Experience in accurately aligning the road when driving a car

How to align the road when driving a car

How to locate the vehicle

To determine the position of a car, the driver's position projected onto the road surface is used as a reference point. If the driver's position projected onto the road surface is to the right of the road's centerline, it means the car is moving to the right side of the road. The further the driver's position is to the right of the road's centerline, the more the car is moving to the right side of the road.

If the driver's position projected onto the road surface is to the left of the center of the road and 35 - 45 cm to the left of the center of the road, it means the vehicle is running right in the middle of the road.

If the driver's position is projected onto the road surface to the left of the centerline and is more than 45 cm from the centerline, the vehicle is moving to the left side of the road. The further the position is to the left of the centerline, the more the vehicle is moving to the left side of the road.

How to determine the direction of vehicle movement

The vehicle is running in the correct lane: If the driver's position projected onto the road surface is parallel to the centerline of the road, it means the vehicle is running in the correct lane, not deviating.

The vehicle is drifting out of the lane: If the driver's position is projected onto the road at an angle to the centerline, the vehicle is drifting out of the lane. This only happens when the vehicle needs to change lanes or change direction. If you are driving straight and see signs of the vehicle drifting out of the lane, adjust the steering wheel to keep the vehicle in the correct lane.

How to align the front of a car

The front of the car is an area that is difficult to feel and control accurately, especially for new drivers. The reason is that the special design of the front of the car creates many blind spots, making it difficult for the driver to observe.

Each type of car will have different shapes and sizes, so the way to measure the distance on the car will also be different. According to the experience of accurately orienting the road for new drivers, the driver should determine a certain point as a reference point, from which he can deduce the safe distance. This helps to measure the front of the car more easily.

Measure the distance to the motorbike in front

To know the safe distance between the front of the car and the motorbike in front, you can measure it yourself as follows:

Park the car and place a motorbike about 1 meter away from the front of the car. Next, sit in the driver's seat and see where you can see on the motorbike. From there, when driving on the road, if there is a motorbike in front, adjust the distance so that you can see that point. This is the minimum safe distance that needs to be kept.

Normally, with a motorbike running in front, the minimum safe distance is when the car driver can see the license plate of the motorbike. Therefore, if the front of the car covers the license plate of the motorbike in front, you need to reduce speed immediately because you have exceeded the safe distance.

For the car in front

To know how to align the front of the car with the car in front, do the same measurement as above. Find a car parked nearby and drive your car close to their car so that the back of their car is about 1 - 1.5 m from the front of your car (have someone standing outside to observe). Then from the driver's seat, see what point you can see on the car in front, use that point as a reference point. Do the same with longer distances. For example, when 1 m away, you will see the edge of the license plate, 2 m away you will see the rear wheel, 3 m away you will see the landing point of the rear wheel...

Note that there are many types of cars with different ground clearances such as sedans/hatchbacks, SUVs, pickup trucks, etc. Therefore, to know exactly the safe distance for a certain type of car, you should measure that type of car.

Normally, the minimum safe distance between two cars is that the driver behind must be able to see the license plate of the car in front. If the car behind wants to turn around when the car in front is parked, the car behind must have enough space. In this situation, the driver usually has to back up so that he can see the wheels of the car in front.

How to park the car on the right

Similar to the front of the car, aligning the car to the right or the side of the car is also difficult for many people. When driving on large roads with many lanes, the driver will find it easier to align because the distance between cars is quite far. But when driving in the city, with dense traffic, aligning the car to the right is quite difficult. If you are careless, it is easy to get into a collision.

To know the safe distance between a car and a motorbike on the right side, you can do this: Park the car and place a motorbike at the right corner of the front of the car. Next, sit in the driver's seat and see how far you can see on the motorbike or the motorbike driver. From there, you can deduce the safe distance. You can place the motorbike in many different positions on the right side to practice observing and get used to it.

To know how to align the car on the right side with other cars, the driver should park the car, measure the intersection point between the straight line drawn from the right wheel running up and the horizontal line drawn from the front edge of the car running across. Once this landmark is determined, the driver can align more easily, avoiding getting in the way of cars running on the right side.

Another way is to see how close their car is to the center line. Look in your rearview mirror or imagine the wheel track and trace it to estimate how far the edge of your car is to the center line. From there, estimate how far your car is from theirs.

How to keep a safe distance from vehicles traveling in the opposite lane

On the normal road

When two cars are about to meet, both must slow down within a minimum distance of 100 - 200 m. The driver must stay in his lane. To be safe, you can imagine dividing your road into 3 equal parts. The point from the driver's position projected onto the road surface must be on the first 1/3 dividing line from the center of the road. That means at this time, the car will be more than 2/3 on the right side of the road. The remaining 1/3 on the left side next to the center of the road will be left open to avoid the two cars colliding when passing each other.

On the narrow road

On narrow roads, according to the rule, the vehicle whose lane is wider must give way to the other vehicle. Do not try to get ahead when entering a narrow road because it is easy to get stuck, causing traffic obstruction. Note that when stopping to give way to oncoming vehicles, you should stop properly. Do not stop diagonally, with the front facing in and the back facing out.

On the road there are potholes and obstacles.

The left front wheel track will be 10 - 15 cm from the center of the driver's left arm to the road surface. The driver only needs to rely on this number to calculate the position of the left front wheel track, from there adjust to easily go over potholes or obstacles.