Most people believe they are, for the most part, good drivers…But all of us make mistakes. Defensive driving techniques help you protect yourself from other drivers. It’s involves anticipating dangerous situations; and being constantly on guard.

When you employ defensive driving techniques you increase your ability to anticipate potential hazards and gives you a strategy for dealing with them.  Here are some good defensive driving tips:

Know your blind spots

This all depends on your car and your position in it. Most cars typically have blind areas on either side near the rear of the vehicle. Some vehicles may have blind spots directly behind them. Besides knowing your own blind spots, try to think about where the blind spots may be of the vehicles directly around you and try not to loiter in them.

Adapt to changing road conditions

This morning there were over 200 accidents in the twin cities, mostly due to black ice. That doesn’t even count the number of cars that ended up in the ditches. The driver in front of me came upon another accident too fast and fishtailed into the ditch. This is mostly due to driving faster than conditions warrant. We all need to decide if it’s worth it to get to our destinations a few minutes sooner and risk a tow or worse.

Maintain your vehicle

However good you drive, your not completely safe unless your vehicle is properly maintained. If not, your car could fail at a critical moment and you could be involved in a serious accident. Be sure to read your vehicle’s owner’s manual. and become familiar with your car’s maintenance schedule and requirements.

Always scan the road ahead

Remember, traveling at 65 MPH, your vehicle can travel the length of a football field before completely stopping.  Look far ahead, not just to the car in front of you, but FAR ahead so that you can prepare for any changes to the road ahead  well in advance.

Maintain presence

Maintaining presence of mind will help you to respond to any situations that may suddenly occur while driving. Stay focused on driving and watching the environment around you.

Avoid Distractions

A distraction is any activity that diverts your attention  from the task of driving, such as eating, talking on the phone. Driving deserves your full attention

Maintain an escape route

Check your mirrors every few seconds to see what’s beside and behind you, deciding where you could maneuver safely to avoid an accident. If you find yourself in a situation where there is no clear escape route, slow down and increase your following distance.

Drive Predictably

Be aware of the other drivers around you. Try to avoid actions that would surprise your fellow motorists. Although, the may be good drivers, all of us need all the help out there we can get.

Pay Attention

Concentrate on driving. Be attentive to your own actions, the actions of others and the road ahead.

Having driven over 175 thousand miles in the last 8 or so years, I’ve noticed some patterns regarding the type of people on the highways. It seems to me that a lot of my commutes are made up of people that can be grouped into some loose set of characteristics. Here’s a list of some of those groups and their associated traits:

Indecisives – A type of driver that’s not really sure which lane they want to be in or how fast they want to drive. If you keep a steady pace, you’ll see these drivers time and again as they pass you, then slow and get passed by you. I can’t decide if these drivers go through their life like this or they’re just like this when they drive.

Blinders On – The reasons can be many, GPS Naviagtion, Phone Calls, Apathy, Blackberries, deep thoughts, whatever the case, these drivers aren’t REALLY driving. Sure, they’re sitting behind the wheel, but mentally, they are somewhere else.

Panicker – If anything appears ahead that may might affect traffic, these people will switch lanes, hammer their brakes, even accelerate if it means getting in their perceived optimum position.

The AFK (Away From Keyboard) guy – Yeah, I know this is a computer term, but it describes a group of drivers quite well. You can tell a AFKer is out there when you see someone drifting or slowing for no apparent reason. This sometimes can be related to drowsiness. Whatever the reason, they’re AFK.

Tailgaters  – I get the feeling these drivers see themselves as some type of victim in life…As if everyone else on the road is somehow holding them back, intentionally.  Many times these people are so close, you can’t even see their headlights. Following too closely is a factor in about 40% of all collisions. Remember the two-second plus rule to keep a good distance.

Erratic – For overall effect on traffic flow, these drivers are the worst. It’s my belief that a car with fluctuating speeds can cause waves of congestion that appear to have no clear cause. Traffic congestion caused by this type of behavior has no place in the commuting world.

Multitasker – This is the “I’m just too busy to ONLY be driving” They feel their car is the perfect spot to catch up on makeup, shaving, eating a steak, reading, or all of the above. They may be somewhat of an Erratic (see above) driver, but only because they, for the last 3 minutes have only kept the road in their peripheral.

Supportive – I think possibly this is the type of driver we should strive to be. This driver is helpful, friendly, gives others the benefit of the doubt. They take driving seriously and realize that anger is something we choose.

Over the past several months I have logged various trip parameters when commuting to and from work. I know it’s somewhat preliminary (I want to get an entire year’s worth of data) but I thought it would be a good time to investigate what my fuel economy has been and what may affect it. Here is a breakdown of my trip data so far:

Number of trips so far: 46

Average Speed: 54 MPH

Average Trip Length: 49 Minutes

Average Fuel Economy: 36.6 Miles Per Gallon (MPG) with a Std Deviation of 2.46 MPG

I should mention that my average speed is low since a portion of my trip is through slower roads, stoplights, and stop signs. I normally try to drive at a very constant speed of 60, 65, or 70 MPH for most of my trip.

For now, I looked at 4 different parameters that may or may not correlate well with my fuel economy. These include Average Speed, Air Temperature, Warm Tire Pressure, and Relative Humidity…I’ve graphed the data below:

Miles Per Gallon as a function of Average Speed

Speed:  Average – 54 MPH Std Deviation – 3.75  Correlation -  -0.203

Miles Per Gallon as a function of Air Temperature

Air Temperature:  Average – 17°F Std Deviation – 12.7  Correlation -  0.504

Miles Per Gallon as a function of Warm Tire Pressure

Warm Tire Pressure:  Average -  35.8 lbs Std Deviation – 1.12 Correlation -  0.477

Miles Per Gallon as a function of Relative Humidity

Relative Humidity:  Average – 76%  Std Deviation – 12.95 Correlation -  0.012

What can we determine from the data?

I’ve included an Excel guess at a 2nd Order Polynomial equation trend line for each of the graphs. Based on this as well as the correlation data, it seems tire pressure and air temperature play a significant role in fuel economy. Obviously, speed plays a large role in fuel economy as well. However, I don’t think we can take much from Relative Humidity (RH) just yet…There simply isn’t enough data and it doesn’t correlate well.

I suppose what intrigued me most were the trend lines for temperature and speed. The mileage trend appears to have a maximum of approximately 40 MPH and trails off fairly fast as speed increases. Also, fuel economy seems to trend upwards as air temperature increases. It would be interesting to see where the top of that curve is. Unfortunately, I’ll have to wait till warmer weather before I can drive in warmer temperatures.

Let’s make a few assumptions (we’ll have more data later on) on gas mileage:

• The best fuel economy is around 40 MPH and falls fast as speed increases

• As temperature decreases, fuel economy tends to decrease

• Mileage appears to increase with an increase in tire pressure

• Humidity may affect fuel economy, but more data is needed.

A couple of notes:

1. Most of this information is common knowledge, but basically what we’re setting up here is a baseline for further data-gathering on my commuting trips.
2. Also, any wind effects are not taken into account for the above data. I’ve tried to record wind data, but gusting and changes in direction of travel and wind make it difficult to accurately reflect the effects of wind on fuel economy.

I currently spend around 100 minutes a day commuting to and from work. That’s almost 400 hours a year (not including vacations) or 50 8-hour days a year! The average commuter in the US spends almost 50 minutes a day on the road. If you focus on the negatives while driving…like why is everyone going so slow, how much time your wasting, why is the guy ahead of you not driving the way you think he should, the whole experience can be frustrating.

What if you could convert that wasted time into something useful?

Wouldn’t your time spent commuting be more relaxing knowing that your time wasn’t being wasted?  Let’s review some activities that might allow you to be productive while driving:

• Plan – Turn everything off (not your engine obviously) and simply focus on what your goals are for the rest of the day and how to achieve them. This can work for the drive to work as well as the drive home. If you do this, you’ll find you are more relaxed during your trip and when you arrive.
• Audio Books – There are thousands of personal and career development audio books to listen to while driving. These types of books also help to relax a person while driving. Sure, you may miss information at times, but there’s no reason to not listen to the book again…You have the time. Check out some Nonfiction Books on Amazon.com such as The Tipping Point or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for instance. Also, sometimes a good classic can be just as productive as the latest trendy self-help bestseller. A good resource for these is LibriVox, providing free audio books in the public domain.
• Podcasts – After purchasing my Apple iPod touch 16 GB, I started downloading all kinds of podcasts. Even though my vehicle has a Sirius radio, I soon forgot all about it when I hooked my iPod to iTunes. There are a lot of great podcasts focused on self-help, career enhancement, and industry-specific trends and topics.

Any of these activities have the ability to generate ideas that you can leverage later on. However,  most of these ideas are forgotten in about 30 seconds as other thoughts overtake them. One way you can avoid forgetting them is with a small voice recorder. The one I’m currently using is a Olympus VN-5000, it can record up to 300 hours of audio and is very easy to use when concentrating on driving.

You can avoid wasting your time while driving by some simple planning and a few basic tools. With everyone needing more time these days, this is a great way to spend what you have more effectively.

I suppose the best advice we hear about winter weather driving is that if the roads are bad, only drive if you can’t possibly avoid it. But let’s say you just HAVE to get somewhere. How should you drive, what do you watch for, what to remember, etc. Here are some tips on reaching your destination.

Give yourself PLENTY of time.

I cannot stress this enough…You will do us all a favor out there by giving yourself enough time to safely get to wherever it is your going.

Make sure you and your vehicle are prepared before you leave. Give your vehicle a thorough inspection including a visual check of the tires, wipers, fluids, lights, and tires. Be sure to check your spare tire, many times drivers are stranded with a flat tire only to find their spare is flat as well. This is even more important in the winter.

For yourself, throw in an extra pair of winter clothing, including some snow boots, extra gloves, cap, and maybe an extra set of loose fitting clothes. Here’s a short list of items to keep in you car during the winter.

• A good winter flashlight (I have two of these flashlights…You can charge them at your house or in your car)
• An old blanket or two
• Some extra windshield fluid
• Make sure you have a good windshield scraper
• A good snow shovel might come in handy
• Store some non-perishable, high-energy foods or an emergency kit in your car in an empty coffee container
• A brightly colored cloth that you can tie to your antennae
• Some people say you should carry tire chains, but frankly, I can’t imagine trying get these on when my car is in the driveway, not to mention when my car is in 2 feet of snow
• Compact two rope
• Always keep your gas tank at least half full
• Be sure to give yourself plenty of space. This is crucial when the roads are slippery
• Keep both hands on the wheel and try to avoid sharp, quick steering inputs. That type of driving can cause you to lose control of your vehicle
• Accelerate and brake gently. This is key for safe driving in slippery conditions. Braking or accelerating hard can cause you to lose control of your vehicle as well. If you know your vehicle is equipped with anti-lock brakes, you can step on your brakes hard in emergencies and this system will prevent your wheels from locking, helping you to retain control of where your vehicle is headed
• Bridges are especially hazardous in winter driving since they are usually the first areas to freeze and are sometimes not treated with melting agents

If conditions become worse than you anticipated, get off the road.

If it all goes wrong and you find yourself stuck or stranded, remember the following…

Don’t leave your vehicle. Emergency personnel have a much better chance of finding your vehicle than you, so sit tight and bundle up.

Keep one window open slightly to keep you car from being sealed up by ice and snow.

It’s tempting, but don’t run your engine. This can lead to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Some say, you can run the engine for short durations (10 minutes at a time) if you know your car’s exhaust pipe is clear, but you should really try to avoid this.

There are several dashboard computers on the market, some for the extreme car enthusiast, some for the rest of us. The new kid on the block is the PLX Kiwi. It’s a dashboard computer that plugs into most cars through their diagnostic port (OBDII).

Unlike others on the market, KIWI’s goal is a somewhat game-like experience where you try to obtain the highest “Kiwi Score”.  You get a higher score when your driving style is optimized for fuel economy.

Let me list what I think are the top three advantages and top three disadvantages of the Kiwi:

Top three advantages of the Kiwi dashboard computer:

• Saving gas is almost a game that may help keep your interest over the long –haul.
• The interface seems extremely simple and even tells you how much money you saved.
• Appears to 26 individual pieces of sensor information from your car’s ODBII port.

Top three disadvantages of the Kiwi dashboard computer:

• Almost too much like a game, with a somewhat overly distractive interface.
• Fairly expensive (MSRP of $299). It would take a considerable amount of gas savings to pay for it given a gas price of $1.53 (what I’m currently paying for a gallon of gas).
• The “Fun Mode” makes me think they needed to fill some unused space on that big, bright display.

I’ll look into a few more of these dashboard computers…I’d eventually like to pick up something like this for my commuting.

Maybe the best thing about the KIWI is that it try’s to train you for better driving habits…Something we could all use a little of.

Sure, I take my time and obey the traffic laws, but it’s still an incredibly dangerous thing I do, and I do it everyday.

Just a quick post on some nice tips UPS had to say about driving safely:

1. Look as far down the road as possible to uncover important traffic information to make appropriate decisions.
2. Maintain the proper following distance so you can comfortably determine the true hazards around your vehicle. Don’t tailgate others.
3. Scan – don’t stare. Constantly shift you eyes while driving. Active eyes keep up with changing traffic conditions.
4. Be prepared. Surround your vehicle with space in front and at least on one side to escape conflict.
5. Communicate in traffic with your horn, lights and signals to establish eye contact with motorists and pedestrians. Be reasonably sure of people’s intentions.

I recently read an article by Seth Godin about an idea he has about using the iPhone to help navigate the traffic rather than the roads. A real-time, community-generated traffic navigator (my poor attempt to describe his idea). If you’re looking for a better commute or a new way to use your iPhone, check out his post.

For some time, I’ve recorded the measurements discussed in the previous post (which I will be presenting in a future post), but I thought it might be good thing if I tried to gather some vehicle data as well.

For a long time, I’ve been looking into the ScanGuage by Linear-Logic, but it currently offers no data-logging. Although I have read they are working on a new version with this feature. In the mean time, I’m thinking of purchasing a Davis Instruments CarChip Pro. It doesn’t log all parameters possible, but it does give you the ability to choose which 4 parameters to log.

ScanGuage II

CarChip Pro

Currently, I’m hooked into Progressive’s MyRate program and although you can achieve up to a 25% discount on your insurance, I drive far too much to get anything but the minimum 5% discount for my car by just being in the plan. I tend to agree with Arron Landry about the data being worth far more than my 5% discount. I guess I’d be far less skeptical of this program if I had access to all the raw data I believe they are capturing about my driving habits.

MyRate "Device"

I might even run a combination of these devices using a y-splitter for my obd II port from OBD2Cables.

OBD II Y-Cable

Whatever the current experiment, I will be continuously monitoring the following parameters of each commute:

1. Date
2. Start Time
3. Starting Temp
4. Cold tire pressure
5. Wind Direction
6. Weather – (Clear, Rain, Heavy Rain, Ice/Snow)
7. Attempted Average Speed
8. Actual Average Speed
9. End Temp
10. Warm tire pressure
11. Economy
12. Wind Speed
13. Traffic Density – (Low, Med, High, Very High)
14. End Time
15. Duration

My Cobalt has a fairly nice dashboard computer that provides avg speed, avg mpg, ambient temp, and tire pressures. This makes it very nice to track these values.