6 C
Munich
Thursday, March 28, 2024

These exercises can save your life on the road. We tested them ourselves.

Must read

This is a period of difficult and rapidly changing conditions on Polish roads. We have checked for you how to avoid an obstacle on a wet surface and get the car out of a skid. Finally, we switched to the 300 hp Renault Megane RS Trophy. See how we did it!

The first snow is over. Both Sundays and more experienced drivers hit the road on summer tires. The smarter ones changed tires earlier. However, neither the number of kilometers traveled, nor the development of security systems are able to fully protect us from winter danger. And not only that, because a late autumn downpour, even at low speed, can make us find ourselves in a strange lane. And this is at best without the involvement of others. We recently wrote that, according to research, every third driver does not feel that he knows how to drive a car in autumn and winter.

Emergency braking. “86% of drivers don’t do it”

To prove our own words, we decided to personally (or, if you like, “on our own wheels”) check what emergency braking and braking with an obstacle detour looks like. We were most impressed with the jerk, that is, the protective plate that introduces the car into an uncontrolled skid with oversteer. But more on that later.

Studies show that 86% of drivers do not use emergency braking. As a rule, they do it too easily, without squeezing the clutch. When the ABS is activated (a system that is supposed to prevent the wheels from locking up during braking in order to allow maneuvering through braking force pulsation), they often “release” the brakes. This is especially noticeable among young drivers. On the other hand, older drivers were taught to brake in a pulsating manner, which lengthened the braking distance, says Adam Bernard, instructor of the Modlin circuit near Warsaw, to Wprost.

When it comes to road safety, stopping distances and stopping times are crucial. The former is measured from the moment we hit the brakes, and on the road we deal with the element of surprise, the time it takes to make a decision, and reflexes. All this increases the braking distance even twice. – The braking distance of an average car on a dry surface is about 10 meters, and on the road we need 20 meters, – the expert explains. The situation is much more difficult when the road is wet or icy.

Don’t neglect this rule. It’s about driving safety.

In addition to reflexes, the correct posture while driving is also important. Your leg should remain slightly bent as you fully depress the brake pedal. The seat must be set to an upright position – excessively lowering the back reduces the degree of “feel” of the car, and in the event of a threat, our back intuitively goes into a straight position, which slows down the reaction time. When an obstacle appears, depress the clutch and brake with full force. As a result, the engine immediately turns off and braking begins. Do not release the brake and clutch until it comes to a complete stop.

Some vehicles are equipped with systems to assist the driver in making emergency braking decisions. One of them is the so-called Brake Assist, or BAS (or EBA), which detects when the brake pedal is pressed hard and sends information to the ABS system, which increases the pressure in the system and in a sense “presses” the brake properly behind the driver, shortening the stopping distance. More and more vehicles are equipped with collision avoidance systems. ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) uses information from sensors and brakes for us when we approach an obstacle too quickly.

Emergency braking to avoid obstacles. Many drivers make this mistake.

In practice, however, it often turns out that we must avoid the obstacle. Then our task is not limited to just pressing the brake pedal (which, however, is necessary throughout the entire braking distance, which will be discussed a little later), but we still have to change the trajectory and – which is the most difficult – return to our lane. We decided to test this maneuver ourselves. The first part of the track with a water curtain went.

– The procedure is similar to emergency braking. The most common mistake is to “release” the brake when passing an obstacle. This increases the stopping distance. When we brake, the front wheels become heavier, which determines the handling of the car. Many people do the first part of the maneuver correctly, but wait too long for the whole car to clear the obstacle, and then suddenly try to get back into the lane by turning the steering wheel too much, and as a result, the car skids. Instructor.

Skid with oversteer. We checked the work of the jerker

Finally, we left the jerk, that is, the mechanical device that destabilizes the undercarriage. During this exercise, you are driving at approximately 50 km/h between a designated area and the skid plate makes a sudden left or right movement, causing the vehicle to oversteer. This happens when the rear wheels lose traction and the rear of the car rises out of the corner (as opposed to understeer where the front wheels slip). The task of the driver is to keep the track.

In order to perform this exercise correctly, the driver must immediately begin intensive braking and turn the wheels in the desired direction, i.e. “Success is to stop the car in your lane as quickly as possible. How to do it? We have to look at the road far ahead, far beyond the hood of our car, but straight ahead, where we want to go. It is important to brake all the time, because thanks to this we reduce the impact force if something goes wrong,” explains Adam Bernard and points out that in the past, before cars were equipped with modern safety and driver assistance systems, people were taught how to get out of the car on gas. – However, there is a risk of hitting an obstacle at a higher speed. Plus, a vehicle equipped with stability control won’t let you step on the gas while the car is in a skid, he adds.

Finally, we switched to the 300-horsepower Renault Megane RS Trophy, which allows you to turn off all stability systems. Thus, we were able to check how many control elements are responsible for the electronics.

“Getting out of trouble when we start to slip, oversteer without systems is definitely more difficult. It requires a lot more skill,” summarizes Adam Bernard of Tor Modlin.

Source: WPROST.pl

Source: Wprost

More articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest article