Cruising (driving)

Cruising is a social activity that primarily consists of driving a car. Cruising can be an expression of the perceived freedom of possessing a driver's license. Cruising is distinguished from regular driving by the social and recreational nature of the activity, which characterized by an impulsively random, often aimless course. A popular route (or "strip") is often the focus of cruising. "Cruise nights" are evenings during which cars drive slowly, bumper-to-bumper, through small towns.

Perhaps the most famous cruising strip (or main drag) is McHenry Avenue in Modesto, California. The cruising culture of the early 1960s was depicted in the film American Graffiti. The film was set (but not actually filmed) in director George Lucas' home town of Modesto, which also hosts an annual "Graffiti Night" celebration in the film's honor.

Cruising in Detroit took place from the 1950s to the 1970s in the city's northern suburbs along Woodward Avenue, from Ferndale north to Pontiac. Cruising along Woodward reached its peak in the mid 1960s, with muscle car competitions that were covered by journalists from Car and Driver, Motor Trend, and CBS World News Roundup. The cruising culture on Woodward Avenue faded in the 1970s when new car safety standards and higher gas prices altered American automotive design.

The Woodward Dream Cruise occurs on the third Saturday in August along the original cruising strip in Detroit's northern suburbs. The event is a tribute to the classic Woodward cruisers and attracts approximately 1 million people and 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, and custom, collector, and special interest vehicles.

Roundabout - type of road junction

A roundabout is a type of road junction at which traffic enters a one-way stream around a central island. In the United States it is commonly known as a "rotary" or a "traffic circle", but sometimes is technically called a modern roundabout, in order to emphasize the distinction from the older, very much larger type of traffic circle which usually had poor or no visibility across the central island.

In countries where people drive on the right, the traffic flow around the central island of a roundabout is counterclockwise. In countries where people drive on the left, the traffic flow is clockwise.

Overall, roundabouts are statistically safer than both traffic circles and traditional intersections, with the exception that cyclists have a significantly increased crash rate at large roundabout. Roundabouts do not cope as well with the traffic on motorways, highways, or similar fast roads.

Roundabouts are sometimes referred to as "traffic circles" or "rotaries", but a technical distinction was made in some jurisdictions between roundabouts, traffic circles, and rotaries in the mid-1960s. Starting in that decade, research in the United Kingdom found that circular intersections with certain geometric characteristics and traffic control schemes tended to be safer than those without them.

Driving Needs

The number of vehicles that are available to satisfy your driving needs has never been greater. During the last decade, auto manufactures have really jumped on the vehicle bandwagon by offering numerous automobiles, sport-utilities, multipurpose vehicles, minivans, and trucks.

In addition to having multiple divisions within a single manufacturer, the choice of vehicles from which to choose is enough to make the consumer really spin his or her wheels trying to figure out just what vehicle to purchase.

The bottom line is that you deserve the most smiles per mile when you sit behind the wheel.

Although emotions are a part of life, concerning transportation, it is useful to put excessive emotions aside and focus on your day-in and day-out transportation needs.

Driving Van Trailer

A Driving Van Trailer (DVT), sometimes referred to as Driving Luggage Van (DLV), is a purpose-built railway vehicle that allows the driver to operate a locomotive at the opposite end of a train. Trains operating with a DVT therefore do not require the locomotive to run round to the other end of the train at terminal stations. Unlike many other control cars, DVTs resemble locomotives (specifically, classes 90 and 91) and thus when the train is operating in "push" mode it does not appear to be traveling backwards.

The vehicles have no passenger accommodation due to rules in place at the time of building that prohibited passengers in the leading vehicles of trains that travel at more than 100 mph (161 km/h).On the Inter City 225 (IC225) sets operating on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) the Mark 4 DVTs and locomotives operate in push-pull formation utilizing a Time-Division Multiplexer to send control signals along specially screened cables which run the length of the train.

Driving Conditions

India is the world's largest democratic republic. With the advancement of Transport Systems, countries are identified on the basis of their "Roads". India has difficult road and traffic conditions. In this part of the world, "Roads" are not meant to commute from here to there, but the road themselves run from here to there.
Driving Conditions in India

Conditions of roads across India are not hidden. In the last 50 years, India's automobile population has grown 170 times while the road infrastructure has expanded only nine times. The country's vehicle population is over 5.5 crore and growing at a phenomenal rate of 25 lakh every year. Roads make up 4% of Kolkatta city as compared to 25% in Delhi and 30% in some other cities. Outside the metros, the main roads and other roads are poorly maintained and congested.

Driving under the influence

Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs (driving while intoxicated, drunk driving, drinking and driving, drink-driving) or other drugs, is the act of operating a motor vehicle (and even a bicycle, boat, airplane or horse in selected jurisdictions) after having consumed alcohol, to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. It is a criminal offense in most countries around the world.

In most international jurisdictions, anyone who is convicted of injuring or killing someone while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be heavily fined, as in France, in addition to being given a lengthy prison sentence. The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving while intoxicated (DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI), driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, driving under the influence per se or drunk in charge [of a vehicle].

Highway Code

The Highway Code is the official road safety manual for Great Britain.[1] In Northern Ireland the Highway Code for Northern Ireland applies.[2] It contains 307 numbered rules and 9 annexes covering pedestrians, animals, cyclists, motorcyclists and drivers. As well as the rules and annexes, there is information on road signs, road markings and vehicle markings. The annexes contain information on vehicle maintenance, license requirements, documentation, penalties and vehicle security.

Certain rules in the Highway Code represent various road traffic laws and must be obeyed. Others are not compulsory, but advisable. The Road Traffic Act 1988 says. The latest edition of the Highway Code was released in September 2007 and contained new advice such as the risk of smoking while driving and information for novice drivers.

Road Traffic Safety

Road traffic safety aims to reduce the harm (deaths, injuries, and property damage) resulting from crashes of road vehicles. Harm from road traffic crashes is greater than that from all other transportation modes (air, sea, space, off-terrain, etc.) combined.

Road traffic safety deals exclusively with road traffic crashes – how to reduce their number and their consequences. A road traffic crash is an event involving a road vehicle that results in harm. For reasons of clear data collection, only harm involving a road vehicle is included. A person tripping with fatal consequences on a public road is not included as a road-traffic fatality. To be counted a pedestrian fatality, the victim must be struck by a road vehicle.

Sleep Deprived Driving

Sleep deprived driving is the operation of a motor vehicle while being cognitively impaired by a lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation is a major cause of motor vehicle accidents, and it can impair the human brain as much as alcohol can. According to a 1998 survey, 23% of adults have fallen asleep while driving. According to the United States Department of Transportation, male drivers admit to have fallen asleep while driving twice as much as female drivers.

Numerous studies have found that sleep deprivation can affect driving as much, and sometimes more, than alcohol. British researchers have found that driving after 17 to 18 hours of being awake is as harmful as driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05%, the legal limit in many European countries. Men under 30 are more likely to be in an accident caused by sleep deprivation.

Graduated driver

Graduated driver licensing systems are designed to provide new drivers of motor vehicles with driving experience and skills gradually over time in low-risk environments. There are typically three steps or stages through which new drivers pass. They begin by acquiring a learner’s permit, progress to a restricted or probationary license, followed by receipt of a full license.

Acquiring a learner’s permit typically requires a minimum age, passing vision and knowledge tests, and parental or guardian permission if below a specified age. Those who hold a learner’s permit must generally drive under the supervision of a licensed driver, have a limited number of passengers in the vehicle, and be free of moving violations and at-fault accidents or crashes for a minimum period of time before moving to the next stage.

Those who receive an intermediate or probationary license may drive without supervision, although driving at certain times, (typically after midnight until around sunrise), may require supervision. Drivers typically are restricted in the number of passengers they may carry and must remain free of moving violations and at-fault accidents for a specified period of time. In some places, drivers with these licenses must have no alcohol in their blood while they are driving.

Receipt of a full license typically requires a specific minimum age, a minimum time period of driving experience, and the passing of a final road test of driving skills.