She says . . .

Press, 9 April 1981, Page 12

She says . . .

When people are taught to drive how much. I wonder, are they taught about cornering? Of what they are taught, how much do they remember? Watching cars on the Christchurch-Akaroa highway recently suggests to me that the answer to both questions is: “very little." Almost every type of motoring fault and wheeled idiocy is demonstrated on this road at week-ends. Weaving. following too closely, dangerous overtaking. no seat-belts, no signals, failure to keep left, dangerous parking — you name it, and you can see it each week-end on this road. Through the very nature of the road, the bad cornering habits tend to stand out. A prime rule, often ignored, is "In slow. Out fast." In other words, enter a corner at reduced speed, accelerate around it. and as a result come out briskly — and on

the correct side of the road. Too often drivers rush into a corner, scrub around it (sometimes having to brake), and come out on the wrong side of the road and with the car barelv under control. The other important rule is to "straighten out" the corner as much as possible. On a left-hand corner, for examnle. vou should be close to the road’s centre-line when you go in to the corner, almost touch the verge in mid-corner, and come out of it again towards (but certainly not on) the centre-line. Not only is this the safest and smoothest course, but it also gives you the best view ahead throughout the; manoeuvre. Cars "fail to take the corner." “run off the road and cross over the centre-line into other traffic when cornering because the basic rules are not observed. Barbara Petre.