How To Drive a Manual/Stick Shift Car

Learning to drive a vehicle with a manual transmission can be an intimidating task to both seasoned and new drivers alike. Approximately 6.5% of new vehicles sold in America feature stick-shift gearboxes. Vehicles with manual transmissions come in all shapes and sizes, from small economy cars, to massive work trucks, to high-speed sports cars. For those who would like to experience what it’s like to drive a stick shift car, we’ve outlined the basics for you below. Reading this blog is no substitute for hands-on learning, so as with anything you try, be sure you give yourself ample amount of time to practice.

Start by practicing with the car turned off. Familiarize yourself with the vehicle’s controls. Leaving the emergency or parking brake engaged, familiarize yourself with the clutch. Get a feel for using your left foot to operate the clutch since in a vehicle with an automatic transmission your left foot doesn’t have a job. Get acquainted with the gear shifter. Press the gas pedal and the clutch and move the shifter to get a feel for the different gears. Your reverse gear will also be an option controlled by this shifter.

When you feel comfortable in knowing where the gears are, test them out with a little off-road training. Find a level area, like an empty parking lot, to practice in. Once you are comfortably seated with your seatbelt fastened, it is time to start the car. If the car is neutral, you can start it just as you would an automatic. If it is starting in gear, you’ll need to depress the clutch before you start it. When the vehicle is running, press the clutch to the floor, put the shifter in first gear, and slowly let the clutch pedal up while at the same time applying your other foot to the gas pedal. The car will begin to move and the more you let up on the clutch, the faster it will move in that gear.  When the car is revving high in the first gear, it is time to change gears, and you will repeat this process and shift up as needed according to your speed. You will also down-shift the same way, applying the brake and clutch to slow down.

Once you feel comfortable with your parking lot training, you’re ready to try the real road. Start on a less populated road and leave ample space between you and other cars. As you practice and become more experienced, driving a manual car will become second nature to you. Good luck!

Tips for Safe Nighttime Driving

 

Daylight Savings Time ends soon which for a lot of drivers will mean a much darker commute on their way home from work. You may not have given it a lot of thought, but driving at night or in the dark poses several unique driving dangers as compared to driving on a sunny afternoon. Aside from just having limited visibility at night, most drivers are generally more fatigued at night, making it substantially more difficult to concentrate on the road ahead. We’ve compiled a few tips below to help you drive safer at night.

·         Don’t be afraid to use your headlights. Even at dusk or at times when you think you can see fine without them, turn your headlights on. There’s no harm in doing so. Not only will this increase your visibility, but it will also help other drivers see your car as well.

·         Make sure all of your lights work. Check beyond your headlights. Make sure taillights, brake lights, and fog lights are all working properly and not burned out before your next nighttime commute.

·         Maintain a further following distance. Increase your distance behind another car by about five seconds longer than you would during the day to give you more time to respond. This will make it easier to spot and avoid road hazards at night.

·         Put down the cell phone. Really, put it down. You shouldn’t be texting or trying to dial phone numbers at any point at which you are driving, but it is especially important to avoid using your cell phone at night. Driving distractions like this are only magnified and worse at night.

·         Keep your eyes moving. Driving at night, especially on roads that are not heavily populated with traffic, can leave you in an autonomous state. Scan the road in front of you and look for flashes of light in hard to see places, such as at the top or a hill or around a curve. This could signal the headlights of an approaching car or could be the reflection of an animal crossing the road.

Common Car Seat Installation Mistakes

 

You may think that anyone capable of reading an instruction manual can install a child safety seat into a car with ease. However, as some statistics pointed out, nearly three out of four car seats on the road today are not installed properly. Car seat installation should be a required course for parenthood, but to save you some time, we’ve complied some of the most common car seat installation mistakes that can cause unsafe driving conditions for your little passengers.

·         Incorrect Harness Clip Position – The clip that snaps the harness straps together over a child’s chest are often left in an improper position, sometimes due to parents/caregivers being in a rush or just not realizing that the placement of this clip truly does make a difference in their child’s safety. The proper position for this retainer clip is at armpit left. It should never be placed over the abdomen.

·         Use of Incorrect Harness Strap Slot – Most car seats manufactured today give the option of three sets of slots to fit the harness straps through that can be adjusted as the child grows. For infants that still require a rear-facing seat, you’ll want to choose the slot located at or below your child’s shoulders. When your little passenger is ready for a forward-facing seat, choosing the slots located at or above the child’s shoulders will provide the best fit.

·         Wobbly Car Seat – When the car seat itself is secured by a seat belt it should not move more than an inch from side to side or front to back. If your vehicle has leather seats, it’s also a good idea to put a towel under the seat. Not only will it help protect the car’s leather upholstery, but it will also help the car seat from slipping on the slick seating surface.

·         Unrestricting Harness Strap – The harness straps on a car seat should not be loose. If there is any type of slack when you pinch the strap at your child’s shoulders, the straps need to be tightened.

·         Booster Seat and Seat Belt Placement – For young children that are big enough to fit in booster seats, harness straps become a thing of the past and a ‘big-kid’ seat belt is the only restraint used. The shoulder belt should never lie across a child’s neck or face. Instead, the shoulder and chest should be snugly secured.  The lap belt should fit securely across the upper thighs rather than the stomach.

Be sure to always read the instruction manuals for both your vehicle and the car seat you are using. You can never be too careful or cautious with your precious cargo.

 

How To Replace Your Windshield Wipers

As summer is drawing to an end, cooler and rainy weather are just around the corner. Be sure your windshield wipers are in proper working order and replace the blades if necessary. Follow our simple steps below to change out wiper blades yourself at a time convenient for you.

Step 1 – Before you begin, make sure the new wiper blades are the same length as the ones you are replacing. This will ensure you are getting the optimal coverage on your windshield.

Step 2 – Gently pull the spring loaded wiper arm from its resting place on the windshield until the arm is perpendicular to the windshield. The arm will be able to stay up without you having to hold it once it reaches this position.

Step 3 – Apply pressure to the release pin of the wiper arm and remove the old wiper blade.

Step 4 – Slip the new wiper blade into place over the wiper arm and insert the clip into the hook to lock it in. Duplicate these steps for the other windshield wiper blade.

Step 5 – Start your vehicle and test the new wiper blades for proper operation before hitting the road.

In no time at all, you’ll be an expert at perform simple repairs like this at yourself.

10 Items You Should Always Keep in Your Car

Cars break down. It’s only a matter of time before a blown tire, a stalled engine, or transmission issues interrupt your travel plans. Don’t be left helpless and hopeless on the side of the road. Be prepared for these potential problems before they happen. Keeping an emergency supply kit in your car can really save the day (or night) if you find yourself unable to drive and in need of a tow.

If you want to save yourself the time of putting together your own emergency road kit, there are several options of prepackaged kits available at a variety of stores. However, the majority of these kits don’t include supplies for keeping vehicle passengers comfortable and happy until help arrives. We’ve compiled a list of 10 things to keep in your car at all times in addition to an emergency road kit:

1.       Water – Since you can’t plan for roadside emergencies, you can’t plan for how long they will have you stranded. A few one-liter bottles of water should be kept in your car.

2.       Food – We’re not saying that you need to keep a feast in your trunk just in case you miss a meal due to a roadside problem, but it’s a good idea to keep a few high-calorie items, such as fitness bars, in your car to keep hunger pains away. Individually wrapped nonperishable items like granola bars will easily satisfy short-term hunger. Remember to swap out water and food items quarterly or semi-annually to make sure they are fresh.

3.       Clothing – Throw an extra pair of sweatpants and a windbreaker in your trunk. Warm and waterproof clothing can make a big difference when you are stuck in cold or rainy weather.

4.       First Aid Kit – This one is pretty self-explanatory. A basic first aid kit can be found at almost any convenience or specialty store and should be kept in your car at all times.

5.       Flashlight – Keep a simple, good sized flashlight and extra batteries in your car if your emergency road kit did not come with one.

6.       Lighter – Unless you spend every weekend on an adventure in the wilderness, you probably can’t start a fire by hand. If you find yourself out of your car and off the well beaten path in extreme cases it may be necessary to start a fire for light and warm.

7.       Blanket – Keeping an extra blanket from your linen closet in the car can really come in handy.

8.       Tow Rope – As long as you have another vehicle that is able to pull you out, a tow rope is a quick solution to getting your car out from over an embankment.

9.       Additional Tools – A basic tool kit can be improved with the addition of a proper jack, a lug wrench that fits, and a roll of duct tape.

10.   Jumper Cables – One of the main reasons you may find yourself on the side of the road is due to a dead battery. Jumper cables and a willing partner to actually give you the jump are a quicker and cheaper solution than calling a service to do it for you.