More Driving Tips

Following on from My Top Driving Tips, here are some more. Not all might be applicable to you and your driving but some might.

3rd for 30mph, 4th for 40mph & 5th for 50mph

I currently drive a 1.9 TDI Volkswagen and I've found the gears to be particularly well suited to the gear and speed combinations mentioned above. For example, when driving along a road with a 30mph speed limit, I generally will be in 3rd gear. Should the speed limit change to 40mph, I'll change up into 4th gear. And finally, when the speed limit is 50mph or above, I'll generally stay in 5th gear. Not only does this keep the engine spinning at a fuel efficient rate, it also makes it easier for me to monitor road speed just by the sound of the engine. For example, if I find myself noticing a high engine speed, I'll probably be exceeding the current road's speed limit as well and so will know to adjust my speed.

I also change into 2nd gear when entering a section of road with a 20mph speed limit. Again, this is more to encourage me not to drive too fast but has the added advantage of reducing the chances of me hitting any speed bumps or cushions at an uncomfortable and potentially car-damaging speed.

Thoughtful indication when turning left

Imagine the situation. You and a vehicle in front are approaching a junction on the left. There is a vehicle already at that junction waiting to pull out in front of you both and drive toward where you have come from. You plan to turn left at this junction, but as you consider indicating, you notice that the vehicle in front appears to be going straight on. If you indicate now, there is a risk that the car at the junction will see your indication and either assume that the vehicle in front is also going to turn left or maybe, they will forget about the vehicle in front completely. If they pull out now, there could be a nasty accident.

In this situation I would recommend that you delay indicating until the vehicle ahead has passed the waiting vehicle.

Try not to brake continuously

It is rarely a good idea to brake continuously for a long period of time. This can lead to your vehicle's brakes overheating and loosing their effectiveness. If you find yourself braking continuously for a long period of time, consider if you are in the most appropriate gear. Changing down a gear may provide sufficient engine braking. If engine braking is not sufficient alone, try to release your brakes regularily to allow any build up of heat to dissipate. Try to do this whilst travelling in a straight line rather than on a bend.

Manual stop-start

I have been doing this for some time now (click here for more details) with no ill effects and I think it has improved my cars fuel consumption. It involves me assessing, when I come to a stop at traffic lights, whether I think I'll be stopped for at least 30 seconds or so. If I think this is the case, I'll turn off the ignition and sit with the engine turned off until I see the lights change. Then I'll re-start the engine and drive off.

Here are some other things I consider:

• I don't do this when the engine is cold. I suspect this would put greater strain on the starter motor and engine.
• I only do this at traffic lights I know. i.e. When I know the traffic light's timing and so don't turn off the engine only to almost immediately have to re-start.
• It's better to do this when you are not the first car stopped at the traffic lights as it does delay you setting off by a couple of seconds.
• I generally don't do this when I have passengers. It saves a lot of explaining.