Today Tom Troy is the managing director of the prestigious BMW Performance Center, a state-of-the-art training facility near the BMW assembly operation in Spartanburg, S.C., where BMW owners are coached in advanced driving skills.
But Troy had his first hands-on driving experience in a neighborhood in the middle of a New Jersey winter. Behind the wheel of his dad’s 1956 Buick, Troy spent a day in a snow-covered parking lot spinning out, maneuvering, skidding, accelerating and braking.
“I had my learner’s permit but no practice,” he said. “One day when the schools were closed because of bad weather, my father–who always went to work–stayed home and took the day to teach me how to drive. This was the kind of day on which he said I would learn the most.”
Anyone can take a car in a straight line on a highway in good weather, Troy said. Discovering one’s limits and those of a vehicle is what learning to drive is all about.
Instructors who work with enthusiasts and aspiring pro drivers have practical driving tips and highway observations that may be helpful to all car owners, regardless of age, experience and driving habits.
Their suggestions cover vehicle technology and human behavior: when to employ traction control, what to expect from anti-lock brakes and the importance of concentration.
“I’d say the greatest problem on the road today is that as drivers we are not paying enough attention to what we are doing,” said Brett Roubinek, managing director of instructors at the Skip Barber Racing School, Lakeville, Conn. The Skip Barber School is 25 years old. Barber raced Formula 5000 and Formula One. Instruction ranges from a one-day course to advanced skills for race drivers. The school offers corporate driving programs, teaching company executives and staff who do a lot of driving how to handle their vehicles in a variety of highway situations.The best ways to avoid distractions? Roubinek said no sipping, munching, yakking, reading or grooming while behind the wheel.
“We need to pay attention to what a car is telling us,” Roubinek says.
Some of the things that distract us?
A vehicle gives feedback on road surfaces–if it is slippery, for example, there may be a lightness in the steering wheel. If the windshield is icing up, that’s another indication of changing conditions, he said.
Road conditions may change in a fraction of a second, and they do change continuously.
“Drivers need to leave themselves an out,” he said. In case of a sudden problem, you should have an escape path in mind.
We typically don’t ask our vehicles to do as much as they could, Roubinek said. That’s because we are not looking far enough ahead on the road.
“People are intimidated by sudden lane changes,” he said. “You should scan your mirrors every five to seven seconds to be aware of traffic in adjacent lanes.”
Vehicles often will steer, accelerate and brake better than we think–it is our skills that are lacking.
So we’re back to the snow-covered parking lot, learning and practicing evasive techniques.
But Troy warns that it’s a mistake to rely too heavily on the latest technology and vehicle features.
“Technology won’t overcome the laws of physics,” he said.
There are times when a feature such as traction control, which lightly applies the brakes to a wheel that has lost traction and is spinning, is not effective. If snow is four inches or deeper, traction control may not help the driver, Troy said.
“That kind of braking may build up a wedge of snow,” he said. It might be better to paddle through using the weight of the car rather than advanced technology.
Troy recommends that drivers get to know the anti-lock brakes on their vehicles by testing them in a safe situation. “Stomp on the brakes while driving on a slippery surface to get the feel of these brakes,” he said.
While all-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive systems give great traction in snow or mud, they don’t increase the ability to stop or turn. Overconfident drivers going too fast for highway conditions are likely to do a little unintended off-roading.
“I’d say that along the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, seven out of every 10 vehicles that slip off and get stranded in the first snows of the year are four-wheel-drive vehicles,” Troy said.
Read about your vehicle’s features in your owner’s manual, he said. Getting out of harm’s way requires a lot more than good brakes and a nimble vehicle, he said. Safe driving in an emergency is 95 percent reflexive.
“There isn’t time to think about what you will do,” he said. “Practicing evasive maneuvers–moving out of your lane quickly and then returning to it–help train the body for an emergency.
“It’s like learning to ride a bike: you won’t forget the skills when you need them,” Troy said. “Where people get into trouble is when they overcorrect in a situation.”
Sudden actions such as hard braking or taking the foot off the accelerator on a slippery surface can lead to a loss of control.
The BMW Performance Center has a treacherous skid pad that, when it is wet, is like driving on black ice.
“One section of our circular cement track is even slipperier than the rest,” he said, and drivers lose control.
“Remember to steer in the direction of the skid first,” he said. “When you regain control of your vehicle, brake gently.”
