Tag Archives: transportation

How To Prevent A Car Breakdown: Top Tips

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Car breakdowns never come at a great time. When they happen, you can be pretty sure that the next few hours are going to be ruined. If you’re on the way to something important, like work or an appointment, then this could be a disaster.

You’ll naturally want to know how to prevent a car breakdown. Taking care of the vehicle will be obvious. You mightn’t know exactly how to, however. While there’s a wealth of car maintenance tasks you could do, you could focus on a few specific areas.

Carrying these out should minimize the chances of a car breakdown.

How To Prevent A Car Breakdown

Don’t Miss A Service

The most obvious part of knowing how to prevent a car breakdown is never to miss a service. If there aren’t any professionals regularly looking for potential problems, then they’ll go unnoticed. Left for long enough, they’ll become a problem.

Getting an MOT or service done every six months or so to maximize their benefits. If you plan on selling your car eventually, you’ll need to do this regularly to speed up the process.

Update The Tires

Since your tires are where your car will make contact with the road, they’ll put up with a lot of wear and tear. That makes them one of the likelier areas to suffer from damage and break down. You should pay particular attention to them when inspecting your vehicle.

You’ll need to rotate these relatively regularly, alongside getting new ones after a certain amount of time. When you should do these depends on mileage and can often vary from brand to brand.

It’s worth being on the lookout for new tires for sale and picking up high-quality options when your tires are close to needing changing. You wouldn’t want to drive on bare tires, after all, so it’s recommended that you replace them not long beforehand.

Get Rid Of Any Unnecessary Weight

The more weight that’s in or on your car, the harder it’ll have to work to turn corners, speed up, and otherwise operate effectively. While this typically doesn’t affect a vehicle too much, it could if your car is overloaded. It could be worth giving it a clean and removing any unnecessary weight.

In most cases, that’ll focus on getting rid of any belongings in the vehicle that you wouldn’t need. You’d also be surprised by how much dirt can be in your vehicle, which is worth cleaning out for obvious reasons.

Wrapping Up

There’s a lot involved in knowing how to prevent a car breakdown. Taking good care of your vehicle can be more complicated than many people think. Alongside the above, you’ll have to think about oil changes, air filters, suspensions, and much more. Transmission repair in Bradenton, Oneco & Whitfield (or wherever you are) is also something you may need at some point, especially on an older car. The transmission system is complex and contains many parts, so the older your car gets, the more it’ll need looking after.

That could be more than enough to overwhelm some people. Taking care of things as they come up should be more than enough to take care of things. The largest part of knowing how to prevent a car breakdown is knowing when to go to the mechanic.

If there are unexplained noises and other problems worrying you, then it wouldn’t hurt to get a professional to look at it. Your car should run smoothly after that.

How To Become A Better Driver

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How somebody becomes a great driver is a bit of a mystery. Yes – you can take lessons. But, as we all know, that’s not really when you learn. Instead, you accumulate experience over the course of your driving life. Most people actually continue to improve their driving skills for decades, before they finally level off and start declining in old age. 

Researchers think that this continual improvement occurs unconsciously. At first, we have to concentrate really hard on driving to get it right. Then after we practice a few times, it slowly transfers to the automatic part of the brain. Eventually, we get to the point where we’re able to drive without the need to even think about it. Our conscious mind can be day dreaming and yet the car somehow stays on the road. 

Unfortunately, we can also get into bad habits, and those can be unconscious as well. That’s why driving instructors are so particular about the way people drive. They want to make sure that they have the right unconscious habits before they go out onto the road. 

Even so, some drivers slip through the net and get their license anyway, without really being ready. (We’ve all experienced this type of person on the road). Perhaps that sounds like you. 

In this post, we take a look at some of the ways you can become a better driver. Don’t worry: it’s actually easier than you think, so even if you have bad habits right now, you can still improve them. 

Drive On A Race Track

Most people never push their driving skills to the limit. Consequently, they don’t know what their vehicle is capable of. 

This is actually quite dangerous. It means that you don’t know how to respond when dangerous situations arise. You have never pushed your braking, cornering or acceleration to the limit before, so when hazards do present themselves, you’re essentially flying blind. 

Driving on a race track shows you what your vehicle is capable of. It allows you to test the limits so that you’re ready to respond appropriately to dangerous situations on the road. 

Remain Calm At All Times

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Getting into a rage because somebody cuts you up is not a good idea. Not only does it hurt you personally, but it can also affect your driving. 

If you watch bus drivers, you’ll notice that they rarely if ever lose their temper. Instead, they just accept that inconsiderate drivers are a fact of reality and run with it. They don’t mind if a cyclist comes up their inside or somebody pulls out in front of them. It’s all in a day’s work. If they did care, then it would make their job infinitely less enjoyable. 

Read The Signs

Becoming a better driver is also about reminding yourself what various signs mean. Most of us go through our driving lives, not really paying much attention to rarer signs. However, that doesn’t mean they’re unimportant. They are still trying to tell you something. 

Learn Your Car’s Warning Lights

You’ll also want to spend some time familiarising yourself with your vehicle’s warning lights. Knowing what they mean is actually critical to keeping yourself and your family safe. Unfortunately, modern car manufacturers don’t make it easy. Most warning lights are obscure and don’t convey helpful information to the average person. So you really need to learn them by heart from your vehicle’s manual if you are to respond to them appropriately. 

Take Responsibility For Others

Taking responsibility for other drivers mainly involves anticipating what they are going to do next and then adopting your driving style. This is usually something that comes with experience. After a certain amount of time on the road, you learn what certain motions mean. Eventually, you can spot pedestrians who aren’t looking, or drivers who didn’t check their blind spot. Of course, some road users can be unpredictable, like horses, cyclists and bikers. Bikers have an unhealthy habit of overtaking on corners, which is often the cause of many crashes. If you’re involved in a crash with a biker, it’s important to seek legal advice for motorcycle crash accidents, as it’ll be important to establish the facts and gather evidence.

Taking responsibility for other drivers mainly involves anticipating what they are going to do next and then adopting your driving style. This is usually something that comes with experience. After a certain amount of time on the road, you learn what certain motions mean. Eventually, you can spot pedestrians who aren’t looking, or drivers who didn’t check their blind spot. 

Always Drive Sober

Many people drive drunk and get a DUI when they are young. It’s so easy to do, particularly when you are intoxicated and not thinking straight. However, evidence suggests that even a small amount of alcohol in the system can impair driving. That’s why many countries have an ultra-low limit (or forbid any alcohol at all). 

Driving sober actually puts you at ease too. When you drive drunk – even if you have a small amount of alcohol in your system – you feel less able to control your vehicle. 

Remember To Use Your Turn Signals

Even if you think you’re totally alone, it is still a good idea to use your turn signs. That’s because you might not have seen an approaching vehicle without its lights on, or a pedestrian about to cross the street. 

Using your turn signals is a chore, but soon becomes far easier once you turn it into a habit. After you do it repeatedly, you’ll notice that it is effortless. It’s just like turning the steering wheel on your car.

Keep Your Eyes On The Road Ahead

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You’ll notice that all the best drivers keep their eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead. Often, they focus on things up to a kilometer in front of them, particularly if they are travelling at speed. While a kilometer might seem like a long way away, it is only around 45 seconds in front of you if you are travelling fast. 

Looking ahead can help you avoid all kinds of hazards, from pedestrians to traffic jams. If you want to be able to look further ahead, sit up straight or drive a vehicle with a high driving position, such as an SUV or pickup. 

Configure Your Mirrors

Lastly, you’ll want to configure your mirrors if you haven’t done so already. Great drivers always adjust their mirrors whenever they change their driving position. They also know what good adjusted mirrors look like. 

Keep Your Truck Running For Longer With These Smart Tips

A truck is a significant investment, and that means keeping it running for as long as possible, is the most sensible approach. The good news is you can find some savvy ways to protect your truck and ensure it has the longest life span, all in the post below. 

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Respect your suspension 

When your family car is a truck, a topic you can find my post on at http://www.going-dad.com/2018/09/30/could-your-next-family-car-actually-be-a-truck/, good suspension is an essential. Unfortunately, it also tends to be one of the areas that sees the most wear and tear over time, and a weak and faulty suspension can be incredibly dangerous. 

With that in mind, it is well with the time and effort to do everything you can to protect the suspension in your truck. One way of doing this is to make sure you regularly rotate your tires. Otherwise, they can end up wearing unevenly and so add extra strain to your suspension. 

When rotating your truck’s tires it is also a smart move to make sure they are properly balanced as well, as this can also help alleviate any undue strain on your truck’s suspension. Of course, another option is to enlist the help of a truck specialist like the one you will find at https://tcsupfitting.com/heavy-duty-truck-upgrades/ and get them to upgrade your trucks’ suspension for you. Thereby ensuring it is as robust and long-lasting as possible and offers the most comfortable ride. 

Change your oil 

Sure, it’s straightforward but you may be surprised at just how much difference putting the right oil in your car truck makes. Indeed, as oil is designed to keep your engine lubricated and running smoothly, choosing the one that is best suited to your vehicle is vital. 

With that in mind, be sure to look for oils that are engineered to promote long life, something you can read all about at https://auto.howstuffworks.com/how-to-choose-the-right-oil-for-your-car-or-truck2.htm. Make sure you change your oil regularly too, consult your owner’s manual to find the correct duration between changes. In older trucks, you will need to change the filter at the same time as the oil too if you want to ensure efficiency and longevity! 

Keep an eye open for problems with your lights 

If you want to make sure that your truck lasts for as long as possible, it’s also a very smart idea to keep an eye on the way your lights and electrics are functioning. The reason being that dimming lights can signal an electrical fault that needs further attention to keep your truck on the road. 

Always be aware of driving conditions (and adjust your maintenance accordingly) 

Finally, if you want to keep your truck in tip-top shape for as long as possible you will need to stay aware of the conditions you are driving in, as well as what you are putting your vehicle through. 

For example, if you are hauling heavier loads most of the time, you can expect more wear and tear on your tires and suspension. However, if you find yourself off-roading then your suspension and your air filters will need the most attention to ensure your truck continues to run for the longest time possible.