Technology in the motor world keeps evolving fast, affecting one’s knowledge and skills of driving. Unless you just completed your driving course with a driving school in New York recently, chances are that your driving skills are outdated. There are some of the driving skills that have changed since your driving exams years ago, including the way driving tests are conducted, and the way you steer your car.
The best driving instructor has an obligation to keep up with the latest industry standards when teaching training learners. This is to help them cope with the new changes to the rules of driving. As a driver with no idea of the latest traffic rules, you have to do something to improve your road skills.
Here are some of the driving skills that have changed since the last time you took the driving test;
1. The Use of Driving Technology
Before technology took over driving, there was only one independent driving component – the practical. But now you can use tools that assist your driving, such as parking sensors and satellite navigation systems. These tools are now becoming an essential part of driving education. Therefore, it is imperative that you find out how to use new technology with confidence.
Under these changes, you are expected to use these tools, and even the examiners want to see you strike the right balance between following instructions and knowing when to make the right judgment.
2. Hand Positions
A few years back, drivers were taught to keep their hands on the wheel at 10 and 2 o’clock positions. This is one of the driving skills that have changed due to the advancements in-car technology. Now, as a driver, you are supposed to place your hands in the 9 and 3 o’clock positions, a move that can keep you safe in the event an accident occurs.
This modern position is intended to help you keep a tight grip, so you don’t lose control of the car. It will also prevent you from getting severely injured in case your airbag goes off during a collision.
3. Changing Gears
As an old driver, you are probably accustomed to changing gears gradually even when it’s okay to skip a gear in an appropriate circumstance. But this isn’t the case now. You probably need to take up a refresher course with a driving school in New York to get up to date with the latest techniques of changing gears, so you don’t find yourself in a tight spot while driving.
4. Keeping Safe Distance
During your course, you may have been taught to keep a distance of 10 MPH between your car and the motorist in front of you. Today, the rules have changed, and instructors advise to observe a simple three-second rule that says you keep an eye on the vehicle ahead and spot a fixed object that is even with the car.
Afterward, count the seconds your vehicle will take to reach that object. If it is below three seconds, allow a little bit more following distance between you and the car ahead.
5. Using Hazard Lights
You probably learned to only use hazard lights when you encounter real hazards, such as when you double park, when carrying heavy loads or during bad weather. But now you cant continue with your generosity.
As a modern driver, you have to follow specific rules of using hazard lights on the road. If you don’t, you may endanger the other motorists by making them override turning signals. At Pierre Paul Driving School, we will teach you the proper use of hazard lights according to your state laws.
6. Changing Turns
If you’re still used to the hand-over-hand crossover method of turning the wheel, you need to know that this technique already changed. When making turns today, airbag safety is highly considered. You are required to push using one hand and pull with the other to steer. This will safely keep your hands from the plastic casing to allow the heat and pressure from the airbag to release.
7. Use of Electronic Gadgets While Driving
If you’re accustomed to answering your cell phone or texting while driving, you should know that this is a strict restriction according to traffic laws. If you have to call or text, you’ll have to pull over and resume driving after you’re done.
Even if your vehicle has hands-free devices, making or receiving a phone call, playing loud music, or searching for music tunes from your car media player is against the law, since it can increase your risk of causing an accident. Whether you are an experienced driver or not, this law applies to everyone.
How to Keep Up with the Current Driving Best Practices
Even the most experienced drivers have to learn the new rules of the road. Traffic law keeps changing, and safety strategies keep improving year by year. A few lessons of refresher course with a reputable driving school in New York will help you stay abreast with the latest traffic laws and technology trends in the motor world.
Getting refresher driving classes allows you to focus on the aspects of driving skills that have changed and you’re struggling with, as well as catching up with any latest additions to traffic rules and regulations. This will also help you to learn new driving techniques due to evolving technologies used in car manufacturing.
While a refresher course will help you avoid trouble with the law, it’ll also make you a smart driver. You are going to learn newer skills on how to drive the latest car model without fumbling around. It’s been long since you had your last driving test, or you haven’t driven a car for 2 – 3 years. Things are not the same anymore, and you need to power up your confidence some more.
At the end of it all, you’ll be up to speed with the new changes, and you’ll confidently avoid clashing with the law. Best of all is that with improved driving skills, you’ll be able to save yours and other peoples’ lives.
Final Nugget
Traffic laws and driving techniques can change over a year or two, and if you want to stay safe and improve your skills, you’ll have to be up-to-date with what’s happening on the road. This should drive you to enroll in a reputed driving school in New York. Our instructors will take you through the latest trends and rules of driving. Call us now at 718-576-6277 for more details regarding the driving classes.