Speed | Braking | Curves
Everyone loves loves a little bit of speed once in a while but it's important to remember that the faster a person drives the less likely they will be able to spot any dangers or react to hazards around them. Speeding can have major consequences especially if a vehicle speeds through a busy area like an intersection or neighbourhood. Imagine speeding through a school zone and then hitting or injuring a pedestrian. The consequences would go further than just the law. Your insurance goes up, you lose points off of your license, you may have to go to court, and your chances of getting a job after that could be impacted. Keep it simple and don't complicate your life. Save speeding for the race track.
Nova Scotia Driver’s Handbook – “You should learn to control your vehicle with precision, the same way as a professional race car driver does. It is very important to begin with good instruction.”
Incredible Kevin Estre lap of the Nürburgring in the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Stunting - Halifax Regional Police
"Police have charged two men for stunting on Highway 102 in the last two days. Today at approximately 7:10 a.m., a member of the Traffic Unit observed a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed on Highway 102 near Highway 118. The officer observed the vehicle’s speed at 168 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. A 54-year-old man was ticketed for stunting. Yesterday at approximately 7:20 a.m., a member of the Traffic Unit observed a vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed on Highway 102 near Hammonds Plains Road. The officer observed the vehicle’s speed at 153 km/h in a 100 km/h zone."
A 26-year-old man was ticketed for stunting. The man was also issued summary offence tickets for:
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Operating a motor vehicle without a valid license
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Operating a motor vehicle without valid insurance
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Operating an unregistered vehicle
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Displaying a plate issued for another vehicle
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Passing on the right
Stunting is a charge under the Motor Vehicle Act that is automatically laid when a vehicle is travelling more than 50 km/h over the speed limit. The fine in Nova Scotia for stunting is $2,422.50 and six points are assigned to the driver’s record. In addition, the men are suspended from driving for seven days and the vehicle they were driving was seized.
"In a continued effort to address traffic safety issues and educate citizens on the rules of the road, our officers focus on speed enforcement. We all have a role to play in keeping our roads safe. If you see someone driving dangerously, report it to police by calling 911."
https://www.halifax.ca/home/news/police-charge-two-men-stunting-0
How I avoid tickets when pulled over by Police
Speed will make you go faster but it won't get you to your destination any quicker
School Zones
The School Zone speed limit is only active if there are children outside in the school zone.
The school zone law confuses so many drivers that a lawyer wrote a blog to clarify the law.
Reducing your speed in a residential neighbourhood ensures that you have time to react to hazards
Braking
Racing driver’s braking tips for everyday driving
Braking is all about thinking ahead
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Covering the brake pedal – You place your foot over the brake pedal and let it hover there until you're sure there is no risk of a collision.
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Approaching intersections – Covering the brake ensures that your foot is just millimeters away if you need to make a sudden stop.
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Early braking – Applying the brakes early ensures you stop comfortably, and in plenty of time.
Driving For Beginners - Intersections And Right Of Way - POV
Speed Bumps
When you apply the brakes while moving forward all of the kinetic energy of your vehicle goes into the front suspension of the car which causes the car to lower slightly in the front. This is why you never want to brake harshly for a speed bump or animal. If you brake to harshly for a speed bump the car could bottom out on the bump and that can cause the car to bottom out on the bump which will damage the underside of your vehicle.
There are a number of different types of speed bumps. There are speed bumps and then there are speed humps and sometimes speed tables. Speed tables and humps are slightly more comfortable to drive over than speed bumps. There is no set speed to go over them but I find 30 km/hr is good for most. Many times the arrows and signs marking these bumps will be missing. The lines on speed bumps in Halifax are often faded due to in part to the fact that the lines are painted directly in the path of a vehicle's tires which can quickly wear the paint off.
If you ever see one of these bumps at the last second, don't hit the brakes. If you apply the brakes on the bump the vehicle could bottom out on the bump. The next time you think of it, have a closer look at these speed bumps in your area and you'll likely notice that there are chunks of the bump missing due to vehicles bottoming out. We hit speed bumps at 50 km/hr on lessons all of the time and at first the student thinks I'm crazy until they see it's just slightly more bouncy than at a slower speed. But keep in mind that hitting speed bumps at a high speed regularly will not be good for your vehicle's suspension.
Hitting Speed Bumps Full Speed (What Will Happen?) in Slow Motion
Anti-Lock brakes allow your tires to continue rolling freely and regain traction when they start to slip during heavy braking. The computers and A.B.S. systems in ALL vehicles produced after 1996 have A.B.S. so you never have to pump your brakes anymore.
Anti-Lock Brakes - A.B.S.
ABS | Volvo Trucks – Emergency braking
Curves
Look And Think Ahead
Never trust a curve and always approach them with extra caution. The trick to curves is to enter them just like a race car driver does. Race car drivers reduce their speed as they approach a curve, then accelerate if needed when they see the exit point.
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Look up ahead through the turn
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Move your eyes – glance, don’t stare
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Scan left, centre, right
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Scan through vehicle windows for hazards
Never stop or pass another vehicle in a curve. That double-solid yellow line indicates that it's illegal to pass and it's there for a reason.
How To Drive Through Curves And Corners
Always wear your seat belt to avoid being ejected from the vehicle.
Vehicles are flipped everyday in traffic but those accidents rarely make the news. The reason they don't make the news is because the people in those vehicles are usually wearing their seat belts so the they don't get ejected through the windshield. People that don't wear their seat belts are extremely likely to be ejected during a collision or roll over and their injuries are always more severe, and sometimes fatal.
How Seatbelts Work
There is an explosive charge in all modern seatbelts that pulls the belt tight whenever a vehicle is in a collision. It works in tandem with the airbag.
This checkered sign warns of a dead end or sharp curve ahead. This sign is warning you to reduce your speed before the curve. When you enter a curve with too much speed you are more likely to lose control of your vehicle and crash.
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Ramp speed signs are yellow which means the speed posted on them is a recommendation and is not the speed limit. These speeds are calculated by engineers, so you can trust that they're accurate.
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