Sometimes, you’ll have a nervous passenger, an anxious parent, delicate grandparent, or hair-trigger DMV examiner. That’s when you want to drive as smoothly as possible.
Don’t be stomping on the brake, or jamming on the gas pedal, and don’t be hard cornering.
You want your braking and acceleration to be gentle and gradual. No sudden stops or abrupt starts. And you don’t want to take turns too fast either. When making a left, don’t rush to get ahead of oncoming traffic; wait for a nice big gap. When making a right, slow down gradually before the turn, and take the corner nice and slow, then accelerate gradually out of the turn. Don’t rush the turns, in general, but especially when you’re transporting a nervous passenger – or if you want to maintain control of the vehicle.
Make sure you are looking ahead so you see the red light at the end of the block, and start decelerating early. Don’t leave the braking until the last minute. Scan all directions as you approach an intersection so you aren’t surprised by pedestrians or bicycles. Notice upcoming bumps or dips ahead, and slow down (gradually) so you don’t bounce your passengers around.
The more smoothly you drive, the calmer your passengers can remain. If they are gripping the door, or the ‘oh shit’ handle above the door, or pressing their foot on an imaginary brake pedal, you are driving too fast, or maneuvering too abruptly – maybe not too fast for you, but for them. BTW, it’s probably too fast for you too, you just didn’t notice.
That’s why I tell clients heading for their DMV road test: Drive like there’s a baby asleep in the back seat – and don’t wake the baby!
If the baby keeps sleeping, your passenger(s) can remain relatively calm (like the DMV Examiner’s concern). If you make any abrupt moves, you’ll wake the baby, it will start crying, then everyone will be nervous and on edge, and you will probably fail your test – or worry your nervous parent even more.
One client told me her mother was a chef at a fancy restaurant, so they often had a crate of expensive wine on the back seat of their car, and her mother was constantly admonishing her to make sure she didn’t break the wine. Same idea. My first metaphor was to imagine you’re bringing a big box of cupcakes to the party. If you stop short, or take a bump too fast, you will smear the icing on top of the cupcakes.
So, please consider your passengers; don’t break the wine or smoosh the cupcakes. And, whatever you do, don’t wake the baby!
Photo by Nancy Wayne
To Live and Drive in LA 