Monday, August 20, 2012

Your Monday Maintenance Tip: Drive in the City Like a Pro

City_driving
Driving in the city is a very important skill that many need to have, especially if you happen to live there. Most city dwellers do take public transportation when available, but when you need to drive, we have the tips to help you become an expert. After this little crash course on city driving, you will learn to love the flow and bustle of city life and merge seamlessly with it, rather than going mad and pulling out your hair every time traffic gets heavy.

Smaller cars are the key to everyday travel through the city. Not only do you get the ease of parking in tiny spots, but you will also save a big of gas because of the stop and go traffic. Major cities are built to accommodate as many people in a small amount of space. Thus the city the streets and parking spaces are much narrower and smaller than others your use to.

Automatic transmissions are recommended for everyday travel to and within the city. The stress and fatigue will increase as you shift aimlessly with a manual transmission. Trust me on this one! During one of my trips to NYC, I shifted a manual transmission over 1000 times in an hour through heavy traffic. As many people swear by manual shifting, this is OK ( so do i) , it has its advantages, but it's just not well suited to city driving.

As parking spaces become harder to find, having that small car can get you in those tight spots. If you have the money, you can also invest in technology like back up cameras. These cameras will allow you to see how close you are to the car behind you through a pin hole camera on your trunk. Parking sensors work just as well, as you don't even need a visual, but only listen to a few beeps to know how close you are to the car behind you. Some luxury cars will have sensors in the front as well as the back.

Always drive inside your lane. Signal ten seconds before you lane change. Be cautious in hard driving conditions like snow and rain. Be careful of those huge pot holes ahead. So look give yourself some space between the car in front of your so that you have a better visual of the road ahead.

Avoid driving in the far right lane unless your turning. Metros, trucks, buses and other turning vehicles all enter the right lane. So to avoid any unnecessary backup time, drive in the middle lane if you are traveling straight for a while.

Now that you have a few tips. Try them out and you'll be on your way to being a pro at city driving.


Courtesy of EzineArticles

No comments:

Post a Comment