.... I like to start these lessons at dusk and work through to full darkness. My pupil confessed to feeling a little nervous at the prospect at not only driving in the dark, but also in fog and heavy rain.
However, talking about the actual and potential associated hazards in advance, helped her to feel more prepared and relaxed.
There was a lot of surface water on the roads - coupled with too much speed, this can lead to "aquaplaning" - where the car's tyre treads cannot cope with the amount of water and so the vehicles "floats" on the surface. Thsi leads to loss of of steering and braking - not advisable! If this happens, keep both hands steady on the steering wheel and take foot of the gas/accelerator - as the car slows, grip should be restored. When driving out of deep puddles, check mirrors and press on footbrake - this will dry the brake discs to make them more effective.
Most vehicles had lights on - However, some only parking lights (these are NOT effective on the move, use dipped lights in conditions of poor visibility), some had bulbs missing and some had full beam on, blinding oncoming traffic. Do you use your lights correctly???
However, talking about the actual and potential associated hazards in advance, helped her to feel more prepared and relaxed.
There was a lot of surface water on the roads - coupled with too much speed, this can lead to "aquaplaning" - where the car's tyre treads cannot cope with the amount of water and so the vehicles "floats" on the surface. Thsi leads to loss of of steering and braking - not advisable! If this happens, keep both hands steady on the steering wheel and take foot of the gas/accelerator - as the car slows, grip should be restored. When driving out of deep puddles, check mirrors and press on footbrake - this will dry the brake discs to make them more effective.
Most vehicles had lights on - However, some only parking lights (these are NOT effective on the move, use dipped lights in conditions of poor visibility), some had bulbs missing and some had full beam on, blinding oncoming traffic. Do you use your lights correctly???
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