Driving instruction - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

kerry · #1 04-19-2010, 04:56 PM

My daughter just got her driver's permit. She has to have 100 hours of driving with me or my wife before getting her license. I'm taking her to an industrial neighborhood in the evenings and on the weekends to get started. Wide streets, lots of stop signs and no traffic. What are people's thoughts about what I need to teach her? Snow and ice are probably over here for the season so I won't be able to teach her winter driving until next year.
So far we just been working on driving, stopping, turning, driving in reverse, U-turns, 3 point turns and parallel parking. Right now she's driving the TD. I'll be sure to have her drive the LandCruiser and Sidekick. Once she's comfortable driving an auto, I'll introduce her to a stick in the Fuso since I think it'll be easy to get used to the clutch in low range. Graduate school will be the Bluebird Wanderlodge.

iwrock · #2 04-19-2010, 05:08 PM

Do not forget the J-Turns, and how to effectively control a car in a poweslide (both accidental and intentional slides)

kerry · #3 04-19-2010, 05:14 PM

What's a J turn?

t walgamuth · #4 04-19-2010, 05:28 PM

handbrake?

i took my kids out in the country first and putzed around. My dad let me drive first when I was about 13 out in the boonies.

pj67coll · #5 04-19-2010, 05:30 PM

She should learn on a stick shift on hills. Once you've got that down automatics are simply a matter of steering.

- Peter.

#6 04-19-2010, 05:35 PM

My daughter is going to turn 15 in a couple of months too. I'm definitely going to get her some professional lessons in addition to driving with her. I'm probably going to buy a newer c or e-class for her to play with (air bags, abs, etc.; all the stuff I don't want in my car).

The Clk Man · #7 04-19-2010, 05:39 PM

What is a drivers license? I don't think they have those here in Korntucky.

okyoureabeast · #8 04-19-2010, 05:43 PM

Just let her putts around slow neighborhoods first. Then work up to heavier traffic areas, the interstate, extended driving, and finally DC/ NYC/ Boston/ Denver rush hour traffic in that order.

In the course of 6 months she will easily get all of the experience needed to do the test. She may however need some time to do 3 point turns and parallel parking. I was lucky enough to have to do parallel parking every day in high school to get a spot since my school was down town.

I still impress my friends to this day when I do it perfectly every time. Nothing is more embarrassing than to hold up traffic trying to correct your fudged up parking job.

Edit: Also teach her not to freak out when one makes a wrong turn. I know this isn't universal, but most of the women I know freak out and get flustered when they make a wrong turn or get into the wrong lane. Teach her to just think, "Fcuk it! I'll turn around when I get the chance." and to not be afraid of getting lost.

I own a Blackberry with gpsed BBmaps and I keep a 2010 road atlas in my back seat. Trust me I make wrongs turns ALL of the time. BBmaps sucks as a GPS, but gives me a rough idea of where I am at and going.

KarTek · #9 04-19-2010, 05:50 PM

A few off the top of my head - some dangerous habits to avoid, some obvious:

Turn the radio off/down when moving around parking lots/parking.
Do not cut across lanes when turning corners.
Maintain safe following distance.
Keep hands out of the inside of the steering wheel when turning.
Drive with ONE foot, not two. (Unless it's for the clutch)
Come to a FULL stop at stop signs.
Maintain speed on the highway when exiting until you're clear of the main road. In other words, don't slow down until you're in the exit ramp.
Opposite for getting on the highway: Accelerate to approx 5 MPH higher than the speed limit on the ramp and then slow to fit into traffic.

There's a lot more but I can't think of too many at the moment...

pawoSD · #10 04-19-2010, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

handbrake?

i took my kids out in the country first and putzed around. My dad let me drive first when I was about 13 out in the boonies.

Only two of our 6 MB's even have a working hand brake.

The 190 does...and it is actually a hand-brake....could have some fun there!

I learned by driving around with my dad for a few months....now I'm a professional.

I have the right to brag, I've driven probably about 120,000 miles in the past 6 years since I began driving. 0 accidents of any sort, in all forms of weather. I learned stick by getting into a stickshift car, and figuring it out....took about 5 minutes. Being German = natural driver.

I drifted my sister's 190 across a few lanes on the weekend while I was out "testing" it after doing some repairs.

IMHO, females are either pretty darn good drivers, or really bad drivers....there does not seem to be much of a middle ground.

kerry · #11 04-19-2010, 06:43 PM

Thanks for the good ideas. I'll add them to the list.
I initially had her try to parallel park after mastering driving forwards, stopping, turning etc. I realized that was a bad plan because she didn't actually know how to control the car in reverse. So I had her practice driving backwards down a long block. Initially she was all over the road. After a few tries she could drive the 1/4mile block in reverse, holding the car in a straight line or controlled swerves from side to side. After doing that, she could immediately do a decent parallel park.

MercFan · #12 04-19-2010, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarTek

A few off the top of my head - some dangerous habits to avoid, some obvious:

Turn the radio off/down when moving around parking lots/parking.
Do not cut across lanes when turning corners.
Maintain safe following distance.
Keep hands out of the inside of the steering wheel when turning.
Drive with ONE foot, not two. (Unless it's for the clutch)
Come to a FULL stop at stop signs.
Maintain speed on the highway when exiting until you're clear of the main road. In other words, don't slow down until you're in the exit ramp.
Opposite for getting on the highway: Accelerate to approx 5 MPH higher than the speed limit on the ramp and then slow to fit into traffic.

There's a lot more but I can't think of too many at the moment...

Good list above, plus one more good habit to develop early on:

When you are the first one at the light (wheather going straight or turning), always look both ways before you start moving forward - be on a lookout for those running the red light... I've saved myself twice now, but my parents (new to the Denver area) just got nailed - dad's Lexus got trashed... could have been avoided. I'd work on that - I think it's a good habit to develop.

Crazy_Nate · #13 04-19-2010, 08:53 PM

Don't forget to do some hazard avoidance...things like debris in the road, potholes, etc etc. Additionally, you should teach her to keep her distance when following trucks...to help avoid unnecessary dings and chips.

For cars without ABS...threshold braking!

300SD81 · #14 04-19-2010, 09:05 PM

Taught myself how to drive at 15 in an empty parking lot. Only had 2 accidents that were my fault, both when I was 16. Got over that phase quick, without totaling my first car.

Slide control.. saved my life once. Car was coming up going the wrong way on a divided highway, I basically turned my benz sideways at 60mph, straightened her out and kept going. Other guy snapped his axles on the median after losing control. Just practice sliding around on dirt fields and getting the car back under control.. I learned just playing around in an empty field.

Don't block the left lane! Nothing pisses me off more than some idiot driving side by side with another car with nothing in front of them.. especially when I'm coming up at nearly twice their speed.

Parallel parking and parking in extremely narrow spaces is very useful in college, at least if shes planning on going anywhere in the SEC. More than half the people here can't squeeze their coupes into some of the places I've managed to cram the SD into.

okyoureabeast · #15 04-19-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy_Nate

Don't forget to do some hazard avoidance...things like debris in the road, potholes, etc etc. Additionally, you should teach her to keep her distance when following trucks...to help avoid unnecessary dings and chips.

For cars without ABS...threshold braking!

PUMP.... those breaks

Instead of keeping a lot of very minor points, tell her this, "Don't surprise other motorists. Change lanes slowly, use your turn signals every time when you turn your wheel, follow a comfortable distance behind other drivers, and don't hang out in blind spots."