Hey. I consider myself a "skilled" driver, but not a "good / defensive" driver. I don't promote street racing, I just "feel the need for speed". Cops up here don't pull me over, though I pass them a lot going 15-20 MPH over the limit. But that has nothing to do with what I want to talk about.

I am a skilled driver. I can maneuver through lanes of traffic at a fast pace, I can corner perfectly at a high speed of rate, so on so forth. But my LACK of skill is otherwise PAYING ATTENTION to cars in front of me, and BRAKING.

You'd think that looking forward while driving is the #1 priority.. but I find myself looking to my sides, behind me, and looking towards the sky 90% of the time. What is up with that. And due to that behavior, I find myself stomping on the brake ALL THE TIME.

I think it might be due to my brain becoming less active due to the automatic transmission. I have a lot less to think about when driving an auto. I catch myself thinking about what cd's are in my car, how I want a Polar White xB, if I brought my Nintendo DS in the car with me, and even wondering if Mike O'Malley and Moira Quirk ever hit it off after taping an episode of Nickelodeon Guts.

I do not catch myslef thinking about driving at all. I want to become a better driver. I'll even slow down a bit to be a bit more safer. I'd just like some advice. I'm trying to be mature and fix a problem that I have. So I hope your answers can be mature and help me out a bit.

And.. do you think a manual transmission would help me out at all. I'm not talking about speed wise (though it's a duh), but rather in the sense of making me think more about the driving process. Maybe saying to myself "Okay, I have to shift into third now." or "There's a stop sign up there, I better downshift."

What do you think?

Oh, and can you clutch and brake to slow down in any gear, or should you downshift into second always? I was taught in about 15 minutes on a test drive how to drive a stick. So I don't know all the answers that you'll think is child info. Thanks guys.

But my LACK of skill is otherwise PAYING ATTENTION to cars in front of me, and BRAKING.

You'd think that looking forward while driving is the #1 priority.. but I find myself looking to my sides, behind me, and looking towards the sky 90% of the time. What is up with that. And due to that behavior, I find myself stomping on the brake ALL THE TIME.

I think you answered your own question :P

It's reasonable to think that you would pay attention to your driving a bit more if you are forced to clutch and shift. I can see the logic in it. However, you are the only one who can ultimately decide if it will work.

Should you get a manual and not pay attention then there is a greater risk of causing damage to your car than with an automatic.

You do not need to clutch every time you brake. As long as the car is moving you don't NEED to clutch. Clutch should only be used when shifting or not moving.

That being said, you can downshift when you need to slowdown. This is especially helpful during prolonged descents. Just don't downshift from high speeds to significantly lower gears.

i have an auto xb and i find it helpful to watch my rpms for shifting and gas conservation and such

not wanting your car smashed up should be a reason enough to pay attention though!

...and even wondering if Mike O'Malley and Moira Quirk ever hit it off after taping an episode of Nickelodeon Guts.

This caused me to stain the carpet with my grape juice. Thanks. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the fact that I spit it all over made it harder to clean it all up.


Back to your question though. I think the manual could help you out. You'll have to pay attention at first, but the thing is, when you get used to the car, you can feel when you need to shift. At least thats how my old car was.

Drive for space. Keep at least two seconds of space between you and whoever's in front of you. Double-checking that you've got those two seconds minimum in front of you - "one thousand one, one thousand two..." should help keep you focused.

Of course, you have to remember to check periodically...

First off corner at high speed in a auto doesn't mean anything, alot of people do that, learn how to weigh shift your car. As for you're braking skill learn how to pump brake, instead of depending on a hard stomp on the brake. Manual transmission makes you concentrate more, but it doesn't mean it will make you a better driver. Yes you do press on the clutch and brake to downshift, cuz if you down shift with out braking you put pressure on your transmission at low speed on high RPMs, thats why you see professionals do the heel toe technic.

Try pretending your a chauffer driving some hot model or starlette around and if you make her spill her drink or mess up putting on her make-up she won't give you that "extra special" tip she promised. It's all about being smooth. You can do a lot of high "G" stuff with out banging and jerking if you build up to it rather than hit it all at once. How many times have you spilled your drink in your lap? Just take your time and work on your focus and you'll smooth out. :)

Try Bunta's patented "Cup of Water" mode. =X

when braking put the car nuetral and brake...this save your clutch

Actually the only time your clutch wears is when it slips. The moment of engagement/dis-engagement when the transmission and engine are matching speeds. Putting the car in nuetral just takes compression braking out of the equasion.

I think Lexus has a warning device that actually slows the car if you get too close--then again it might be Acura. Have you ever rear ended someone? Once you do, you will probably be cured of following too close.

The short porch on the xB throws me sometimes. I'm so used to easy power steering, and I'll be driving up on a slower vehicle in the fast lane. Of course no one moves over anymore, so I ease the wheel to drift to the right... and the box sorta kinda goes right, so I ease the wheel a bit more... ok, now 8 out of 10 people would say it's going right, finally I turn the wheel to avoid a collision. Then again, maybe front wheel drive is just like that. I'm not too sure about fwd yet.

Anyhow, that's my Scion handicap. Yours though? I think just make more of an effort to watch the road. Manual is more fun, but unless you are out to have fun, it becomes as second nature and boring as an automatic. They say we are in a mild state of hypnosis while we drive. Maybe you're overreacting and you're not a bad driver at all.

While learning to drive stick, I'm afraid you would be even more distracted than you are now. After learning, it will become second nature and allow you to return to watching the clouds, etc.
Have you tried any of the wonderful ADHD medications?

Some basic driving techniques to get you into the right frame of mind.

Tune out, turn off, shut off all the distractions. Not forever but just for now.

Go sit in your car.

Adjust the steering, the mirrors, the seats so that every item in the car fits you. You want to sit high enough that you can see everything all around you best. Increase visibility. You’re lucky you drive a Toyota designed vehicle because in that position almost all of the controls should fall to hand easily.

Now go over those controls. If something is hard to reach or fits wrong adjust it to make the driving position a seamless position. Ergonomics counts and bad ergonomics will become distractions.

When you drive you are driving the situation 4 seconds in front of you at most traffic speeds. You likely don’t realize you’re doing that but if you aren’t you’ll be in somebody else’s trunk sooner or later.

Depending on age, skill, and physiological elements your response time is likely a third of a second to second in length. Driving four seconds ahead means on quarter of your decision time is wasted in simple physical response.

You want to drive with your attention split appropriately. You will almost ALWAYS drive into a bad situation. Sure some people get rear ended, but usually only when they are stopping. Driving down the Interstate you’re more likely to get side swiped or hit something else.

If you’re on the brake, on the accelerator, feeling rushed, or worse rushing you’re already out of control. Smooth. Smooth in traffic, lots of space around you, comfortable, relaxed, not angry and most assuredly SMOOTH. That is how you want to drive. Never accelerate when you don’t have to, and keep off the brakes by predicting the traffic situation.

Play the what if game with the traffic around you. What is the guy in the Impala most likely to do next? What will the panel van do? The lady with 9 kids a dog and a harried look heading for the mall?

If you’re driving with at least a 4 second awareness of traffic successfully do your best to get that out to 10 or 12 seconds. Constantly update the situation map of traffic in your mind until you can start adding plans to handle the possible what if scenarios. Once you get to the point you can scan 10 to 12 seconds ahead, track the multiple vehicles in your environment, keep a couple scenarios (what if’s) per vehicle/target in your mind, and drive exceptionally smooth, then you can turn the other distractions back on. Crank the tunes, but don’t let the rhythm of the radio ever drive the rhythm of your driving. The other drivers can’t year the tunes over the cell phone, and kids.

What is the guy in the Impala most likely to do next?

Break down and call OnStar.

You have ADD: Attention Deficit Driving

selil gave some excellent advice. :bow:

Looking around while driving is pretty normal but you have to chose when and how long to look wisely. If you are on an open road with light traffic and you aren't close to anyone, you can look around and try and break the monotony. However, as traffic gets heavier your attention needs to stay more and more on the road. There's a lot to look at in heavy traffic that should keep your attention. I always drive as far ahead as I can see. I either look through the windows of vehicles in front of me or try and position myself where I can see around them. On most days I'll see braking far up ahead and I can react by letting off the throttle right away. That gives me more space from the vehicle in front of me and when it is time to brake I'm already going slower and have more room to brake gently. It makes for a much less stressful drive. It also helps traffic move more smoothly through that area by reducing the inchworm effect.

So keep on looking around just don't stare. Look, then bring your eyes back to the road to check traffic and then look again.

Having a manual transmission will not help. As it was stated above, it will provide more of a distraction initially. Some people look down at the shifter when they are first learning. After you get used to it, it becomes second nature and you'll give it little more thought than using a turn signal.

I have found in certain situations that music helps me focus. Some mornings in heavy traffic I'll put in something that really rocks and crank it. The excitement from the music really heightens my awareness and almost nothing takes my focus away from the road. The downside to that is it makes me want to drive more aggresively. Keeping that in check is tough but I manage. I would only recommend doing that in very heavy traffic where you need to be razor sharp particularly if you are driving in traffic that refuses to let you keep a safe distance. I hate trying to keep a safe distance only to have some numbskull move in there so he can go .000235 MPH faster than the other lane.