Second thoughts on offsiding
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:57 pm
'm back.
Anyway, I've been having second thoughts about the concept of offsiding. Which isn't a huge deal since I rarely use it: its not a widely-known concept in the Israeli Advanced Driving coaching community. I only use it when no other road user is in sight, for fear that it would be percieved incorrectly and unfavorably.
I mostly deal with defensive driving in traffic. When it comes to the bendy sections of the road, my philosophy is to drive in a such a way as to use the least of the car's performance envelope and retain as much of it readily for unforseen emergencies. But which?
I don't consider excessive speed (be it through judgment of entry speed or corner radius) to be such an emergency. If a driver understands the concept of offsiding and uses it intentionally, his or her observational skills are probably too good to misjudge a corner too severly. Offsiding requires a very good view, which tends to correlate with corner radii that aren't that severe anyway.
Rather, the two causes I always have in mind are: a) a need for further action mid-corner due to another driver's misconduct or b) an unforseen decrease in road grip mid-corner.
As with excessive speed, the former is wholly irrelevant to any case in which offsiding is purposefully deployed. Like I said, I do it when no other road users are in sight, so naturally none would be there to use more than their fair share of the road.
The latter is of course still in effect but here's the thing: say there's a large spill of oil that is masked by the lighting conditions or a clear patch of ice. If we offside, we increase the radius dramatically, such that if we hit it, it'd be for a much smaller lateral force and therefore a loss of car control would be less likely. However, by using twice as much of the road, we're increasing the chance to meet such a slippery patch, should it only occur on one side of the roadway - which is not an unlikely concept given superelevation of corners or (in driving abroad) that of freezing rain. Slippery agents often pool in the area of transition from road-crown to superelevation which, if one is offsiding, one would be traversing with the car turning.
So, should we offside at all?
Anyway, I've been having second thoughts about the concept of offsiding. Which isn't a huge deal since I rarely use it: its not a widely-known concept in the Israeli Advanced Driving coaching community. I only use it when no other road user is in sight, for fear that it would be percieved incorrectly and unfavorably.
I mostly deal with defensive driving in traffic. When it comes to the bendy sections of the road, my philosophy is to drive in a such a way as to use the least of the car's performance envelope and retain as much of it readily for unforseen emergencies. But which?
I don't consider excessive speed (be it through judgment of entry speed or corner radius) to be such an emergency. If a driver understands the concept of offsiding and uses it intentionally, his or her observational skills are probably too good to misjudge a corner too severly. Offsiding requires a very good view, which tends to correlate with corner radii that aren't that severe anyway.
Rather, the two causes I always have in mind are: a) a need for further action mid-corner due to another driver's misconduct or b) an unforseen decrease in road grip mid-corner.
As with excessive speed, the former is wholly irrelevant to any case in which offsiding is purposefully deployed. Like I said, I do it when no other road users are in sight, so naturally none would be there to use more than their fair share of the road.
The latter is of course still in effect but here's the thing: say there's a large spill of oil that is masked by the lighting conditions or a clear patch of ice. If we offside, we increase the radius dramatically, such that if we hit it, it'd be for a much smaller lateral force and therefore a loss of car control would be less likely. However, by using twice as much of the road, we're increasing the chance to meet such a slippery patch, should it only occur on one side of the roadway - which is not an unlikely concept given superelevation of corners or (in driving abroad) that of freezing rain. Slippery agents often pool in the area of transition from road-crown to superelevation which, if one is offsiding, one would be traversing with the car turning.
So, should we offside at all?