Basics of safe vehicle operation (VW Passat B5)

Following the recommendations below will significantly increase your safety on the roads and keep your vehicle in good condition.

Behind the wheel

Correct driving technique also depends on the correct driver's seating position. A careless, relaxed seating position (in particular, when the driver sticks his left elbow out the window or leans his body on the left door, and holds the steering wheel with one hand) does not ensure the driver's constant readiness for quick and clear actions in the event of a sudden change in the situation on the road. Correct seating position - the driver leans firmly enough on the seat back, the legs are not fully extended when fully pressing the pedals, and both hands, slightly bent at the elbows, are located on the steering wheel. The body position should be stable, but not tense - this prevents rapid fatigue.

Sit at the wheel relaxed, holding the steering wheel lightly. Do not squeeze it like a vice, until your fingers turn white - excessive force and nervous tension only tire the body. Make it a rule when driving on straight sections of road to keep the steering wheel in the range from ten to two to quarter to three, corresponding to the position of the clock hands. This allows you to drive the car without any effort and instantly react to changing situations on the road.



The driver's precision in driving a car largely depends on the form of clothing, especially in winter. Clothing should be light, loose and comfortable. It is not recommended to use ski or mountaineering boots, felt boots, and mukluks. Their bulkiness makes it difficult to quickly control the pedals. Any high-heeled shoes also make it difficult to control the pedals.

Preparing the car for driving

Before leaving the garage or parking lot, check the technical condition of the car. The 8-10 minutes spent on this can more than compensate for all the time lost on troubleshooting along the way and will increase your safety. To do this:

1. Check and adjust the air pressure in the tires to the norm. A difference in tire pressure of just 0.2–0.3 kgf/cm² worsens the car's handling and can cause it to skid when braking.

2. Check the oil level in the engine crankcase and top it up to normal if necessary.

3. Check the levels of coolant, brake and washer fluids and top them up if necessary. The tanks with these fluids are made of translucent plastic, which allows visual control of the level.

4. Check the serviceability of the signaling devices and external lighting lamps.

5. Check the operation of the windshield wipers, windshield washers and parking brake.

6. Inspect the parking place of the car. The presence of traces of oils and operating fluids under the car indicates that its units and assemblies are not tight. In this case, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the cause of their appearance.


7. When moving from a parking lot, check the serviceability of the service brakes.

Car driving tactics

Driving tactics is the ability to choose the right driving mode, where the main indicator is speed. It is the incorrectly chosen speed mode that turns out to be the most common cause of road accidents. The difficulty of choosing the right speed is that it requires simultaneous consideration of various factors or, in other words, a comprehensive assessment of the conditions in which the movement occurs. The ability of the driver to fully cover the entire set of moving and stationary objects that are important from the point of view of traffic safety, and at the same time exclude from his attention all objects not related to movement that fall into his field of vision (for example, billboards, buildings located away from the road, etc.), are the main condition for the correct tactics of driving a car. For the same purpose, it is not recommended to hang or attach amulets, souvenirs, etc. in the windshield and rear window areas and on the dashboard, which reduce the driver's visibility and additionally distract not only his attention, but also the attention of other road users. It should be remembered that with an increase in the speed of movement, the driver's field of vision decreases. Thus, at rest, the field of vision is 120°, at a speed of 30 km / h - 100°, and at a speed of 100 km / h - 40° ("tunnel vision").

In no case should the speed of movement be determined by whether you or your passengers are in a hurry. It is necessary to firmly grasp this and, even in the most urgent cases, choose the speed only in accordance with the situation. In this regard, a very important quality of the driver is self-control, which allows you to remain calm and not give in to someone's wishes to drive faster, regardless of the specific situation.

After a long break from driving (winter period, illness, business trip, etc.) it takes some time to restore skills. In this regard, make several training trips to road sections with minimal traffic.

Be a good psychologist and be critical of your mistakes while driving.

Only self-criticism and self-analysis will help you avoid repeating similar mistakes in the future.

Overcoming puddles

When driving through puddles, you need to be extremely careful, as they can hide holes and bumps that can damage wheel rims or suspension parts. If you are driving on an unfamiliar road, it is better to let another vehicle pass in front of you, and by how it overcomes the puddle, you can judge the condition of the road. If this is not possible, get out of the car and use any object (with a stick, rod, etc.) measure the puddle along the intended trajectory of movement. Move through the puddle at the lowest possible speed. Daringly overcoming puddles usually ends with moisture getting on the ignition system components and the engine stopping.

Driving in rainy weather

Moisture can get onto ignition system components and stop the engine when driving on the road during heavy rain. A good and reliable way to prevent dampness of ignition system components is to pre-treat them with water-repellent preparations such as "Unisma" or "Avtosmazka VTV-1" in an aerosol package or their foreign analogues.

Be especially careful and cautious in the first minutes after the rain starts, as wet dust on the road surface forms a soapy film, which sharply reduces the tires' grip on the road.

Regularly apply light braking to dry the brakes while driving, as the effectiveness of wet brakes drops sharply.

When overtaking, turn on the windshield wiper to the maximum mode - this will help to avoid loss of visibility due to possible water ejection from under the wheel of the overtaken vehicle. It is advisable to take such precautions if you are overtaken.

Do not overtake in rainy weather if the water cloud from under the wheels of the vehicle in front completely obscures the view of the overtaking zone.

To avoid driving in a water plume from the cars in front, increase your distance and reduce your speed.

When driving along sidewalks during or after rain, when driving through puddles, reduce speed so that spray from your car's wheels does not fall on pedestrians.

Driving at night

When dusk falls, turn on the low beam headlights. If your car is painted a dark color, turn on the low beams a little earlier, since your car is invisible against the dark asphalt and its appearance becomes unexpected for oncoming drivers.

When driving at night, the driver sees only a limited section of the road and increased attention is required for safe driving. It has been noted that with age, a person requires more illumination to recognize an object. For people over 20, it doubles every 13 years. Consequently, a 60-year-old driver sees at night almost 8 times worse than a 20-year-old. Accordingly, the speed of movement at night should decrease proportionally to the driver's age.

If you are blinded by the headlights of an oncoming car, slow down or better yet stop without changing lanes and turn on your hazard warning lights. Beware of driving blind – it is very dangerous! Remember that it may take up to 10 seconds to restore your vision after being blinded.

If you are following a car in front at night and do not intend to overtake it, switch to low beam and keep a distance from it so as not to disturb its driver with the light of your headlights.

Driving in winter

Be very careful on wet or slippery road sections - do not brake abruptly with the risk of locking the wheels, which will inevitably lead to skidding. To do this, drive the car smoothly, without sharp turns. Reduce speed only by gradually shifting to lower gears with partial braking with the service brakes. If, despite everything, the car begins to skid, turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skid, do not touch the clutch and brake pedals and remain calm.

Ice often forms at road intersections due to wheel slippage when starting off. Therefore, when approaching such places on a dry section, begin to reduce speed in advance.

In winter, it can be difficult to get moving on a slippery surface. To do this, engage second or third gear and, slowly releasing the clutch pedal, smoothly increase engine speed. If you need to make a turn, then after the car has started moving, switch to first gear and make the turn with the engine running "under tension", preventing the drive wheels from slipping.

In the mountainous area

When driving uphill, shift to lower gears in a timely manner, preventing the engine from running under tension and the car from jerking.

On long descents, use the engine in braking mode with partial use of the service brakes. Do not descend with the clutch disengaged and using only the service brakes, this will lead to the brakes heating up and the brake fluid boiling. Keep in mind that with increasing altitude, the boiling point of the brake fluid decreases. Boiling of the brake fluid in the wheel cylinders means a complete failure of the service brakes - the brake pedal falls through.

If you want to stop in the mountains at a parking lot near observation platforms or a recreation area, then after a long climb, do not stop the engine immediately to avoid boiling of the coolant and fuel in the carburetor, but let the engine run for 1-2 minutes at minimum idle speed. This will make it easier to start the engine later.

In mountainous areas, more than anywhere else, keep to the right side of the road. The narrower road width and the complex profile of the route require more attention and caution. When turning, give sound and light signals. When stopping on an uphill or downhill slope, turn the steering wheel all the way so that if the car starts moving on its own, it rests against the curb or another obstacle.

On a slippery road, do not start driving up a steep hill until the car in front has reached the top.

Using the brakes

Learn to brake smoothly, without allowing the wheels to lock. It is even better to use smooth braking with the service brakes while simultaneously downshifting. This technique ensures the vehicle's directional stability even on slippery road sections and, in addition, helps save fuel, increases the service life of tires and brake linings.

Experienced drivers, regardless of the presence of additional brake lights, anticipating the possibility of using the service brakes, touch the brake pedal several times before the brake lights come on, in order to draw the attention of drivers moving behind them to be ready to reduce speed.

The braking distance depends on the reliability of the braking system itself, the condition of the tire tread, the vehicle load, the road profile, the type and condition of the road surface, and the vehicle speed. The braking distance increases proportionally to the square of the speed, i.e. if the speed doubles, the braking distance increases fourfold.

If, despite the correct suspension, adjusted front wheel alignment angles and normal air pressure in the tires, the car pulls to the side when braking and you need to turn the steering wheel to maintain the direction of travel, you need to inspect the service brakes.

When you get behind the wheel of another car for the first time, check the operation of the brakes on a free section of the road at speeds of 40, 60 and 80 km/h, which is necessary to assess the condition of the brakes and acquire the first skill.

To avoid the brake shoes sticking to the drums, do not park the car for long periods with the parking brake on.

To prevent the brake shoes from freezing to the drums after driving on wet roads with sudden temperature fluctuations, do not leave the car in an open area with the parking brake applied without drying the brakes by braking smoothly as you move toward the parking lot.

Tires

Sharp acceleration and deceleration, insufficient or increased air pressure, neglect of wheel rotation according to the scheme, imbalance, driving at high speeds on poorly maintained roads, incorrectly set front wheel angles significantly reduce the service life of tires. Driving on worn tires becomes dangerous, since during rain the tread at a certain speed does not have time to let water through, the tire runs into a water wedge, which drives ahead of itself, and there is a loss of traction with the road (aquaplaning effect).

Driving a car equipped with an automatic transmission

When driving a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission, you should pay attention to the following features.

When accelerating the vehicle, the engine will run at higher speeds, which is normal and typical for an automatic transmission.

To quickly increase the speed of movement, you need to press the accelerator pedal all the way down and hold it in this position for some time. Increasing the engine speed and lowering the gear ratio in the gearbox will quickly increase the speed of the car.

If the pressure on the accelerator pedal decreases, the engine speed will decrease regardless of the driving speed. This is a normal phenomenon and results in significant fuel savings.