Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Topics relating to Advanced Driving in cars
Astraist
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Astraist » Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:22 am

Jonquirk wrote:As I understand it three phases of braking are the initial ramping up of pressure on the pedal followed by sustained pressure to achieve the desired retardation leading to feathering off the pedal pressure as the car reaches the desired speed so that there is no jerk as the pedal is released.


Smooth braking starts with throttle, and it all has to do with observation leading the use of the controls. You need to:

Seperate acceleration and deceleration by a phase of maintainence throttle at a constant speed.
Start to ease off the throttle progressively.

Than it's a matter of starting to apply the brakes at a progressive (but still quite quick) rate.

Now, I don't like terms like "three point braking" in as much as relating the same to acceleration, or "hinting" at the steering. I think they might come across as something of a small step input, pause and than a big step input.

In that fashion (knowing still that whoever coined these terms didn't mean for them to be portrayed as such), they are an attempt to introduce some smoothness to the otherwise unsmooth drivers, whether their being unsmooth is habitual or intentional.

Proper smoothness, to me, relies on starting to brake up to the desired level of deceleration, holding it there for the required period of time and than starting to breath off of it.

In many regards, starting (are you starting to see a pattern there? ;) ) to back off of the controls smoothly is much more important than applying them in that fashion.

Now, neither of these needs to be particularly slow. It's all about the rate of acceleration and deceleration of the controls as you start (and finish) to brake, accelerate or turn.

I also like the metaphors that Ed Dellis uses in terms of "floating" up to the limit (the limit of desired performance rather than the limit of absolute performance), or mimicing an egg-toss.

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Horse
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Horse » Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:42 am

Astraist wrote: Proper smoothness, to me, relies on starting to brake up to the desired level of deceleration, holding it there for the required period of time and than starting to breath off of it.

In many regards, starting (are you starting to see a pattern there? ;) ) to back off of the controls smoothly is much more important than applying them in that fashion.


^ The advice SD gave me on here, to always 'say' to myself "I am starting to . . . " when I commented that I found coming off the brakes was 'unsmooth' (IYSWIM).
Your 'standard' is how you drive alone, not how you drive during a test.

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Mr Cholmondeley-Warner
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Mr Cholmondeley-Warner » Tue Jan 19, 2016 3:29 pm

Rainmaker wrote:...Nick, get the book read and watch the videos; they're really good. The book is very much a 'real world Roadcraft for civvies' with some nice anecdotes and real life examples.

Cough ...
Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:... I do have his book, although I haven't had time to open it yet...
Nick

martine
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby martine » Tue Jan 19, 2016 5:35 pm

Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:Can you expand on "three phase braking"? It's not a phrase I've seen before...

'Feel, Firm, Ffffffeather'?

(sorry that was a bit 'Open All Hours')
Martin - Bristol Advanced Motorists: IMI National Observer, Group Secretary, Masters (dist), DSA: ADI, Fleet, RoSPA (Dip)

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Mr Cholmondeley-Warner
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Mr Cholmondeley-Warner » Tue Jan 19, 2016 7:33 pm

Yeah I a) guessed that was probably it and b) confirmed it by watching Reg's video (as I posted higher up) :P
Nick

Playtent
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Playtent » Tue Jan 19, 2016 9:00 pm

Smooth 8-) , Oh my God :shock: , smooth 8-)

Rainmaker
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Location: Liverpool

Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Rainmaker » Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:35 pm

Some interesting replies guys, thanks to you all. :)

Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:
Rainmaker wrote:...Nick, get the book read and watch the videos; they're really good. The book is very much a 'real world Roadcraft for civvies' with some nice anecdotes and real life examples.

Cough ...
Mr Cholmondeley-Warner wrote:... I do have his book, although I haven't had time to open it yet...


I know... that's why I said you should get reading it! :lol:

Playtent wrote:Smooth 8-) , Oh my God :shock: , smooth 8-)


:?:

Am I awaiting a whoosh parrot?

IcedKiwi
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby IcedKiwi » Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:52 am

I think he's describing his three phase braking.

Playtent
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Playtent » Wed Jan 20, 2016 10:49 am

IcedKiwi wrote:I think he's describing his three phase braking.


Yep I was.

Or, smooth 8-) , Oh my God :shock: , crash :oops:

Rainmaker
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Re: Live Fast, Drive Hard - My RoSPA Diary

Postby Rainmaker » Wed Jan 20, 2016 11:07 am

Playtent wrote:
IcedKiwi wrote:I think he's describing his three phase braking.


Yep I was.

Or, smooth 8-) , Oh my God :shock: , crash :oops:


:lol: I'll blame the late hour for my reading fail...


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