Driver's Ed - Last Unit

Driving uphill require more power to continue moving at the same speed. Driving downhill requires you to decrease the engine power.

How are procedures from driving uphill different than those for driving downhill?

If you are behind the wheel of a car and another person does something that makes you angry, you may have an impulse to act out your emotion by driving aggressively.

How can emotions affect your driving?

Drive with your low beam headlights on to make your vehicle more visible, and signal your intention to turn or change lanes well in advance.

How can using your low beam headlights help you travel safely when glare is a factor?

A braking skid occurs when you apply the brakes so hard that the front or rear tires lose traction. A power skid occurs when you suddenly press on the accelerator too hard. A cornering skid occurs when all four tires lose traction at the same time. A blowout skid occurs when a tire suddenly goes flat.

Describe four causes of skids.

Your ability to see and to be seen diminishes when there is less light.

Describe how visibility is affected by low-light conditions.

Glare is caused when the sun hits windshield, and glare can act in the opposite way--it can reduce your ability to see.

Describe the circumstances in which the sun's light can create dangerous glare.

To avoid fatigue, understand that more activity requires more rest. The only way to recover from fatigue is to take a break from the activity that created the fatigue, a break called recovery time.

How can you avoid or recover from fatigue?

Let the others know how stupid you think it is, and let them know that you think too much of yourself to give in to the kind of pressure or influence that leads you to do something you wouldn't normally do.

How can you avoid the negative impact of peer pressure?

The key is to recognize when emotions are strong and distracting your attention from other important activities.

How can you control your emotions when you drive?

Know what can happen in difficult situations, look well ahead, and drive at the appropriate speed for specific conditions

How can you minimize risk in environmental combinations?

Having a well-maintained vehicle and a steady supply of fresh air entering your vehicle are the best against carbon monoxide poisoning.

How can you protect yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning?

Speed - the greater the speed, the greater the momentum, and the longer the braking distance. Gravity - can make vehicles speed up or slow down Traction - holds your vehicle to the ground

How do speed, traction, and gravity affect braking distance?

Alcohol will decrease your skill and it will damage your judgment behind the wheel. Alcohol interferes with the brain's ability to use information to make good decisions.

How does alcohol affect your driving?

Complex reaction time includes more complicated responses, such as the ability to react and steer left, steer right, or brake in an emergency.

How is your reaction time affected by alcohol?

The lower an object's center of gravity, the more stable the object.

How would changes in a vehicle's center of gravity affect its stability?

The distance your vehicle travels from the time your eyes see a hazard until your brain recognizes it

Human-perception distance?

The distance traveled from the time your brain tells your foot to move from the accelerator until the time your foot pushes the brake pedal.

Human-reaction distance?

Shift down to a lower gear to slow the movement of the vehicle. Rapidly pump the brake pedal. Doing so may build pressure in the brake-fluid lines, providing some brake force. If pumping the brakes doesn't work, use the parking brake. If you still have little or no brake control, look for a way to reduce your speed.

What actions would you take if your brakes failed?

Tire pressure, tire condition, rain, ice and snow, road condition

What affects traction?

Stimulants, narcotics, synergism, hallucinogens, depressants, prescription drugs, and over-the-counter drugs

What are some other kinds of drugs besides alcohol?

Drivers know what normal acceptable behavior is, and most of the time they follow the norms. If you habitually deviate from the driving norms, you become a high risk driver. Customs are behaviors that satisfy people's needs for comfortably interacting with one another.

What are the definitions of norms and customs as they relate to driving?

Three major types are experimentation, recreational driving, and alcohol abuse

What are the different types of alcohol use?

Attention fatigue, visual fatigue, muscular fatigue, and sleep fatigue

What are the four types of fatigue?

Some of the natural laws that affect you as a driver include the laws of inertia, friction, momentum, kinetic energy, and gravity.

What are the natural laws affecting drivers?

Changes in visibility, traction, and space are the three major highway conditions that require the driver to adjust speed.

What are the three major highway conditions that require the driver to adjust speed?

30mph = 82 to 103.5 ft., 50mph = 179 to 215 ft., 60mph = 238 to 282 ft.

What are the total stopping distances when traveling at 30mph, 50mph, and 60mph?

All drinks are equal in alcohol content, and the human body removes one drink per hour.

What are the two most common misconceptions about alcohol use?

Do not argue with the other driver. Do not accuse anyone of being at fault, and never admit fault to yourself. Try to remain calm. Stop your vehicle immediately.

What are your responsibilities if you are in a collision?

Use low beams and high beams correctly - Usually you drive with low beams. Use your high beams to increase visibility only on very dark roads with no other vehicles around or on divided highways with no traffic in front of you. Do not overdrive your headlights. - At night, drive at a speed that will allow you to stop within the range of your lights- that is within the distance you can see.

What can you do to minimize risk when driving at night?

If you change speed or direction gradually and smoothly rather than abruptly, you will minimize the chance of skidding.

What can you do to prevent bad-weather skids?

Trying to change speed too quickly, trying to change direction too quickly, or trying to steer and change speed too quickly.

What conditions can make your vehicle skid?

Weather and road conditions, road and lightning, other traffic and lightning

What environmental factors outside the vehicle pose a risk to you while driving?

Expectations, mood, fatigue, and existing medications or medical sensitivities

What factors can contribute to the effects of alcohol?

Fatigue is weariness resulting from too much physical or mental exertion. Fatigue is dangerous when driving because your senses are impaired.

What is fatigue? How does it affect your driving ability?

Driving faster than you can safely see

What is overdriving your headlights?

An appropriate speed is one that keeps the driver traveling safely. This means that you must be aware of conditions and drive accordingly.

What is the definition of appropriate speed?

Inattention is the lack of paying attention, or the inability to focus on some relevant action such as the task of driving.

What is the definition of inattention as it relates to driving?

The time it takes the vehicle to begin slowing down once the brake pedal is applied

What is vehicle braking distance?

Make sure your windshields are clean. Reduce your speed, and give yourself an extra margin of space between your vehicle and other vehicles.

What steps would you take to minimize overall risk in a glare situation?

Human-perception distance, human-reaction distance, and vehicle-braking distance

What three components make up total stopping distance?

Check traffic around you and determine the best point at which to leave the roadway. Keep rolling if you can; do not brake unless traffic conditions forces you to slow.

What would you do if your engine stalled while you were driving?

The location of other vehicles in traffic determines whether you need to speed up or slow down. In many situations, such as changing lanes or accelerating across a gap in traffic, you will need to adjust your speed, or speed up.

When should you adjust speed?

Anger is major emotional impairment because it easily leads to aggressive driving.

Why is angry driving a major problem?