Dear All Pakwheelers,
In hot weather condition extra caution should be taken to prevent any potential hazardous situation. Hot weather does not only impact on Human being but also on equipment. Please find use full tips to minimize the potential risks associated with the driving/vehicles.
Parking Tips
Ø Roll down at least two windows about ½ inch (when parking)
Ø Make sure all electrical devices are switch off. (when parking)
Ø Park vehicle under the shade if available.
How to Handle Hazardous Situations Behind The Wheel
Over 75% of the time, the factors contributing to crashes are related to driver error. Advice on coping with sudden driving dangers is provided here. Learn from it and pass it on…
How To Handle A Blowout
Don't slam on your brakes you could completely lose control. If a front tire blows, the vehicle will pull hard to the side of the blowout. The steering wheel vibrates like crazy. Hang on tight with your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions on the steering wheel. Take your foot off the accelerator and concentrate on staying in your side. Slow down gradually and pull off the road to a safe location. If a rear tire blows, the back of the vehicle will weave back and forth and vibrate. Handle it the same way.
What To Do If Your Vehicle Goes Into Deep Water
While this doesn't happen often, it happens enough that you should know what to do. If you do go in the water, release your safety belt immediately. (But don't release it before you hit the water. The safety belt will help protect you during the impact with the water.) Then the best thing to do is to try to get out quickly through the window, because power windows can short-circuit in the water. If you can't get out through the window, try the door. At first, the water pressure will probably hold it closed. But don't panic. As the water rises, it will equalize the pressure and the door should open.
It might be best to remember the acronym POGO for this kind of situation. Pop your safety belt. Open the window. Get Out.
What To Do If Your Brakes Go Out
You must think and act quickly. Remember this word sequence: pump pedal, parking brake, shift down and safe place.
1. Pump the brake pedal (unless you have an ABS braking system. Never pump the brake pedal on ABS brakes). Sometimes the pressure comes back.
2. Slowly try the parking brake. But don't jam it on hard if you're in a curve. That could cause a spin.
3. Shift into a lower gear (or lower range on automatic transmissions). The drag on the engine will help slow you down. Do all three of these as quickly and steadily as you can. Keep your eyes on the road.
4. Look for a safe place to guide your vehicle onto the shoulder of the road or some other safe location. In an emergency, the quicker you think and act, the safer you'll be.
Introduction to ABS breaks
ABS brakes have been around awhile, but there are still drivers who have not learned what they are and how they work. I was lucky enough a few years ago to get a "guest" slot in a "tactical driving course." The course teaches officers how to maneuver, control, brake, corner, back up, etc., without losing control. Having taken the course, I think it teaches very well what cars can and cannot do. I learned that high performance driving takes PRACTICE, and lots of it. Most of us don't get the chance to practice the skills required to drive at the maximum capabilities of our machines. This is why ABS brakes are so important.
Emergency braking with non-ABS brakes requires a sensitive touch on the brake pedal, using a technique called "threshold braking." Threshold braking is what most of us would call "pumping the brakes." But that's not really what it is. Awkwardly pumping the brakes with no "feel" for what the wheels and brakes are doing is counterproductive in a situation where maximum braking effort is needed. Threshold braking means applying brake pressure right up to the point of a skid, backing off just enough to prevent the skid, then constantly adjusting throughout the stop to keep the braking effort right at that point. This is not easy. You have to acquire a "feel" for it, literally. What works one millisecond won't work the next, and you have to be quick enough on the pedal to stay on the edge of a skid, without actually locking your wheels. Once mastered, the technique will stop you faster than any other way. But it takes practice to master -- I slid through the cones about ten times before I could do it. I am Bob, Killer of Cones!
Threshold braking is what ABS brake systems do FOR you. Computer-controlled sensors at each wheel "feel" when that tire is about to slip, and lessen the brake pressure at that wheel to keep the skid from occurring -- hundreds of times a second. You don't skid, and therefore you don't lose your ability to steer. This is the important part. In a panic stop with ABS brakes, you can steer around whatever it is you are trying to miss -- whether it's traffic cones or something else, like a car -- or a kid. Having tried and practiced threshold braking, and then doing the same exercise in a vehicle with ABS, I can tell you that I will never buy another vehicle without ABS brakes.
Remember this: if you try to pump ABS brakes, they will not work. Pumping ABS brakes defeats the computer's efforts to sense a wheel skid. If your vehicle has ABS brakes, when you need to stop in a hurry press the brake hard and hold your foot on the pedal no matter what it feels or sounds like. ABS brakes pulsate, they rattle, and they make noise. Do not release the pedal until you no longer need to brake. I suggest you go to an empty parking lot somewhere, and stop hard enough to activate your ABS system. You'll then know what it feels like before you really have to use it. Doing so might save your life -- no exaggeration -- or some one else's.
Seat Belts and Air Bags Go Together!
The term auto manufacturers use for air bags is "Supplemental Restraint Systems -- or "SRS." Seat belts and air bags are designed to work together to prevent serious injuries.
In any crash, there are three collisions to worry about. The first collision is when your vehicle hits something - another vehicle, a tree, an embankment, etc. The second collision is when an occupant's body is thrown against the vehicle structure. The third collision is when a person's internal organs are slammed against each other or against the skeletal parts of the body. Horrifying, isn't it? But fortunately you have some "friends" in such a situation.
The vehicle is designed to collapse around you, and in so doing, it dissipates some of its stored energy. I've heard people say that cars aren't made like they used to be. Thank heavens they aren't. Since your vehicle IS made to crumple and absorb crash forces, it is more expensive to repair after the crash; but that high repair bill is a direct result of the significant crumple protection it affords you. In those old tank-like cars, the rigid impact-resistant structure transmitted ALL of the crash forces directly to the passengers -- guaranteeing that injuries would be the result of almost any crash.
Second, the modern vehicle's interior appointments are designed to cause less injury to you in the "second collision." Softer plastics, vinyls, & paddings are all meant to prevent injuries if you should be thrown into them. This is where the air bag comes into play. Manufacturers are making them "smarter" now -- they can sense the severity of a crash and match that against the physical characteristics of the person in order to better calculate the opening forces and the timing required to best protect the occupant. Manufacturers continue to add side and curtain air bags to the available systems, further defining the "safe" space for you and your passengers.
Finally, what about that "third" collision? Have you heard the term "impact ride-down." This is similar to the function of a parachute. If you jump out of an airplane, it isn't the fall that kills you. What kills is the sudden stop at the end! A parachutist avoids that sudden stop with his or her parachute. When a parachute opens, it does not slow the parachutist's fall instantly, but it creates drag and slows the user's descent gradually, over a few seconds, finally resulting in a survivable rate of descent (and impact). Your seat belt works the same way. In a crash, it stretches and tightens as you are thrown forward, resulting in a relatively gradual deceleration of your body and preventing some (if not all) of the injuries caused by the second and third collision impacts -- this is "impact ride-down." Hopefully, an SRS system is also present to further protect you from those second and third collision forces.
This brings me to this week's rule: an air bag is a "supplemental" restraint because it does not work by itself. It works IN CONJUNCTION with your seat belts. It cannot help you if you've been thrown out of position. Correctly used, the seat belts keep you restrained in the exact place where the air bag can protect you. So make sure you use the two systems together, as their designers intended.
What If A Vehicle Pulls Over In Front Of You
Virtually all vehicles have “blind spots”, spots where it's difficult to see vehicles close behind them to the left or right. To tell if you're driving in someone's blind spot, just glance at his rearview mirror. If you can't see his face, assume he can't see you. Move forward or fall back so he can see you. There are probably blind spots in your vehicle, too. That's why it's always safer to quickly turn to visually check for other vehicles.
What If Your Accelerator Sticks
Try to pull it up with the toe of your shoe. If a passenger is with you, have him reach down and pull it up. You should not take your eyes off the road to reach down yourself.
Suppose Another Vehicle Is Coming Right At You
Try to escape to the left if possible. Almost anything is better than a head-on collision. But if you move to the right, the oncoming driver might correct at the last minute and turn back in the direction you've just gone. And if you can't avoid a collision, brake firmly and steadily. Every mile per hour you slow down will reduce the impact.
ARRIVE SAFELY. DRIVE SAFELY
Best wishes.
Ateeque
Engro Chemicals Pakistan Limited
Dharki-65020, Distt Ghotki, Pakistan