ADUK Archive

"But the short answer is that if you're disquieting a passenger, you're doing something wrong."

OP, SD has given the answer.
Thing is, you have to consider who your passenger is, a fellow ADer may be different to one who isn't tuned into that approach.
That said, for public roads driving, smooth is the way. All that "balance the car" stuff you read here.
I've found I can make progress (which would be even greater progress if it wasn't for all the current speed control nonsense) and have my passenger(s) fall asleep, even in daytime.
Including passengers with AD qualifications.
That smooth has to start from when your passengers first enter your car, such that you give them confidence in your driving.

What a great thread.

I find that rather than learning all that AD stuff, some cheap alternatives have the same effect:







never had a complaint

Alasdair

"Let me know if you feel at all uncomfortable."

This is a phrase I tend to use when I take (non ad) passengers who I am unfamiliar with. I never assume they can tell the difference between a smooth, progressive drive and a fast, reckless one. (assuming I can perform the former.)
Im terrible at reading people so I try to remove this shortcoming from the situation.

Ive only once had somebody take issue. I Immediately reduced the pace and all was well. I do tend to alter the style to one I perceive they expect though.

akirk wrote:I find that rather than learning all that AD stuff, some cheap alternatives have the same effect:







never had a complaint

Alasdair

So advanced driving is like 50 shades of grey?

I had a passenger who felt uncomfortable with my driving on some winding Derbyshire roads. I asked her what she felt and why, and she told me. She is a pensioner who had never driven a car or ridden motorbikes and very rarely went out of town in any car and was only used to low speeds. Undulating coutry roads with NSL/50mph limits were a different prospect. I pointed out that the lorry behind me was looking to go past me and the cars and vans in front were all going faster. But I slowed down anyway. She loved my urban driving, but on open roads, I had to drive (even more) like a granny.

One of the last occasions I felt uncomfortable as a passenger was when driven by our very own Mr C-W, an HPC member etc. As a driver I felt he was braking later than I would have and the braking was firmer. The first few times I found myself bracing my feet against the footwell just in case. Bloomin' HPCers

StressedDave wrote:

Gromit37 wrote:One of the last occasions I felt uncomfortable as a passenger was when driven by our very own Mr C-W, an HPC member etc. As a driver I felt he was braking later than I would have and the braking was firmer. The first few times I found myself bracing my feet against the footwell just in case. Bloomin' HPCers

You'd better not drive with me then - last time I drove with anyone, I told them they weren't braking late enough or firmly enough...

/efa

Gromit37 wrote:One of the last occasions I felt uncomfortable as a passenger was when driven by our very own Mr C-W, an HPC member etc. As a driver I felt he was braking later than I would have and the braking was firmer. The first few times I found myself bracing my feet against the footwell just in case. Bloomin' HPCers

I'm very sorry to hear that, and disappointed you didn't mention it at the time. I would have modified my style accordingly, or discussed what was making you feel uncomfortable. I must have omitted to ask you if you felt comfortable. Apologies for that.

WhoseGeneration wrote:"But the short answer is that if you're disquieting a passenger, you're doing something wrong."

OP, SD has given the answer.
Thing is, you have to consider who your passenger is, a fellow ADer may be different to one who isn't tuned into that approach.
That said, for public roads driving, smooth is the way. All that "balance the car" stuff you read here.
I've found I can make progress (which would be even greater progress if it wasn't for all the current speed control nonsense) and have my passenger(s) fall asleep, even in daytime.
Including passengers with AD qualifications.
That smooth has to start from when your passengers first enter your car, such that you give them confidence in your driving.

Agreed.

I recall somebody sleeping through a spell at 120 mph in a Jaguar Sovereign V12 on one occasion long ago. 'Twas a bit naughty, I suppose, but I wasn't unduly concerned when I realised what had been going on.

TBH I think there has only been one occasion when I've felt worried by anybody else's driving, and that was many years ago, long before I started attending ADUK driving days.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

An interesting series of drives was when I was asked to put together a team of examiners for a Women's Institute driving competition with entrants from all over GB. Of particular note was an entrant from the Channel Islands who had never been on a dual carriageway in her life until I asked her to turn onto one near Gatwick Airport. It was memorable no doubt as much for her as it was to me. During a number of tests that day I found previous training as an ADI proved immensely beneficial as I grabbed for a steering wheel or applied a handbrake.

However the only drive that I have found scary was delivered by a Police Driving Instructor from the Met. I was not alone though other Advanced Police Drivers shared my view and considered him to be downright dangerous. One of the big problems was that his drive was not consistent with regard to safety margins. That's what makes a drive more scary.

Thinking this through a bit this evening, I think the following are the scary things ...

a) Late braking is fine when you have the steering wheel to hang onto, but if the negative g is sufficient for granny's teeth to shoot out and embed them in the glove compartment lid, you have problems.

b) Overtaking is now not done by the Great British Public (GPB). It is not considered cultured. You are supposed to join the 45 mph parade. You may overtake farm vehicles on double white lines and/or blind bends.

c) Offsiding scares the pants off people, just don't do it. Ditto straightlining. The GPB regard this as boy racer activity. The traditional GPB driver sticks religously to the middle of the lane.

My issue with late braking is traffic behind me. Usually I brake quite early so they catch up when I am still early in my braking phase. When done well, I find myself "leading" a queue and controling it's deceleration, thereby protecting myself from shunts.

Even if the road behind me is empty, I do not brake late because in this case I tend stop early and in gear untill two or three cars pull safely behind me, providing an ample cover. It makes sense than not to sit with the clutch pressure plate applied for longer than absolutly needed.

As for offsiding: I do not use it unless the road around me is perfectly empty. Being an advanced driver in a country with a poor driving culture means being a leader by example and offsiding can be misjudged by others as reckless driving.

Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:

Gromit37 wrote:One of the last occasions I felt uncomfortable as a passenger was when driven by our very own Mr C-W, an HPC member etc. As a driver I felt he was braking later than I would have and the braking was firmer. The first few times I found myself bracing my feet against the footwell just in case. Bloomin' HPCers

I'm very sorry to hear that, and disappointed you didn't mention it at the time. I would have modified my style accordingly, or discussed what was making you feel uncomfortable. I must have omitted to ask you if you felt comfortable. Apologies for that.

Well, it was a long time ago, but we did have a little chat about it afterwards in the cafeteria. And you did apologise at the time. I forgive you. Very hazy memory, but was it an Alfa 159? The first time I was driven round a track at high speed, in a Lotus Elise, I was more than a little green and a bit wobbly for 5 minutes afterward. Your driving wasn't *quite* so terrifying

PS.
I didn't scream or lose bladder control, which is always an encouraging sign. Now how to get a ride with SD so I can show him how a real man panics?

Yes, it would have been the 159. I'm glad we sorted it out, I don't remember the discussion, but it's a lesson to keep checking with your passenger that they're comfortable. Of course they're at liberty to lie, if they want

Graham who I drove with in the afternoon at the Cheddar do, was certainly driving quick (and very well I should add) but half the reassurance is gained by the driver fully explaining the actions as they were being done.

Perhaps if the spirited advanced driving was being done whilst performing a reasonable commentary, they would have been less terrified? I am only guessing as have no knowledge about the car, type of driving, what scared them, etc.