driving

6 steps to being a better driver when learning to drive

Safety is imperative when learning to drive — for ourselves, passengers, occupants in other vehicles and pedestrians. It’s also an appropriate time to develop proper driving habits, not unsafe or illegal habits like driving too fast. Here are some basic guidelines to follow, whether you’re learning to drive or have many years of driving experience. Fasten Your Seatbelt It might seem obvious, but many car drivers and passengers don’t wear their seat belts. Without wearing a seatbelt or if it’s not properly attached, a car occupant can be tossed around the cabin, thrown into a windshield or launched from a vehicle. Learning To Drive: Seatbelts A Must Correctly worn, seatbelts save lives. If not worn or attached improperly, accidents are

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How to overcome a car accident: family, friends, legal help

Getting into a car accident can be a daunting experience. It’s not often easily forgotten and it may leave physical and emotional scars. But there are many ways to overcome those difficulties. Brushing up on driving skills can help you return to being a confident driver.  Likewise, talking with a professional, friend or family member about the experience can help. Here are several ideas to help someone who’s been in an accident feel secure and return to driving as soon as possible. Close friends and family members can often tell when something is negatively affecting you. A car accident can be difficult to overcome, especially if it involved severe injuries. When speaking to someone about the injury experience, consider their

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Top 10 tips for winter driving

As the weather continues to get colder, the impending snowfall can exciting. But winter driving in inclement weather can create significant road hazards. If you drive in the snow, important safety tips should be followed? Here are some top safety tips and considering for winter driving: Do Not Drive in the Winter Weather Unless You Must Although hailstorms are more common during spring and summer, blocks of ice and snow during winter can still cause damage to your car’s exterior. Whichever season you may be driving in, though, it pays to be more careful. Once the hailstorm starts damaging your car, it also pays to entrust it to professionals at an established auto hail repair shop. For those residing in

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Road rules and rage: should you drive more defensively?

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT Driving defensively is one of the best ways to stay safe on the road. It ensures you’re doing everything you can to follow the law, and it lays any fault in an accident on the other driver However, drivers who have gotten used to driving can find it mundane and develop bad habits. Drivers can forget from when they learned to drive and thus make unfortunate mistakes. It’s a good reminder to drive defensively. Here’s a refresher tips list:   Have You Had Close Calls While Driving? Having a close call can be unnerving. If it’s occurred recently, revisit your past year of driving. Consider the potential severity of the occasion and how to avoid future difficulties. Also,

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#192, Want to drive a stick shift? Hagerty has a ‘manual’

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:24 — 36.3MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | More Learning how to operate a manual transmission car or truck was a rite of automotive passage for drivers of a certain age. It’s now a rarity, with a few exceptions including a campaign introduced by Hagerty. The American automotive lifestyle and membership company, Hagerty in July announced, as part of its 10th anniversary of the Hagerty Driving Experience, a mission. Its goal: to teach 500 people to drive a stick shift in 50 days. Rachel Ventimiglia, Assistant Manager of Car Culture at Hagerty, is my guest on Episode #192 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-host Bruce Aldrich is on assignment, so I discuss

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Nervous driver? Learning and studying your car helps

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT Being a nervous driver is common. Many people have anxiety on the road even as experienced drivers and in well-traveled areas. After all, you’re in charge of a large metal box on wheels. And it’s likely you’re surrounded by drivers in similar situations but with different approaches to road safety. Anyone can be nervous while, but it shouldn’t be overwhelming and stop you is you want to get behind the wheel. Owning and operating a car is often an integral part of many peoples’ lives. It’s important for personal transportation, can mean better living circumstances and even better job opportunities. Driving without being nervous takes practice. Which is why as a nervous driver it’s a good idea to

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#170, WeatherTech Raceway ready for racing

Just like any business relying on visitors, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca had it tough during 2020. Events were rescheduled and canceled. But management did its best to offer recreation opportunities when it could. One unheralded but important track use is the facility’s access to non-competitive racing clubs and performance driving programs. Members rent or bring their vehicle to the racetrack and experience the famous layout. Barry Toepke, the director of heritage racing at the WeatherTech Raceway, is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Toepke the upcoming 2021 season and the varied competitive events on the horizon. WeatherTech Raceway: Improve Your Driving But we also talk about programs available

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Fighting A Speeding Ticket in New York? What You Need To Know

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT Attending traffic court can be frustrating and annoying. The experience of getting a speeding ticket or another kind of citation isn’t pleasant.  The anxiety of going to court. The disappointment of paying the fine. It can be time-consuming and stressful, particularly for someone traditionally employed. A significant problem is those getting speeding tickets often don’t have the proper information to resolve the matter. For example, there are ways to challenge a traffic ticket before going to court. Point To Be Noted When you get a traffic ticket, make sure you address it on time. You can pay your ticket fine online or in person. If you feel you have been wrongly accused, you can take it to court.

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What To Consider Before Starting Driving Lessons

If you’re thinking about taking driving lessons, there’s a lot to consider. The easy part is contacting a driving school and starting the classes. But before getting behind the wheel of the car, be certain you’ve done your homework. Here are a few key considerations: cost, preparation, lesson comfort before starting driving lessons: The Cost Once you’ve passed your driver’s test, you’ll need to pay for the lessons and the car rental for driving test. The additional costs come from the theory written tests, and it may be necessary to take each test more than once. When you’ve passed the test and are ready to buy a car, remember it’s not cheap. New and used vehicle prices have increased. The

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Winter driving tips for new drivers

Becoming a new driver when winter is approaching can be a challenge, particularly if you have primarily learned to drive in the summer when the weather and road conditions are better. If you’re a new (or experienced driver) and have just purchased a new car, here are tips for winter driving to keep you safe on the road. Take Winter Driving Slowly When you’re driving on the roads during the winter the most important thing to consider is the slippery surface. It is hard to see black ice patches of ice on the road at this time of year and you want to avoid causing an accident your first time out there. Be sure to drive slowly in situations when

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#157, 50 years of driving: Co-hosts talk good, bad, ugly

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:49 — 54.7MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | More Turning age 66 doesn’t have the same milestone traditions as ages 40, 50 and 65. But there are connections to the automotive world for me with double six on the horizon, including 50 years of driving. Driving the iconic Route 66 is a bucket list item for many travelers. I’d like to do that at age 66. And for those who acquired their first driver’s license at age 16, a half-century of driving has likely provided plenty of opportunities for reflection. During the past half-century, the automotive industry has advanced with the acceleration of a Tesla. So my friend and co-host Bruce Aldrich

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Detroit synonymous with auto industry but commute horrible

The automotive industry is deeply rooted in Detroit. But the city would rather not have one of its honors. It has the most stressful commute in the country. Here are the stats. In Detroit, the average one-way commute time, 25.4 minutes; average annual days with precipitation, 135 days; relative collision likelihood, 22.9 percent above average; percentage of workers who drive: 83.0 percent; diversity of times people leave for work, worse than average. As a result, Detroit doesn’t fare well in the associated issues with long commutes. Many in the workforce leave jobs because of excessive commute stress. Likewise, lack of long commute times not only increases stress, it decreases job satisfaction and leisure time satisfaction. The combined effects lead to

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Ready for a road trip? Napa Valley gets US honors in global survey

Vehicle finance company Moneybarn has released an intriguing automotive study. Compiling information from websites, tallying scores from seven criteria and adding a mathematical formula for “normalization values” it’s determined the world’s best road trips. Headquartered in Petersfield, England, the company named the 95-mile drive from San Francisco to Healdsburg as the world’s fifth-best trek. It’s among the journeys Moneybarn calls “50 Unbeatable Road Trips.” Designated as “Through Napa Valley,” the trip begins in San Francisco and advances to Napa via Vallejo. It progresses through more than a dozen communities including Yountville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Calistoga and Healdsburg. The wine country region is listed just below some lofty geographic company among trips in 32 countries. Rankings are based fuel costs, availability

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#103, On the mend for years, U.S. roads crumbling again

Poor newspaper delivery, slow internet speed and increasing utility costs are constant public annoyances. But arguably at the top of the list of everyday frustrations is the worsening condition of roads. The Reason Foundation has been reporting on the issue for nearly a quarter-century. And in its recently released 24th Annual Highway Report, the libertarian think tank based in Los Angeles reports the nation’s roads are deteriorating. Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the Annual Highway Report and assistant director of transportation at Reason Foundation, is our guest this week in an abbreviated edition of The Weekly Driver Podcast. We experienced technical difficulties in this episode, but podcast co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss the new report with Feigenbaum. He

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Kwik Fit interactive game highlights distracted driving dangers

Kwik Fit takes its business as a retail tire seller and vehicle serving company seriously. But the United Kingdom-based enterprise isn’t opposed to having some educational fun while immersed in the importance of safe driving in the automotive industry. Which is why Kwik Fit has developed the interactive game Driven To Distraction. It clocks users’ recreation times and those shows how districting it is for drivers to use their phones while driving. The game challenges users to click on the screen as soon as they see the stop sign appear. The game records how many milliseconds it takes for players to react. Driven To Distraction drivers must then attempt to the same test while simultaneously answering questions shown on a

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#73, Saving teenage drivers’ lives with Xbox Driving Essentials

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:33 — 35.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreDriving Essentials XE is an interactive and engaging driver training simulation made specifically for Xbox. It teaches new, teenage drivers how to deal with dangerous situations without actually being in danger. The vast majority of all serious teen crashes are due to critical (and preventable) mistakes — lack of judgment, lack of experience and driving distracted. Bob Davis, the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Virtual Driver Interactive, Inc., the manufacturer of the new product, is our guest on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Davis the soon-to-be-available product and how believes teenaged drivers’ lives will be saved.

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