Driving is a practice that continually changes over time.
Not only are roads altering, routes being replanned, and new cars are on the road, but how we’re expected to manage the multiple variables around us has changed a little, too. For example, car purchasing habits have changed quite a bit. Now, you might not even head to the local fuel station; you sit at home and wait for your car to recharge before heading out again. Say that to someone thirty years ago and they’d burst out laughing.
For this reason, it’s good to refresh our presumptions about the road a little, even if we’re quite used to driving by now, thank you very much. After all, while it might seem like certain principles stay eternal (roadworks taking forever, some drivers not having a clue), there are other measures to be aware of.
In this post, we hope to explore that and more:
You bet. That last one was a little stiff, this one will be much more easy-going, that’s just a better fit for a post about emergency tyres isn’t it? Here’s the second post all filled out.
Tyre Replacement Services Are More Common
It’s a rite of passage for any driver really, having to change a tyre at the side of the road when you’d really rather be doing anything else. Of course, you could drive for forty years without necessarily knowing how and just having them replaced by a helpful passer by. It’s also true that now, roadside assistance services and mobile tyre replacement means that lots of drivers just skip the hard work altogether and call in the cavalry to deal with their flat. The latter is even more useful than breakdown cover before it doesn’t affect your insurance if you pay for it outright, and can be much quicker with the exact type of tyres you need.
This is mostly a great thing because it’s much safer than wrestling a wheel on a busy hard shoulder or in a dodgy parking spot at night, and the skinny little spare tyres aren’t as common as they used to be either. Moreover, this is needed because not all new cars come with spare tyres! Though of course it’s wise to learn yourself, and always good to remember that relying entirely on a phone call means you’re stuck wherever you break down until help arrives.
Vehicles Can Be Much Larger!
Cars are absolutely getting bigger, even in the UK where we’re seeing the trend of SUVs and large trucks taking form, and they just seem to keep growing. This means that when you’re out on the road, you’re sharing space with much taller and wider vehicles than before, and that changes the maths a bit for every driver. For example, visibility can be a real issue when you’re driving a smaller car because a massive SUV in front of you can block your view of the road ahead, making it harder to predict traffic and danger. They’re also several times more dangerous to be hit by, which isn’t great for our smaller roads.
Parking spaces are sometimes an issue now, too lines that were drawn years ago for smaller cars just don’t fit these gigantic new ones, and it makes pulling into such spaces a pain. Even driving on streets is different when you’re constantly passing these behemoths, and you have to be extra careful on turns and when backing up. This trend in bigger cars means we all have to adjust how we perceive the space around us when driving. It’s not great, and it’s worth complaining about (as we just did), but it’s an unfortunate new reality.
Some Cars Are Whisper-Quiet
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are becoming very common now, and one of their most noticeable features is how incredibly quiet they are, sometimes almost silent when they’re moving at lower speeds. This is a huge positive for noise pollution in cities, which is nice, but it also causes a new challenge for people who are walking around, especially in parking areas or when crossing the street.
A pedestrian relies a lot on the sound of an approaching engine to know a car is coming, but now the warning signal isn’t there with a quiet electric car, which is a big change for everyone to get used to.
Because of this, some new rules mean that EVs have to make a noise at low speeds, sometimes a weird little electronic hum or a specific tone, to make sure people know they are there and avoid any accidents. Drivers of quiet cars have to be much more vigilant about checking their surroundings, and it’s worth knowing this if you intend to buy one. Moreover, being aware that the car next to you might be practically silent changes how you should look out for other traffic.
Headlights Are Ridiculously Bright For No Good Reason
Has anyone else noticed that new car headlights seem to be getting brighter and brighter? It’s seriously a blinding experience sometimes when a new car is coming toward you at night, and it feels like you’re being glared at by the sun itself for a second. This is partly because many modern cars use LED or high-intensity discharge lights, or in some cases HID, lights which are much more powerful and can be aimed a little bit differently than the usual halogen bulbs, making them seem super intense.
It sometimes feels like these headlights are designed to give the driver a really clear view, which is good in theory, but the side effect is that they can be extremely distracting or even temporarily blinding for drivers going the other way. You end up squinting or looking away to protect your night vision, which isn’t great for safe driving, obviously. This means that you always need to be prepared for a flash of super-bright light, and it’s a constant reminder that not everything that feels like a positive innovation on a new car is good for everyone else sharing the road with it.
What are your thoughts? Have you noticed new driving influences over the last ten years? Are they for better or worse in your view?