You know you're a good driver when you can smoke a lot of people driving around a four-banger FWD car.

I believe that any experienced driver can handle and just about have fun with about any car (well, maybe not the Lexus ES ).


SO, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE AN EXPERIENCED DRIVER?


It's not just about the car; it ain't about RWD and manual transmissions. It's not about electronic nannies. It's not about loud exhausts or big wheels or turbos.

It's not just about the years/mileage that someone has under their belt.

It's not about who can pay for track days. It's not about straight lines, 0-60 times, nor Quarter Miles.



Let's have a discussion about what every driver needs to consider to become a better and more experienced driver.


DISCUSS.

 

I think there are a few ideas that come to mind:


CALM : an experienced driver drives effortlessly. Or at least thinks that way. Too many drivers are tense, grasping the steering wheel with a death clutch, and not enjoying the moment. Experienced drivers know the road manners of other drivers, and rarely experience Road Rage. He's one with the car.

PREDICTIVE: an experienced driver drives one step ahead of everyone else. It's almost instinctual: he knows if that car is going to turn without using his signals, if a car will stop or slow down when there is no reason to do so, or if a car will cross multiple lanes to reach an exit. An experienced driver can predict if the road has inherent hazards, like blind spots, pedestrians, road debris, hidden driveways, and such.

VARIETY: an experienced driver knows how to handle various types of cars: FWD, RWD, 4WD, AWD, three-cylinder cars, 12-cylinder cars, tiny sports cars, big giant SUVs, turbocharged, supercharged, electric, hybrid, on-road, off-road, while towing, with passengers, and all kinds in between. How many have you driven?

STUDY: now, I know we study cars in general, like horsepower numbers and new automotive gadgetry. But we rarely get to study about laws on the road, or take a closed driving course at a driving school (which should be done more often for a lot of people). And the best kind of study would be an advanced school, like a racing school on a race track with dedicated sports cars, or an off-road course for SUVs. That would be the best experience of it all, but then you'll need to do this:

PRACTICE: practicing driving is not about the daily commute. You can rack up thousands of miles and not become a better driver. And I do think that, at times, an honest passenger can provide positive feedback regarding your driving, just as long as you're open to their opinion (yes, a nagging passenger can help make you a better driver.). And most drivers do need to brush up their skills once in a while: take the car out for a spirited and safe spin in canyon country, focusing on the road and everyone around you, and do some safe and enclosed driving skill challenges like hard braking and tight turns.


Anyways, go out there, have fun, be safe, and enjoy.

 

I get car sick very easily whenever i am a passenger which means i avoid being a passenger most times. If i get in the car with you and i don't get car sick, you're good in my book.

 

CALM: without a doubt... need to stay calm in order to be stress free and alert.

PREDICTIVE: Defensive driving makes you a better driver... avoid the dummies, and you WIN!

VARIETY: i drive trucks for a living. Bang through X gears without a clutch?! "No problem!" I feel confident driving most vehicles... except motorcycles.

STUDY: I'd love to do a race school for a weekend trip. Thought about this for sure...
I did one of those Jeep days where you drive over and through rough terrain on a closed course. It was free.

PRACTICE: It's a daily thing for me... my daily routes are never the same. I see and experience new, umm, "obstacles"(other peoples driving skills) on the daily.... refer to point #1---> stay CALM!

 

Why not an ES? I see LOTS of VERY experienced drivers in them.

Someone of ANY age and driving-time who, behing the wheel (wisely) avoids alcohol/illegal drugs, driving too fast for conditions (regardless of the speed of other drivers around him or her who may ALSO be driving too fast), yakking on cell-phones, texting, too much idle chat with passengers, and fumbling with any of the other complex electronic distractions in most of today's cars.

 

Proper maintenance on vehicles is very important to add to the list as well. You could be one of the top expert drivers ( such as Roger Rodas), and if you don't check everything over and keep up the proper service on the vehicle, that can be a costly mistake.

So an experienced driver should also be a responsible one.

 

Oh, experienced drivers can handle it for sure. I just don't think they'll have lots of fun in it.

 

6ES has Sport on it's DMS, gives the steering wheel a little more weight (marginally) and gives the transmission more aggressive shifting (again marginally), but the 2GR-FE is peaky and one can certainly chirp the tires

 

I am out

 

+1, count me out!


And, I have plenty of FUN driving my ES.

 

I drive a HS250h, an ES must feel like a Ferrari to me!

An experienced driver is always aware that he/she is not experienced enough. And if there's one thing that will raise your driving skills exponentially, is riding a motorcycle.

 

The simple answer is... *paying attention.* Far too many people don't care enough to do that, and that is the first thing to erode driving capabilities.

 

Out of all the great comments, this:

I'll use the old IROC series as an example... evenly matched cars, yet the Formula 1 drivers seemed to always win or take 2 out of the top 3... they just "know"... another: how can a RX-8 keep up with a M3 on a freeway from Chicago to WI? It can't... BUT... the RX-8 driver winds up out in front after each "pack" of traffic... he/she "knows" what the other drivers will do... "feel" or "predictive" in traffic is the separator...

 

experienced drivers don't assume anything, and while remaining calm, they're alert and ready to handle anything that could happen (blow out, someone running red light, lane drifter, etc.).

 

.....knows when to use the brakes