The easy theory book
When you have completed all theory lessons and all practical lessons in traffic, you must conclude your driving education at a driving technical facility. At the driving technical facility, you will practice low-speed braking at different speeds, and you will be taught how to maneuver around sudden obstacles by either braking or steering around them – or by combining the two. The driving instructor will also teach you how to correct the car after your front or rear wheels have skidded out and how to get the car back in the right direction on the road. You must practice both on dry and slippery roads. You will learn how to handle the situation both when driving straight and when driving in a sharp turn.
Some of the things you practice, you must perform both with the ABS brake system turned on and off. You have radio contact with the driving instructor along the way so you can receive immediate feedback on your driving. Before you start the various exercises, you will be informed about safety, and of course, you must always wear your seat belt.
After completing the course, which is a mandatory part of the driving education, you are a much better driver than before, and you know some basic things about how to handle slippery conditions, things you suddenly have to maneuver around, and how to brake hard and correct the car after skidding. But you are definitely not ready to drive rally – some think they are ready for big challenges, but always be very attentive in bad weather.
Road grip is necessary for you to perform various maneuvers. Therefore, it's good to know what factors affect road grip.
The term 'road grip' refers to the frictional resistance between the road surface (including its irregularities) and the car's tires. Without adequate road grip, you cannot accelerate, brake, or steer effectively. When driving in snow, wet conditions, gravel, sand, or on ice, the road grip is much worse than on dry pavement. To maintain full control of the car when road grip is poor, you must be cautious with both braking, clutch, accelerator, and steering.
If you have a heavy load in the rear of the car, there is extra pressure on the rear of the car. At the same time, there is less pressure on the front wheels, which steer, and therefore the car experiences 'oversteer'. This means that it doesn't take much to turn the car, as there is less resistance between the tires and the road surface than usual. This should be taken into account, and you should turn gently to maintain control of the car. The car also becomes more sensitive to crosswinds. If it is front-wheel drive, you may also risk 'spinning' with the front wheels, and then it does not accelerate as well as usual.
Some of the same things apply if the car has incorrect tire pressure. This changes the road grip, and you cannot rely on controlling the car as usual. Follow the instructions for tire pressure when inflating the tires. It is stated in the instruction manual.
The depth of the tread pattern must be at least 1.6 millimeters, and even though it is that deep, you still get poorer road grip in rainy weather. If you are driving in heavy rain, you may experience what is called aquaplaning. This can occur if it rains so much that there is a layer of water on the road, and as a result, you cannot get road grip. This obviously makes it very difficult to steer and brake, and you should drive very carefully until you get better road grip. Aquaplaning can be difficult to predict, and many accidents occur due to aquaplaning.
There is a relationship between speed, kinetic energy, and braking distance, and you need to learn it.
Kinetic energy means that a car will continue to move forward for a while even after you depress the clutch and there is no longer any engine power. In short, there is 'stored' energy in the car due to its speed and weight before you disengaged the clutch. If you double the car's speed, the kinetic energy becomes four times as long. Of course, you can brake to bring the car to a stop before it stops on its own. But the same applies here. If you double the speed, the braking distance also becomes four times as long. Many people have not realized how long it takes from when you brake until the car comes to a stop. It costs many people their lives every year in traffic when people believe they can brake before they collide with others or when they want to brake for an obstacle. Remember that even if you just increase the speed slightly, it makes a big difference in how quickly you can come to a stop.
Centrifugal force is a force that affects a car when it turns, goes over a hilltop, or when you try to avoid something or someone. Centrifugal force lies in the car's center of gravity, and when it shifts because you are turning, you need to consider the way you steer and the speed you are driving. The faster you drive, the stronger the centrifugal force.
There is a rule for centrifugal force in curves that says something about how much the car is affected: the sharper the curve, the stronger the centrifugal force. If the curve becomes half as big (sharper), the centrifugal force becomes four times as strong. If it becomes twice as big, the centrifugal force becomes four times weaker, and you don't need to be as careful with how you steer through the curve. In other words, the centrifugal force becomes four times as strong if the speed is doubled, while it only becomes twice as strong if the radius is halved. You can maneuver the car better when the centrifugal force is weaker.
If it is a tall car with a load on the roof, you should know that the center of gravity is higher. So, you can more easily tip over when driving through curves.
The braking distance is the distance the car travels from when you start braking until the car comes to a stop. The harder you press the brake pedal, the shorter the braking distance – it's self-explanatory. If you press so hard that the ABS brake engages and the wheels lock, you will have a longer braking distance because there will be less contact between the road and the tires due to wheel locking.
The faster you drive, the longer your braking distance becomes. The type of surface also affects your braking distance. If you drive downhill, the braking distance becomes longer. When driving uphill, it becomes shorter. If you have a strong tailwind, it can also increase.
Use the brake correctly
- Provided the service brake is in legal condition, the braking distance at 30 km/h must not exceed 6 m for a regular passenger car and must not exceed 7 m for a van with a maximum total weight of 3,500 kg.
- Emergency brake (still the service brake, but only one of the two brake circuits the car has): 12 meters (passenger car), 14 meters (truck)
- Provided the parking brake is in legal condition, the braking distance at 30 km/h must not exceed 20 m
If your car doesn't have ABS brakes, you should keep the brake pedal pressed down. But only enough so that the wheels keep turning and don't lock. This way, you can brake optimally. If you're driving on a slippery road, you should brake gently.
If you're driving a car with ABS brakes, the wheels of the car can't lock. Therefore, you should press hard on the brake pedal and keep doing so to achieve maximum braking. You may experience strong vibrations in the car when braking hard with ABS brakes. This is intentional, and you should maintain pressure.
Most new cars have what's called an ESP system, which we've discussed before. It means the car corrects itself when it moves sideways – for example, when skidding. There's a difference in how the car grips the road in wet and dry conditions. That's why, at the driving facility, you also learn how to handle situations where you can only brake with one pair of wheels. The car will tend to pull to one side because the road grip is different on each side.
At the driving facility, you'll learn how to react correctly when adjusting your speed in both dry and slippery conditions. This is important for maintaining control of the car and avoiding collisions with others.
You need to drive the car at approximately 50 km/h between 5-7 cones. You'll learn to make appropriately sized turns to complete the exercise without knocking over the cones. The car should sway as little as possible and remain steady between each turn.
To avoid the two cars, you should:
If you encounter a 'solid' obstacle on the road, such as a car or a container, you need to learn to avoid it while maintaining control. At the driving facility, you'll practice driving at 40-60 km/h forward, and you'll receive a signal to begin braking – however, it's too close to stop without making an evasive maneuver.
So, you should:
When skidding with either the rear wheels or the front wheels, you should:
If the rear end of the vehicle skids, you should:
If the front wheels of the vehicle skid, causing you not to drive straight ahead, you should:
In this exercise, you will drive the car over a high curb. Then, you should slow down by gently braking and steer straight along the curb. You should only steer back over the curb when you are driving slowly enough to return to the roadway without any risk. You should perform the exercise at different speeds.