View Poll Results: Rate your skills:
There is no one better then I am!
119
13.65%
I am a good driver, I can hold my own.
603
69.15%
I am alright...
125
14.33%
I need improvement, the gas pedal frightens me.
8
0.92%
I drive like a 90yr old. I love the brake pedal, and use it even when I am pressing the gas.
17
1.95%
Voters: 872. You may not vote on this poll
How good of a driver do you think YOU are?
11-27-2006, 04:24 PM
#321
I'm probably below average overall simply due to my inexperience (only been driving a year now). Comparing myself to people my age I would say I'm far above average only because I drive how I feel comfortable which usually means safe. I do speed maybe 10-20 above the limit but always keep a large distance between me and the car in front and am very alert. The only defensive driving I've had to do was when I was doing 40 on a residential street and a kid ran out causing the driver in front of me to slam on his brakes and I made a sharp turn onto the adjacent street (it was at an intersection) and stopped about a foot from a parked car where a few little kids were playing. Apparently we both missed the "Deaf Child Drive Slowly" sign.
12-04-2006, 05:29 AM
#324
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 514
[QUOTE=hayai240sx]I'm the greatest driver ever!!!
One night, I decided to take a turn on the freeway at 80mph
... um ya
: RWD in the rain with me behind the wheels=FAIL
[QUOTE]You gotta explain that one to me. How do you make a "turn" on the freeway? Were you taking an exit or something? Did the interstate itself turn so sharply that you lost control at 80 mph? And by the way, seeing that car like that makes me wanna beat you up!
One night, I decided to take a turn on the freeway at 80mph
... um ya : RWD in the rain with me behind the wheels=FAIL[QUOTE]You gotta explain that one to me. How do you make a "turn" on the freeway? Were you taking an exit or something? Did the interstate itself turn so sharply that you lost control at 80 mph? And by the way, seeing that car like that makes me wanna beat you up!
12-04-2006, 02:58 PM
#325
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 110
Originally Posted by Minimalmaxima
You gotta explain that one to me. How do you make a "turn" on the freeway? Were you taking an exit or something? Did the interstate itself turn so sharply that you lost control at 80 mph? And by the way, seeing that car like that makes me wanna beat you up!
...until I cashed
. 80mph on the same turn was cruising speed, but I didn't put the rain into equation
. BTW, a 240sx cut in front of me this morning (almost a replica of mine)...made me want to beat myself up
.
12-14-2006, 10:20 PM
#327
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 18
Originally Posted by silvermax2k2
Just curious. We all focus our time any money on upgrading the car, but how good of a driver do you think you are? If you get in a situation where you start to fishtail heavily, do you think you could regain control? If you encounter an emergency situation when impact is eminent, what do you do? Do you just slam on the brakes and hope you don't crash, or do you look for ways out such as changing lanes, or down shifting to try and stop faster, or even hop a curb to avoid hitting some one?
Many times we spend all this money on our cars to make them better, but we don't use our best judgment when driving. I.E. racing on the streets. If you lose control, are you good enough to get it back? I just figured I would make an interesting post for a change.
Many times we spend all this money on our cars to make them better, but we don't use our best judgment when driving. I.E. racing on the streets. If you lose control, are you good enough to get it back? I just figured I would make an interesting post for a change.
--
AnybodyNeedSomeVenison?
01-11-2007, 05:11 PM
#331
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 1
better than ive done
well i have paid for a couple of tickets but have gotten out of alot, rolled one car round a 35 mph corner doing 100..almost made it..i have had 4 speeding ticket at one time in different counties deferred in the same month...but i have to say your a lucky sum'*****...
01-16-2007, 07:49 AM
#332
I think I'm a fairly good driver. I always use my signals, don't speed too much, I don't double-park (I hate those people). I will admit though that I have a tendency to follow too close to the person in front of me and wait too long to break.
01-18-2007, 04:06 PM
#334
Under the radar
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Snowshoe, WV, Centreville, VA
Posts: 6,180
Im a fair driver, or so I am told by my father who used to drag race and his brother who used to road race (1970's Datsun 240 Z). Also by my friends. I used to live in the mountains of WV and had my uncle and father in the car teaching me how to launch, down shift properly, double clutch (although not needed), brake and gas at the same time, hitting the apex correctly, correcting slides, etc... also living in the mountains, you learn very quick to drive in the snow. Where I need improvement is city driving.
01-28-2007, 10:26 AM
#337
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 236
I'm awesome. I played GT3 and GT4, so that automatically makes me awesome [/ end sarcasm]
Take a few high speed courses, skid recovery courses, and a few track day. I'm sure, even with just the track days, people would improve.
Take a few high speed courses, skid recovery courses, and a few track day. I'm sure, even with just the track days, people would improve.
[/IMG]
02-04-2007, 06:59 PM
#339
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Washington
Posts: 563
Originally Posted by Daily Driver2k2
Driving without any accidents or not getting any speeding tickets doesn't make you a good driver, it just meens your a cautious one.... 
Good driver to me is one that can contol his car and push it to the limit! Hit corners at insane speeds, knowing how to shift properly, knowing the proper shift points in his car, contoling his car when it gets squirly.
Bottom line, having complete contol and driving the car, not letting the car drive you!
Learned from the best ... two guys who raced formula fords that work here at my job! Had the most difficult time understanding how to drive my 89 turbo Z fast, kept spinning out in it.
They taught me the dynamics of early braking, gasing out of a turn and maintaing speed through a turn with a rear wheel drive car, never letting off because it can be disatrous as i always found out before i learned what to do. They had a saying ," Gas will save your ***" when going fast on turns. Never letting fully off the accelerator..and certainly never over throttiling it either...both causing the rear end to come back to smack ya in the face!
They taught me things where i had confidence in driving a rear wheel drive car again, where before i was scared to push my Z to the limit and that is crappy feeling not being able to push your car hard on turns, just strait aways..
From there i went to a more powerful rwd car a ttz, but the skills applied to that car to...
I highly recomend everybody spending a few bucks and learning, i was affortunate to have some very cool work mates who spent a Saturday afternoon with me in a empty parking lot teaching me the basics.
Good driver to me is one that can contol his car and push it to the limit! Hit corners at insane speeds, knowing how to shift properly, knowing the proper shift points in his car, contoling his car when it gets squirly.
Bottom line, having complete contol and driving the car, not letting the car drive you!
Learned from the best ... two guys who raced formula fords that work here at my job! Had the most difficult time understanding how to drive my 89 turbo Z fast, kept spinning out in it.
They taught me the dynamics of early braking, gasing out of a turn and maintaing speed through a turn with a rear wheel drive car, never letting off because it can be disatrous as i always found out before i learned what to do. They had a saying ," Gas will save your ***" when going fast on turns. Never letting fully off the accelerator..and certainly never over throttiling it either...both causing the rear end to come back to smack ya in the face! They taught me things where i had confidence in driving a rear wheel drive car again, where before i was scared to push my Z to the limit and that is crappy feeling not being able to push your car hard on turns, just strait aways..
From there i went to a more powerful rwd car a ttz, but the skills applied to that car to...
I highly recomend everybody spending a few bucks and learning, i was affortunate to have some very cool work mates who spent a Saturday afternoon with me in a empty parking lot teaching me the basics.
I think that people need to learn how to make a line in the road. whenever I race somebody they usually almost eat s*** because they're trying to stay in between the lines of the lane and keep up. Street racing is very stupid/dangerous but I'll do it for fun up to a certain degree, if someone is getting way to crazy and out of control, my car and my life mean more to me than crashing over following some moron. Honestly I think racing on the street is more safe at night as long as you know the roads because you can use both lanes here and there and you'll be able to see headlights from other cars coming.
02-08-2007, 03:09 AM
#340
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 8
when it comes to driving i think im a pretty decent driver. i never get pulled over for anything unless the cops are "suspicious" about something.i tend to stay quite a few car lenghts behind other drivers since some people have the habit of braking late and to avoid a rear end.i normally dont change in 3 lane roads unless there is no one beside me. some people dont even shoulder check so they end up side swiping each other. been in 2 accidents by whole life. one was my fault and the other was some dumb ***** that tried turning right from the left lane.. LOL.
03-01-2007, 08:07 AM
#341
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: omaha, Neb
Posts: 96
am i a good driver? well i'm ok. now that i have my 99 max and want to take care of it. i dont speed everywhere anymore. i drive like a granny 80% of the time(dont forget driving too slow can cause problems also), the rest is highway terror.
..as for the whole high speed cornering. to me it varries on several conditions.. vehicle power/fwd vs. rwd/speed/weather/traffic for example.
now i take the drifter approach myself. sliding is good if you know how to do it right (nothing but rwd's 'til my saturn and now my max). otherwise i look for the 'race line' (potholes pending..)
..as for the whole high speed cornering. to me it varries on several conditions.. vehicle power/fwd vs. rwd/speed/weather/traffic for example.
now i take the drifter approach myself. sliding is good if you know how to do it right (nothing but rwd's 'til my saturn and now my max). otherwise i look for the 'race line' (potholes pending..)
04-01-2007, 12:58 AM
#343
Lol, tough question to ask if you expect a realistic response. I remember reading an article about active investing for one of my accounting classes that, while explaining how most suffer from overconfidence, stated that 80% of all motorists will say they are in the top 33% of drivers on the road. Go figure.
04-07-2007, 01:32 PM
#344
BMW driving performance school over in europe and i've been on the nurburgring a few times, raced in auto x, and to start my whole driving career, my dad taught me to drive in the snow and would pull the ebrake and tell me to regain control thank god the car was a beater car
04-27-2007, 03:55 PM
#346
Im passive aggresive............I tend pass very aggresively. I credit all my skills to growing up in NY city with a Iroc Z28. I even taught my wife same methods I use, my biggest caution I use is to try to know every cars position, in case of...... If im speeding I read the traffic to see where the next hole will be, and if im not I like to know at least 3-5 cars ahead how conditions are so if I need to brake....I put hazards on in the event there is a slow down past a horizon to let cars behind me know to slow down. Overall I think Im pretty good, no accidents no tickets.
05-09-2007, 09:10 AM
#348
Originally Posted by KickerMax02
I believe I am better driver than most, not the best but I love speed and thats the only way I drive on the hwy. so get the F*CK out of the way!
05-09-2007, 10:40 AM
#349
Don't you know who I am?
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: East Granby, Connecticut
Posts: 945
The best drivers are the ones you don't notice, have never noticed, and will never notice for more than a glance in your mirror. If everyone that sees you on the road instantly forgets you once you're out of sight, you're a good driver.
If you get rememberred, it's because either you're doing something stupid, causing yourself to nearly get into an accident, or causing someone else to nearly get into an accident.
If you get rememberred, it's because either you're doing something stupid, causing yourself to nearly get into an accident, or causing someone else to nearly get into an accident.
05-13-2007, 06:51 AM
#351
My opinion about being a good driver, (0 Points, 1 Accident, 10 Almost Accidents). Simply be aware... first you must learn to control your car, which is the easy part, but people who claim they have been hit 5 times never their fault.... still could have been avoided... now yes, some can't be, and sometimes an accident will occur, but still the accident can be a safer one then a worse one... I was coming to a stop on a 50 MPH road hit an oil slick, came to a sliding stop and an SUV was behind me and I could have either pushed the gas to avoid the accident, or put my brakes on and had the car hit me... well I just hit oil, so figured my tires had oil on them, I was right near an intersection so to drive through (green light) and maybe still have been hit would have been insane, or to have not gotten on the gas intime, no brake on to then be hurdled into oncoming traffic.. I decided being hit was the best option for the most lives saved... I have always been told, driving is 10% skill and 90% awareness. On the roads today, if you are not aware of your surroundings you will be hit... most accidents are avoidable, even if you were not deemed at fault by the insurance company, you could have still attempted to avoid the accident just by being aware... my 2 cents ,I may be young but I have taken driving classes and my father taught me everything he knew about being safe on the roads.
*Look in your blind spot, don't trust side mirrors
*Know where all cars are around you, no matter what
*Always look at the car 2 infront of you, sooner you know something is coming, better off you are.
*Using an onramp to the highway / freeway, if behind a truck give yourself enough room to merge at a safe speed.
*Never make sudden movements in a car on anything (brake, pedal, steering wheel)
*Always stay calm
*When changing lanes, do it as fast as you can while remaining safe
*Always flow with traffic
*3 second behind a car rule
list goes on... but I do follow all those rules every time I drive.
*Look in your blind spot, don't trust side mirrors
*Know where all cars are around you, no matter what
*Always look at the car 2 infront of you, sooner you know something is coming, better off you are.
*Using an onramp to the highway / freeway, if behind a truck give yourself enough room to merge at a safe speed.
*Never make sudden movements in a car on anything (brake, pedal, steering wheel)
*Always stay calm
*When changing lanes, do it as fast as you can while remaining safe
*Always flow with traffic
*3 second behind a car rule
list goes on... but I do follow all those rules every time I drive.
05-13-2007, 12:49 PM
#352
Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Cranston, Rhode Island
Posts: 53
I follow the rules of the road 90% of the time but it does get boring. Sometimes I feel I have to take my max out of its normal routine and actually DRIVE it. 60+ in a 25 zone is pretty intense especially with a lot of bumps and turns but I get the job done (no suspension upgrades...yet). All in all, I own Rhode Island country roads.
05-14-2007, 12:24 PM
#353
[QUOTE=
*Look in your blind spot, don't trust side mirrors
*Know where all cars are around you, no matter what
*Always look at the car 2 infront of you, sooner you know something is coming, better off you are.
*Using an onramp to the highway / freeway, if behind a truck give yourself enough room to merge at a safe speed.
*Never make sudden movements in a car on anything (brake, pedal, steering wheel)
*Always stay calm
*When changing lanes, do it as fast as you can while remaining safe
*Always flow with traffic
*3 second behind a car rule
list goes on... but I do follow all those rules every time I drive.[/QUOTE]
Man I didnt know they had written these rules down, I thought I made them up as I got wiser, check out my post almost same thoughts, and I agree with everything else you said.
*Look in your blind spot, don't trust side mirrors
*Know where all cars are around you, no matter what
*Always look at the car 2 infront of you, sooner you know something is coming, better off you are.
*Using an onramp to the highway / freeway, if behind a truck give yourself enough room to merge at a safe speed.
*Never make sudden movements in a car on anything (brake, pedal, steering wheel)
*Always stay calm
*When changing lanes, do it as fast as you can while remaining safe
*Always flow with traffic
*3 second behind a car rule
list goes on... but I do follow all those rules every time I drive.[/QUOTE]
Man I didnt know they had written these rules down, I thought I made them up as I got wiser, check out my post almost same thoughts, and I agree with everything else you said.
05-19-2007, 10:50 PM
#354
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 8
I've been complimented on my driving skills by old people, young people, and dumb people. I drive to make the passenger comfortable, and I'm good at it. When I'm alone or with a buddy that can hang, I'm a very good driver, got better than average eyesight, great motor skill, great coordination, and a decade of driving experience in downtown LA. Plus I drive through a mountain pass everyday to and fom work, love my commute.
05-20-2007, 06:34 PM
#355
Guest
Posts: n/a
I am pretty good considering im 16, i can handle a nice curvy road @ about 60-80 w/ good control. No i'm not here to impress anybody with my age, just making that very clear, not all 16yo are bad drivers. I just happen to be a car fanatic and speed lover
05-21-2007, 01:03 PM
#357
Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 72
I think the problem with this thread is the word "good" is open to interpretation. Are you a "good" driver? If by good you mean considerate then an "average" driver follows the laws as best he or she can and does a reasonably good job of it. A "good" driver probably anticipates the shortcomings of other drivers and actually serves to reduce problems on the road.
If by "good" you mean skilled in how to handle a car then I think there are very few "good" drivers out there. Face it, 99% of us have only ever driven on flat, city streets where we're corralled by traffic laws. Little signs tell us how fast to go, when to stop, where to turn and when. Once in a while when there's nobody around you dig into a turn or mash the gas a bit. It doesn't make you a racecar driver. Case in point: ever see somebody racing down the freeway and swerve into another lane thinking he's dale earnhardt? 90% of the time you'll see him overshoot the lane and straddle the shoulder because he misjudged when to pull himself into the lane he wanted to be in and mishandled his car because he has no idea what he's doing. You can be sure in his own mind, however, he's a legend.
Am I a good driver? Probably nothing great. Decent maybe. I don't have any training and little to no track time. Only thing I know how to do well is keep a 1/4 mile car strait in a burnout and bite down when I need to.
If by "good" you mean skilled in how to handle a car then I think there are very few "good" drivers out there. Face it, 99% of us have only ever driven on flat, city streets where we're corralled by traffic laws. Little signs tell us how fast to go, when to stop, where to turn and when. Once in a while when there's nobody around you dig into a turn or mash the gas a bit. It doesn't make you a racecar driver. Case in point: ever see somebody racing down the freeway and swerve into another lane thinking he's dale earnhardt? 90% of the time you'll see him overshoot the lane and straddle the shoulder because he misjudged when to pull himself into the lane he wanted to be in and mishandled his car because he has no idea what he's doing. You can be sure in his own mind, however, he's a legend.
Am I a good driver? Probably nothing great. Decent maybe. I don't have any training and little to no track time. Only thing I know how to do well is keep a 1/4 mile car strait in a burnout and bite down when I need to.
05-28-2007, 07:57 PM
#358
Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Atlanta, GA
Posts: 29
I like to think I'm a pretty good driver. I've got a decent understanding of how my car handles on different tractions. I know it's strenuous on my car, but I'm a handbrake turn junkie on gravel, so I try to understand the forces at work. Generally, I have pretty quick reflexes, and I know most of the roads I normally tool around on. I need some more experience pushing a RWD, but all in all, I'm at very least above average.
06-19-2007, 11:54 AM
#359
Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 34
Originally Posted by Rydicule
The best drivers are the ones you don't notice, have never noticed, and will never notice for more than a glance in your mirror. If everyone that sees you on the road instantly forgets you once you're out of sight, you're a good driver.
If you get rememberred, it's because either you're doing something stupid, causing yourself to nearly get into an accident, or causing someone else to nearly get into an accident.
If you get rememberred, it's because either you're doing something stupid, causing yourself to nearly get into an accident, or causing someone else to nearly get into an accident.
I agree whole heartedly, also stating that best drivers are not noticed by the passengers in the car also.
06-21-2007, 03:12 PM
#360
I honestly thinks it takes a good banging or two in the aluminum coffin in order to learn how to drive really well. Until you've been hit at least once and understand what could happen to you in a car, you learn to appreciate how dangerous it is and when you're doing 100+ you learn real well how to avoid killing yourself.
Yeah I got tickets, but not in my Max. I got other kinds like unsafe lane changes and unsafe driving. Never convicted on any.
Yeah I got tickets, but not in my Max. I got other kinds like unsafe lane changes and unsafe driving. Never convicted on any.