Hello and welcome to my Channel! Today we're going to discuss a very important topic that every driver, whether you're new or experienced
can benefit from. And that's how to keep your vehicle centered in the lane while driving. These
techniques will help you stay on track and give you more confidence behind the wheel. So let's
take a look., Before we hit the road let's start with some basics that contribute to making it
easier to keep your vehicle centered in the lane. First, adjust your seat so you have a clear
view of the road and can easily reach the pedals and the steering wheel. Also adjust your side and
rear view mirrors to minimize blind spots and allow you to see the lanes clearly. Then imagine
your steering wheel as an analog clock face, and place your hands at the nine and three o'clock
positions on the steering wheel. This provides better overall steering control and smoother
adjustments. When your hands are on the wheel, imagine them as weights pulling down on both
sides of it. With your hands at nine and three, the weight of your hands is evenly balanced on the
rim of the wheel, with neither hand exerting more downward pull than the other. When you make small steering adjustments, your hands are far enough apart that they will stay fairly counterbalanced.
But when they're at 10 and 2, or 11 and 1, and you turn the wheel one direction or the other, they
can possibly pull the wheel more in the direction of the turn than you want them to, or quicker than
you might want them to. Because the weight of them is closer together, so it acts more together as
a single weight pulling down on one side of the steering wheel. So 9-3 gives you better control and precision when making your steering adjustments. And slight adjustments are what you're looking for
when you're trying to keep centered in your lane. When steering, you want to avoid jerky movements. Smooth gradual adjustments are the key. A gentle hand on the wheel reduces the chances of you
making sudden lane shifts. Some drivers prefer the eight and four position which is better for driver
fatigue on long trips. But I don't feel this is the ideal overall position for gripping the steering
wheel, as 9 and 3 allows you to also quickly make big steering adjustments if necessary, such as when trying to avoid an accident up ahead of you. Now imagine your lane is divided into three parts:
left, center, and right. Your goal is to keep your vehicle right in the middle of the center portion
of the lane. To do that, learn to focus more on the road out ahead of you instead of what's to the
side or directly in front of your vehicle. Keeping your eyes on the road up ahead is crucial. The way
our brains work, we tend to steer in the direction we're looking. If you're looking at something off
to the right of the road as you're driving, you'll tend to drive more towards the right side of the
lane instead of the center of the lane. Same with the left side. If you keep looking to the left
and focus on the left, you may tend to steer to the left. Your steering input should be based
on what you see up ahead. So when you're driving, look ahead with your eyes centered down the road,
right down the middle of the road, with your nose pointing straight ahead. Your target to aim for
when driving is the center of the road out in front of you. So look as far down your lane as
you can towards the horizon. Sometimes that's not very far, because there may be another vehicle
in front of you. But look as far ahead as you can, especially on an interstate or highway, hopefully at least several seconds down the road, say 10 to 12 seconds up ahead of you if possible. But don't
continually stare at the lines on either side of you. Let them act as kind of a funnel for your
vision...Funnel Vision, but not tunnel vision. You should always keep your eyes moving so you're
aware of what's going on around you. But make quick glances, and return your eyes to the center
of the road. So keep your gaze focused on where you want to go, and your brain will tend to help
you stay centered. When you're in a construction zone like this, and there are barricades, cones, or markers all around you, first be sure and slow down, and then apply the same principles as
before. Look at where you need to go. Keep aiming the focus of your eyes on the road up ahead. But because it is a construction zone, you should also quickly glance at the barricades on either side
of you from time to time just to make sure you're staying far enough away from them. Look quick and
then look forward. The same goes for a situation like this, with lots of vehicles on your left that
might be distracting you. This can tend to make you want to look to the left instead of straight ahead,
but use your peripheral vision to make sure you're not straying to the side, and keep centered in your
lane by funneling your vision down the road ahead. This also helps you when steering around curves
and turns, making it easier to stay centered while turning the steering wheel. On curves you may tend
to want to just look at the edges of the lane to make sure you're not crossing out of your lane
on either side. But you should still focus on the center of the lane a little ways in front of you.
Slow down if necessary to help you stay centered, and aim your focus to slightly around the curve
in front of you towards the center of the road up ahead as you drive on the curving road. Next up, a trick that many skilled drivers use is reference points. And that involves finding a point, or points on your vehicle that you know line you up with the center of a road. In this case, I went to a parking
lot and parked in a parking space. And I made sure I was in the very center of that parking space, and I checked on that by getting out of my vehicle and and walking around and making sure I was equally
distant from each of the parking lines. And then I got back in my vehicle, got in my driving position,
put on my seat belt, and then looked out through the windshield to find a spot on my vehicle that
lined up with the middle of the lane in front of me. And from my vantage point in this vehicle,
it turned out to be this far right corner of the vent on my dash. So I know when I'm driving
down the road, if I look at that corner of the vent on my dash and look ahead, and it appears to
be between the middle of the lines on whatever road I'm on, then I'm actually centered in that
road. And that reference point would work on any highway, or a country road, or on a road in a suburb.
It would all point to the center of whatever road I'm on. And I also know in this vehicle, if I'm
on the highway, that if the left line is going through the lower left corner of my windshield, and the right line is just above that center bump on my dash, then I'm centered in the road. Find reference points like that on your vehicle and you can use them to help you stay
centered. But only look at those reference points briefly, and then get your eyes back on the road
and look towards the horizon. Many modern vehicles come equipped with Lane Departure Warning Systems. They alert you if you start drifting out of your lane unintentionally, especially if you're just
learning how to stay centered in the lane. Using these systems can help you. You should utilize these if you have them. And there you have it, some tips to help you stay centered in your lane
while driving. And remember this is a skill that takes time to develop, but once you do develop
it, you'll be a more confident driver behind the wheel, and you'll be a safer driver. So thanks for
watching, have a great day, and as always, drive safe!
