Top 10 holiday driving tips

Friday, 22 December 2017

Watch: how to handle traffic and road trips this season.

It's the season of hot weather, extreme shopping-traffic and once-a-year road trips.

All of the above can put a huge strain on car and driver. Here are our top-10 tips to get you and your vehicle through, all running smoothly.

FRESH AIR IS OKAY

Having your windows open does create drag. But it's still cheaper than running air conditioning.

Nothing better than winding the windows down on a hot summer day, right? Keeps you fresh, keeps you alert as you enjoy the sights and smells.

The good news is that it's okay to do that. Popular opinion suggests it increases drag and wastes fuel. And it does, but not as much fuel as running the air conditioning (which represents an increase of around five per cent). So feel free - but remember to turn the cool air off, otherwise you really are letting big bucks blow away.

This used to be called a 'parcel shelf'. It's no such thing if you care about safety.

PARCEL SHELF NOT A SHELF FOR PARCELS

You know that thing behind the back seats that everybody calls a parcel shelf? It's not a parcel shelf.

Every reason to back into a parking space. Few reasons to go forwards.

If your car's packed full or you've got an armful of shopping, it's tempting to chuck stuff up there. But in an accident or even an emergency braking situation, unsecured items keep on travelling at full speed when the car stops. That 'parcel shelf' is at head height, so it's an incredibly dangerous place to store anything. Example: a 500g mobile phone could have an impact force of 25kg in a 50kmh crash.

REVERSE PARK

You'll find lots of tyre-pressure information inside your fuel flap.

Christmas, Boxing Day, generally having lots of free time - it all seems to lead to shopping madness. Which leads to carpark madness. This is an oldie but a goodie: we reckon you can relieve stress and minimise the chance of a carpark bingle (stronger words may be applicable if it actually happens) by always reversing into parking spaces.

It's safer because you can see into the space before you enter, and you can see out the front of your car as you leave. It's also much easier to manoeuvre, because the steering wheels are clear of the actual space for the maximum possible time. Yes, other motorists might get frustrated as you stop and reverse - but the payback comes at exit time, when you cruise away safely without somebody else right up your exhaust waiting for the space.

No shame in having a little reversing practice at home before your holiday road-trip.

INFLATION NOT JUST FOR POOL-TOYS

Tyre pressures are one of the most neglected areas of car maintenance. They're not set-and-forget (any tyre loses pressure over time) and incorrect pressures can be dangerous and expensive, affecting handling, braking and fuel economy. You should check tyres when cold, ideally with a portage gauge of your own (they're cheap, about $10 from a parts store) or with the service-station machine. The latter is not ideal but better than nothing - and it's probably what you'll use to pump the tyres anyway.

The car behind is too close, so what can you do? You might be surprised.

Most machines allow you to set a temperature and inflate automatically. Unless you have a compressor at home - but that's next-level stuff, right? You'll generally find the pressure requirements for your car tyres on the inside of the fuel flap, sometimes on a plaque in the door sill - or always in the handbook.

BACKWARDS TO THE FUTURE

Holidays are here. So are are our tips for keeping things sunny for your summer motoring.

This is a classic holiday situation: you're not a regular tower-of-things, but suddenly you find yourself having to back a trailer into a narrow space. Usually with an audience. When backing a trailer, the correct hand position on the steering position is six o'clock. Yes, hold the bottom of the wheel. That way, when you turn the wheel, the direction your hand moves will be the same as the trailer's direction of travel.

Reversing a trailer requires concentration, so tell everyone to get out of your vehicle - the last thing you want is kids arguing in the back seat, or somebody in the front seat telling you what to do. It's also a good idea to wind down your windows so you can hear people talking to you from outside, and adjust your wing mirrors so you can see either side of the trailer when you are lined up straight. If you know you're going to be doing some heavy-duty reversing over the break, don't be shy about going somewhere quiet and having a few practice runs. Could take a lot of stress out of the holiday.

KEEP OTHER PEOPLE'S DISTANCE

Keeping your distance from the car in front is easy: we all know the 'two second rule'. But what do you do when somebody is too close to your rear end?

The thing not to do is brake hard: it might tech the tailgater a lesson, but you're also risking a massive accident.

According to TrackTime advanced driving instructor Mike Eady, your first instinct isn't necessarily the right one.

'Most people would say hit the brake lights - give the person behind a brake test,' says Eady.

'But that's a very aggressive move. If you hit the brakes hard and the person behind hits you, it can be deemed your fault. You could be fined for causing the accident.

TrackTime driving instructor Mike Eady has a suggestion: 'Put your windscreen-wiper washer bottle on. The water will go over your car and land on the one behind. It's not aggressive, they'll us their own wipers and naturally drop back.

'If the other driver is still tailgating, pull over and let them go. Let them have a fight with somebody else.'

BE HANDY BEHIND THE WHEEL

As we found when we wrote about it earlier in the year, debate rages about how best to hold the steering wheel.

But we, and every advanced driver instructor we've ever asked, reckon the old 'push-pull' or 'shuffle' method belongs in the distant past, to a time when power steering was rare and open-road speeds were low.

According to TrackTime advanced driving instructor Mike Eady, the best hand position in a modern car is quarter-to-three: 'Your hands go either side of the spokes of the steering wheel.

'This is correct for a few reasons. First, we have great orientation of where the steering wheel is. You know where straight-ahead is and you know exactly how much angle is on the wheel.'

But what happens when you've turned the wheel enough to have your arms crossed over?

'All you do is drop the bottom hand through the corner, and pick it up [same position on the wheel) on the way around again.'

KEEP THE CORRECT SEATING POSITION

Sitting correctly works wonders for driving comfort on a long trip - and safety of course, since it helps keep you alert.

It's a simple three-step process. First, you put the seatbelt on. Then you bring the seat forward so that you have slight bend in your leg even when the brake pedal is fully depressed, so you can apply full pressure when (hopefully not) needed.

Then, adjust the backrest. Make sure your wrists can sit on top of the wheel while your shoulders remain in contact with the seat. If your car has telescopic steering-wheel adjustment, you can use that as well.

A common mistake for people attempting to be 'sporty' drivers is to sit with arms locked straight. This gives you very little control; not sporty at all.

DON'T DRIVE IN JANDALS

Jandals are the favoured footwear of many Kiwis in summer. And actually, it's not illegal to drive in them, or bare feet for that matter.

But it is pretty dangerous, as the flexible soles can get caught under pedals or they can easily slip off at the worst possible moment. Both the police and Automobile Association frown upon jandal-driving. Bare feet is better, but still not really safe. Shoes are best.

BE INTERESTED IN OCTANE

Sounds silly, but if you're not a regular driver or the one usually responsible for filling the family car, you might find yourself at a fuel station over the holidays wondering what octane fuel you should put in the tank. Or perhaps your car is supposed to run on 95 or 98, but there's only 91 available.

The octane rating required is usually indicated on the inside of the fuel flap. So that's easy once you know where to look. If you have to, you can run a modern 95 engine on 91 - at least occasionally. That's because the engine management computer will have a 'knock sensor' that prevents damage. But otherwise, stick with manufacturer recommendations: it's a false economy to try and save money by running your 95-car on 91.

STAY COOL

It's a bit too late to be thinking about radiator servicing for the holidays at this point if you haven't already, but still: check that your coolant is topped up.

To minimise the potential for holiday-traffic overheating, keep a close eye on the temperature gauge, drive smoothly to avoid putting extra load on the engine, consider switching off if you're stuck at a standstill - and if things are looking serious, you can always turn up the heat in the car to relieve some pressure on the cooling system. But in summer traffic, that's a last resort!