Clubjazz - Honda Jazz & HR-V Forums
Other Hondas & General Topics => Off Topic (Non-Honda) => Topic started by: guest6436 on January 05, 2018, 05:44:41 PM
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might be an odd question,however my mother isn't that good at driving ( she got her license a looong time ago and it was basically given to her without any training/requirement at all) , in the past years she has barely driven, now she has re-started to drive and does a short set route every day where she just drives with very little traffic and parks in an open carpark where there are barely any cars so she can just park in whatever way...
However she is always complaining to me that its so hard for her to drive as the car Sucks and she can't see anything,the roads suck etc..well basically everything sucks and that is the reason she isn't able to drive properly.
The car she has got is a Honda jazz ( Most probably the easiest ever car to drive and with probably the best visibility out of all cars there is) , she has got a plan now to purchase a new small car with all the parking sensors/cameras there are so they will make her a better driver+ a brand new car will probably be easier to drive just because its brand new.. .. erm... I have taken a few trips with her recently to see the ''faults'' with the car, and have came to the conclusion that she just isn't confident in driving and just hasn't got the experience ,knowledge in parking and that she should get some practice specially in parking.
I have basically told her that & that she really should just visit an actual driving school to properly re-learn everything and get some more practice -well my suggestion wasn't taken very kindly and there's no way I can get her to actually do that, However... I got her To agree that I will be her Driving instructor and that we will go out and practice for 20hours in different situations before she blows 15k on a new car.
- What would be your best tips to try to teach someone in situation like this?
- Would additional learner mirrors be a good idea for more visibility? and which ones are decent? I saw some on ebay/amazon however from the reviews they seemed awful quality, so was looking for a suggestion for some good quality useful ones.
-I think I will purchase some small parking cones so we can create different parking bays to learn how to park instead of doing it in real parking lot :D - would that be a decent idea?
-what else?
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Rule number 1 - trying to teach someone you know how to drive is a big mistake, there will be big arguments and your relationship will suffer, and any bad habits may be passed on, get her a few lessons with a proper instructor - they don't really cost that much.
Added to that most mothers never accept that their kids grow up and are capable of living on their own - even if you are CEO of a FTSE 100 company, to your mum you are still a five year old.
When we lived abroad for 5 years my wife hardly had to drive, and when we came back to UK I booked her a set of 10 lessons just to get her back into driving safely - no way was I going to try and teach her, we had more than enough to argue about without adding that to the list.
As you say the Jazz is a very easy car to drive with good visibility and light controls - many women mistakenly think very small cars are easier to drive than bigger ones, which is just not true. My wife loves her Jazz but will not readily drive the Civic although to me Civic is much better to drive she says it 'has small windows' etc. Most blokes will switch between cars without a problem, but it does seem to be a problem for women to drive a car other than the one 'they are comfortable with'.
Good luck.....
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zemax. It is a difficult position to be in. Lessons with an instructor would be the way to go. I will be 70 this year, and before having to reapply for my licence I am going to take a two hour lesson/assessment (it is only 12 years since I passed by PCV test for bus driving). We all feel our driving is good and having someone tell us it isn't, is a hard pill to swallow.
If push comes to shove, then tell her you won't get back in a car with her until she takes some lessons. May work, may not.
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I am a driving instructor, we do loads of driver assessments either for worried family members or DVSA Assessments following an illness such as a stroke.
I would suggest letting an instructor do the training/assessment. If you do want to do it, let your mother drive on route that she is familiar with, then move on to somewhere else, but don't do a challenging route, you want to assess any problems, not shatter their confidence. Stop on the side of the road and ask your mother for feedback, are you happy with the way you dealt with that roundabout? How stressed are you feeling? Try and get your Mother to "grade" her driving performance, she will probably say 10/10, but you can then chip in and mark it down a bit if need be, but try and be positive, and not undermine her abilities. Then work on improving her weaknesses.
However before you start the driving, try a simple eyesight test, that's frequently where the problem is.
Good luck !
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Slightly off post but nevertheless I feel the need to ask the following question.
Do driving instructors nowadays teach the use of the handbrake?
I am forever coming up to a line traffic, stationary at a road junction or traffic lights and all I see is a sea of brake lights!
This is particularly troublesome at night and with the introduction of LED lights, can easily lead to eye strain.
When I was taking lessons over 60 years ago, we were taught to engage neutral and apply the handbrake if were to be stopped for maybe more than a few seconds. This does not seem to happen nowadays.
Are drivers not taught this procedure, or are they just lazy?
The auto engine stop procedure dosen't help either!
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Slightly off post but nevertheless I feel the need to ask the following question.
Do driving instructors nowadays teach the use of the handbrake?
I am forever coming up to a line traffic, stationary at a road junction or traffic lights and all I see is a sea of brake lights!
This is particularly troublesome at night and with the introduction of LED lights, can easily lead to eye strain.
I am one of the guilty people as the auto version of the HR-V (and Mk 3 Jazz) needs to be in gear with foot on footbrake for the auto idle stop to work. I expect many other vehicles behave similarly. The fix for the problem is a camera on the back which can see that there is a vehicle stopped close behind and then automatically dims the brake lights.
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I have auto idle stop on my car, but it hardly ever kicks in because I don't usually brake hard enough.
Is it actually possible to measure the fuel saved with this procedure? i would have thought it is next to nothing.
I still prefer to do as I was taught and not blind following drivers and save the additional wear and tear on the starter motor.
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This is particularly troublesome at night and with the introduction of LED lights, can easily lead to eye strain.
When I was taking lessons over 60 years ago, we were taught to engage neutral and apply the handbrake if were to be stopped for maybe more than a few seconds. This does not seem to happen nowadays.
Are drivers not taught this procedure, or are they just lazy?
The light from LED lights is in a very narrow wavelength and they used to 'flicker' (you could see it sometimes if you looked out of the corner of your eye or moved your head quickly you would get a 'strobe' effect.
I always apply handbrake if there are cars behind - if no cars behind I leave foot on brake pedal to make car more visible to drivers approaching, if they don't appear to be slowing down enough I will flash the brake lights by pumping pedal (hoping to attract the limited attention of the driver texting or messing with their phone).
Yes I think people are either less considerate of drivers behind or as you say just plain lazy.
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This is particularly troublesome at night and with the introduction of LED lights, can easily lead to eye strain.
When I was taking lessons over 60 years ago, we were taught to engage neutral and apply the handbrake if were to be stopped for maybe more than a few seconds. This does not seem to happen nowadays.
Are drivers not taught this procedure, or are they just lazy?
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I always apply handbrake if there are cars behind - if no cars behind I leave foot on brake pedal to make car more visible to drivers approaching, if they don't appear to be slowing down enough I will flash the brake lights by pumping pedal (hoping to attract the limited attention of the driver texting or messing with their phone).
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This is exactly how i do it!
I have been once hit from behind many years ago and since then i keep my foot on the brake (also the flashing ;) ) until there's a car behind me.
Nowadays it's even more important to do it like this as more and more people are busy with other things in their car except actually driving.
And this is also the reason why your mother @zemax better take a few lessons from an instructor. It is also cheaper than a brand new car, haha.
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I teach automatic, and I tell pupils to keep their foot on the brake . . . . the lights aren't so bright from further back :D :D
The modern cars have hill start assist which is more effective than using the handbrake, and of course no chance of the pupil struggling to release it, and enabling a clean get away. If the pupils is a long way back I would suggest using the handbrake as they get more notice to move off, but its an option, and not compulsory.
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I use both.
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Always use the handbrake, sitting with the foot on the brake can cause a hot spot on the disks and possible distortion. More importantly though if someone does hit you from behind the shock will probably cause you to release the brake and get shoved into something in front of you. If the handbrake is on then you will probably leave leave two skidmarks on the road from the locked rear wheels. This is good evidence that you were stopped at the time of the impact which will help out in the following insurance company arguments.
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If the handbrake is on then you will probably leave leave two skidmarks on the road from the locked rear wheels. This is good evidence that you were stopped at the time of the impact which will help out in the following insurance company arguments.
Plus my Dashcam video!
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This is advice from an Advanced driving blog on use of handbrake, seems the correct use of handbrake is as important as use of clutch and accelerator.
https://www.diaryofanadi.co.uk/?p=4700
Seems that if you don't use the handbrake and cause an accident you will be to blame, and as the ADI
says your foot can slip off the brake pedal especially if shoes are slippery sole (leather) OR WET.
Also advice on the use of button when applying handbrake, the answer is do not press the button while applying handbrake - let the ratchet do its proper thing - if you use button and release it when the 'pawl' is on top of a tooth, the handbrake may hold for a while but can easily release itself and allow car to roll (I always leave car in gear but it may still roll if hill is steep enough, it will just roll in slow motion as the compression slowly leaks out of each cylinder in turn).
https://www.diaryofanadi.co.uk/?p=9662
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I had to think about how I put the handbrake on, it is like breathing, you don't give it a lot of thought.
I depress the button as I put on the handbrake, then release the button before clicking the final notch or two.
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I had to think about how I put the handbrake on, it is like breathing, you don't give it a lot of thought.
I depress the button as I put on the handbrake, then release the button before clicking the final notch or two.
Same. But I definitely don't keep my foot on the brakes while stationary, that's tantamount to leaving rear fog lights on in fine weather.
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I had to think about how I put the handbrake on, it is like breathing, you don't give it a lot of thought.
I depress the button as I put on the handbrake, then release the button before clicking the final notch or two.
Same. But I definitely don't keep my foot on the brakes while stationary, that's tantamount to leaving rear fog lights on in fine weather.
I put handbrake on and only keep foot on brake pedal (brake lights on) until there is a vehicle behind to protect my rear end then brake lights off - the brake lights are not going to bother an approaching vehicle 50 to 100 metres away but may appraise them to the fact I am braking / am stationary. I also watch my rear view mirror and if vehicle behind seems to be closing up too rapidly I will pump brake pedal to flash brake lights, this may have saved me from a few rear enders over the years, but obviously I will never know because nothing happened..
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I had to think about how I put the handbrake on, it is like breathing, you don't give it a lot of thought.
I depress the button as I put on the handbrake, then release the button before clicking the final notch or two.
Same. But I definitely don't keep my foot on the brakes while stationary, that's tantamount to leaving rear fog lights on in fine weather.
I put handbrake on and only keep foot on brake pedal (brake lights on) until there is a vehicle behind to protect my rear end then brake lights off - the brake lights are not going to bother an approaching vehicle 50 to 100 metres away but may appraise them to the fact I am braking / am stationary. I also watch my rear view mirror and if vehicle behind seems to be closing up too rapidly I will pump brake pedal to flash brake lights, this may have saved me from a few rear enders over the years, but obviously I will never know because nothing happened..
I also watch my rear view mirror and if vehicle behind seems to be closing up too rapidly I switch on my hazard lights.
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It is strange how things change. We were taught to push the button in pull the handbrake lever up,release the button then pull it up again and this should ensure the ratchet engages.
The Honda salesman told me to forget what I was taught and just pull the handbrake lever up. Unfortunately on a couple of occasions the hand brake has slipped a notch when I did as per the modern day thoughts so old fashioned or not I still push button in pull the lever up and release knob pull again. You can hear it click.
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I had to think about how I put the handbrake on, it is like breathing, you don't give it a lot of thought.
I depress the button as I put on the handbrake, then release the button before clicking the final notch or two.
Ditto, that's exactly what I do. I was also taught to release the ratchet when applying, as well as use of the handbrake. I'm one of those who detest staring at brake lights in a queue, especially when it's damp weather. And front fog lights.. don't get me started again... >:(
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If someone comes up behind me with their front fog lights on I switch on my rear fog light. I figure it must be foggy and I didn't notice!
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If someone comes up behind me with their front fog lights on I switch on my rear fog light. I figure it must be foggy and I didn't notice!
I have done that to drivers in the past and had the angry headlight flash and a bit of road rage - seems front fogs are OK with some but not rears :-X My wifes Punto of a few years ago (we speak of it very little now LOL) was it had two proper bright rear fogs - awesome with both turned on.
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Always use the handbrake, sitting with the foot on the brake can cause a hot spot on the disks and possible distortion.
My Jazz has discs on the rear, so having the handbrake on could cause the distortion you mention. However, I'd not expect the rear discs to do as much work as the front ones, and therefore they should be less susceptible to distortion.
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My discs, even the front ones, never get more than warm. Plus, all the handbrake does is the same as the footbrake but with slightly less pressure applied to the pad. Why that should warp the disc is beyond me. Should you let the car sit to allow the brakes to cool before applying the handbrake when parking? What if you are on a hill?
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My discs, even the front ones, never get more than warm. Plus, all the handbrake does is the same as the footbrake but with slightly less pressure applied to the pad. Why that should warp the disc is beyond me. Should you let the car sit to allow the brakes to cool before applying the handbrake when parking? What if you are on a hill?
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