Approving the driver’s license does not imply that we are already experts in driving. “The driving schools They do a magnificent job, but it is a process in which there is not time to go deeper. Once you have the card, it is advisable that you train at another level,” he recommends. Salvador Navarro Garcia, monitor of the advanced driving centers of the RACC. «The driving school teaches you traffic rules and prepares you to drive on public roads, which is already very important. in the schools of advanced drivinginstead, we teach how a car works and what a driver has to do on a physical level to direct it, “he points out in turn Marc Gutierrez Cabanestechnical director of Automotive Driving Techniques (TAC).
It is in schools like the ones mentioned where you learn to drive in the least favorable conditions. These are, leaving the wind aside, those in which the grip is minor. “Asphalt in good condition and dry is the most favorable situation for the vehicle, while ice is the surface that slips the most,” says Gutiérrez. “On ice, the braking distance increases seven times with a normal tyre”, he adds for his part Nacho Ruizfounder of Self Rescue 4×4a company specialized in rescues and driving training and which works, among others, with personnel from the UN, the European Union and State Security Forces and Bodies.
Ruiz qualifies that almost all the surfaces are slippery, but there are also ‘capturing’ ones. It is the case of the hot sand. «The sand is not always the same: you only have to think about the beach to understand it. At 8 in the morning it is wet and compact; at noon, it burns, it is loose and, consequently, it catches you. The opposite occurs in the snow: when it is very cold, it is ice”, points out the founder of Auto Rescate 4×4.
The same base for all surfaces
Despite the fact that knowing the context and the conditions with which we are going to drive is a preventive habit highly recommended, the three experts consulted agree on the same thing: the basis of driving in adverse situations is the same for all surfaces.
The technical director of TAC explains it, which offers training on the largest low-adhesion track in Spain (1,200 meters long), at the Albacete circuit: «When a car accelerates, the weight goes behind. If you brake, the weight is transferred to the front, and when stopped, the weight is centered. It happens in all contexts. Then it’s a matter of grip and speedand the driver’s perception comes into play: how is the floor, what tire do I have…all those factors what we know as ‘car culture’. The physical part is the same, and this is what we first teach in driving schools”, he says.
For his part, Navarro stresses the importance of safe habits in driving, which are unalterable with the type of floor. Among others, lower the average speed – “Skidding you go at a sidereal speed,” he says, “keep a safe distance if we drive on the road – he recommends counting” 1101, 1102, 1103 “, around three seconds, from a specific reference between the car in front of us and us to know if it is the right one- or drive with both hands on the wheel. “It’s a matter of changing the mentality. For example, I always tell people that instead of thinking about the driving school when you see someone driving with both hands on the wheel, think about how all professional drivers drive, “reflects the expert. «The good pilot or driver is one who understands that performance equals safety», assures Gutiérrez, who focuses on anticipation and braking as two other keys to driving in extreme contexts. “The one who brakes the best is the one who always lifts his foot in the right place, and for that we are also driving schools,” he says.
Ruiz considers essential be efficient in driving: “If there is a descent, -he explains-, I stop accelerating, in the same way that in the city we do not accelerate if we see that there is a red traffic light”. This maxim becomes more important if it fits on surfaces with little grip. “It is essential that the movements are smooth, it does not matter if it is sand, mud, snow or ice: we do not enter a skating rink with fast and long steps, but short and sure. With the car, the same: anticipation and softness“, advise.
Anticipation allows, for example, do not abuse the brake, but in emergency situations there is no choice but to step on it. In this sense, Navarro emphasizes that “braking hard on a slippery surface is not dangerous because all the cars are equipped with ABS systems, the dangerous thing is the swerve ». Another very different thing is how long it takes the car to brake depending on the surface.
“On the subject of driving, luck It shouldn’t have any influence. Everything must be conscious and controlled. You are the conductor of the symphony at all times and that is why you have to learn some techniques», describes Gutiérrez. “In certain places, it is essential to know how and where you are going because we are risking our lives,” Ruiz asserts. For this reason, “the courses do not take away your license,” concludes Navarro, encouraging people to train in advanced driving in a personal capacity without waiting for a gift or for their company to contract one of these courses for their employees, since what they earned well worth it for sure.
Four useful tips
1. Tire pressure. On slippery floors it is useful to lower the tire pressure. «By lowering tire pressures you achieve two things: the skiing effect, that is to say, that there is the same weight but a greater contact surface and greater buoyancy, and that the tire deforms, so that it self-cleans itself, expelling the material that it stays in the cue”, explains Nacho Ruiz.
2. Type of tire: for a driver who does not usually leave the asphalt, in addition to insisting on preventive control of the condition of the tires, Salvador Navarro recommends mounting “four-season tires, which are versatile for different conditions, such as snow or rain, and can circulate without wearing chains.
3. Recovery material: Nacho Ruiz advises always carrying a recovery kit if we are going to ride on adverse surfaces such as mud or snow. «The idea is to be able to be the crane yourself. Simplifying, for this, I recommend three star materials: a sling, which is an elastic rope to pull from one vehicle to another, or if possible, even two, one of five meters and another of ten; a shovel and a plank, which can be a specific unblocking plate or a three-finger-thick plank of wood”, says the expert.
4. Full tank. Especially if we drive on the road in winter, Salvador Navarro recommends always carrying the tank with at least half its capacity. “Having it full improves the grip of the rear wheels, and we will also be ensuring that, if we get stuck, we can keep the car running all night to combat the cold,” he explains. In addition, Navarro considers it vital to carry in the car “antifreeze liquid for the windshield wiper, which is usually the great forgotten; that it does not carry water so that it does not freeze », he concludes.
See them
comments
