There’s no big over-riding purpose to this post, nor is it meant to be a patronising talk down to anyone here. What it is meant to be is just a few things that’s worth bearing in mind not only as we come into the summer season for fun drives and shows, but also for general driving throughout the year. I’m sure we all still remember Ian Lewkowicz who sadly passed away in 2010 in a car accident, and it just showed that accidents can happen to any of us and that life can be too short, and sometimes it takes something awful to remind us of that.
It would be great if people could contribute to this thread, with other various tips or observations, but we’re going to be very strict on any huge arguments being thrown around: Discussion is fine, but anything that looks like it’s going to get heated will either be summarily deleted or simply split and a new thread created. I would also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that neither this forum nor any of the team in anyway condone speeding or the breaking of any laws whilst driving; That said, I will write this post with a real-world point of view, with the caveat that you as a driver are the one responsible for your own actions.
YOU
I think it’s fair to say that we all drive sporty cars because it’s fun to go fast, and I doubt you’ll find anyone here disputing that in any way! Whether it’s in a straight line or round corners, that same thrill is ever-present in each and every one of us, and yet sometimes we all get carried away without really being aware of all the situations around us. As a trackday regular myself I’m acutely aware that I’ve got two very different mindsets when driving cars, one for the road and one for the track, and I know I’m a very different person depending on that mindset. On the road I’m fairly relaxed, I don’t really feel the need to push on too much and I’m happy cruising right on the limit (which I know drives some people nuts when I’m in convoy) and having a chat with a passenger. Put me on the track and I become almost mute: I’ll say very little, and will barely respond if the passenger tries to talk. My full concentration is taken up with every little bit of feedback I get from the car and responding to that feedback, as well as being incredibly aware of my surroundings.
What I’m trying to get at here is that if you’re going to drive quickly, whether it’s on a motorway or country lane, is that you should be focusing on your car and your inputs rather than any distractions. Cruising around with the bass kicking is great when you are just cruising, but really loud music when pushing on is going to distract you to some extent. Same applies if you’ve got a chatty passenger, and there’s no harm in asking them to keep it down for the next 10 mins if you hit a twisty bit of road, and indeed they’ll probably appreciate your extra concentration. Needless to say, try that with your partner at your own risk
The (very) old saying goes that you should always be able to stop in the distance you can see. We've all heard it a million times, and when on open roads we all do it without thinking, and we also probably do it on roads we don't know for the most part. The trouble comes when you're on a very familiar road that you know like the back of your hand, and when you're really on it. You know that the blind corner in front of you can be taken at 55mph in the dry, so you do, and then you end up flying into the back of someone who dared to brake down in the middle of the bend. It happens, and familiarity breeds contempt sadly. Take a second to ask yourself if you could stop safely if you came round a corner and found a bus parked there, and it'll give you a much better idea of what's safe or not. If the road opens out nicely and your vision is good, then there shouldn't be any problems really.
THE ROAD
Road conditions are incredibly changeable in the summer as well, maybe more so than in the winter. You can have three weeks of baking hot sunshine, then you get a sudden downpour and the roads become like sheet ice as all the oils that have sunk down below the asphalt get carried to the surface (the road 'sweats'), and before you know it you’re facing backwards wondering what the hell happened. Keep an eye on the weather and the conditions of the past few days, and just be aware that conditions can change very suddenly. Driving through the winter is an increasing hazard as the conditions get worse and worse towards the end of the year, and sometimes we all forget on that very first day of gorgeous sunshine after the snow that the temperature is still below freezing outside.
Look at the surface of the road as well: If it's recently been resurfaced then it's probably going to be very slippery, especially when wet, and a road full of stone chippings, leaves or mud can also have changeable grip levels. There's one particular corner near me that is practically made for fun cars, perfectly on camber and really well sighted, yet as there's an entry point to a field just before it's inevitably got a coating of mud on it that could throw you off and into said field. Such a waste of a corner, but I know it'd be a bigger waste if I suddenly ended upside down in it.
YOUR CAR
How many of us check our tyre pressures weekly? And the spare? And coolant levels? And brake fluid? And washer fluid? And even the most obvious, oil levels? None of us are perfect, and I’m probably as bad as most of you if I’m totally honest, but again it’s the little things that whilst probably don’t need a weekly check if all you’re doing is driving back and forth up the motorway, but they really should be looked after if you’re going for a blat or if your driving style is somewhat aggressive all the time. I’m quite partial to the odd 6am countryside blast in the summer as the roads are empty, and at that time of day it doesn’t take 5mins to do a really quick check of the car before setting off. If you know your rear tyres are getting a bit low, then just be aware of it, especially if conditions are changeable. Have your brakes started making the odd squealing noise? If so, is it really a good idea to go ragging the arse off the car before getting the pads checked over? This is all really obvious stuff, I know, and I feel a bit stupid writing it, but like I said I’m not perfect either so if nothing else I’m considering this to a be a self-help article as much as anything.
Tyres. As much as I’m sure everyone expects me to, I’m actually not going to bang on about this too much as there’s nothing really more I can add to what’s already out there, but please do be aware of what rubber your running on, be it £1K worth of Michelin, £200 worth of Nankang, or anywhere in-between. Take time to get used to the rubber on your wheels, especially if you’ve just changed brands or if they’re new anyway. If you are running mixed rubber then be extra aware of this, and also taking into account the road conditions. As long as you’ve got a good 3mm of tread left all around then that’s the main thing.
OTHER PEOPLE
Everyone around you is an idiot. My Mum told me that when I first started driving many years ago, and it’s still true today. You may be perfectly comfortable in your own driving, and you may have done your checks and be in the ‘fast road’ mindset already, but that doesn’t mean that Dippy Dora, aged 97 and just gotten out of bed having forgotten her brain pills and jumped straight into her 20 year old rust bucket to pop to the local shops, is as aware of the roads as you. You see her, you go to overtake giving her plenty of room, and suddenly she decides she wants to turn right. Bang. Whoops. Insurance time. There’s absolutely nothing you could do in that situation, and sadly that’s life, but it’s just an example of how you can’t take anyone for granted. This equally applies to driving with a group of fellow Zed owners. You may know the roads really well but they may not, or they may be new to the car, or they might have an issue with their car you don’t know about, or a million and one other things. Don’t assume that they’re just as capable and aware as you are just because they drive the same car, else you could end up with a very painful incident involving two Zeds, whether that’s a physical pain or a monetary one. On the other side of things, don't assume that just because the car in front of you took that corner at 50mph that you can too, as they may have much better suspension/tyres/talent than you've got, so always judge each part of a road on your own car & ability.
Speaking of driving in groups, you need to be extra aware of how your driving looks to others. I point you in the direction of 10PS’s thread over on PH:
Clicky for a long but sobering read
*EDIT: Sadly 10PS has removed his text from that thread and left PH. I'm sure it can be found elsewhere on the internet, and is well worth looking for.*
I guess that sums it up as good as anything possibly can, and there’s not really much more I can add. You may think you’re all driving safely, and in all fairness you probably are, but all the public see are a bunch of loud sportscars driving much faster than they would and therefore you must all be crazy idiots breaking the speed limit. It doesn’t take a second to pause and think about how your driving looks to others, so take that second and take stock. What may be a perfectly safe overtake can quickly become “some yob flying past on a blind bend whilst giving me the finger and then cutting me upâ€. Don’t drive aggressively, give people plenty of room, and if you are going to overtake (and I wish more people would!) then hang back and give yourself a good view of the road. Sitting on someone’s backside for a mile because they’re only doing 40 in a 60 isn’t going to make them want to give you room, and neither is it making for a quick & safe overtake.
IMPROVEMENT
I think something that is really worth pushing and enforcing here is driver training, whether it’s road or track based. Road training will not necessarily make you a quicker driver, but things like the IAM courses will make you vastly more aware of your roadcraft and just how to keep an eye out for hazards. Track training will give you a better feel for how your car handles at the limits, how to find those limits and then how to recover when you pass them. Personally I’ve never done the road training so it would be great to hear from those people that have, and also from those who have had proper driver tuition when on track: I know that I’m twice the driver now than before I did a couple of Walshy days at North Weald. Being able to experiment and play with a car in open spaces in relative safety is a godsend, however do remember that however tempting empty car parks might be, they’re still public areas and you can still be charged with dangerous driving if a police officer catches you trying to catch a drift.
One piece of literature that really is worth reading is Roadcraft - The Police Drivers Handbook (clicky to buy). Sure it sounds like something you'd probably fall asleep to, and some of it really is teaching you to suck eggs, but you'll also find more than a few things in there will take you by surprise and really make you evaluate your driving and the standards you keep.
I hope that this hasn’t been too much like a bad lecture, and that it has provoked a few genuine moments of “Hmm, never thought about that…†amongst you. To be perfectly honest, if it’s irritated a thousand of you but caused one person to change their habits then it’s been worth it from my perspective. You’re driving a 1.5ton hunk of metal, plastic and glass, and at 70mph+ it’s going cause a lot of damage if you get it wrong. No-one’s trying to stop anyone having fun and enjoying their cars, and there’s a lot to be said for the satisfaction you get when hitting the apex of a perfect corner at 9/10ths, but it’ll only take one bad moment to take another Zed driver from this world, and no-one wants that either.
Please be safe out there folks.
