Tips and Hacks for Driving

Ever get a simple life tip from a friend or co-worker that makes you go “Huh! That’s genius.” For example, stuffing your shoes with dryer sheets at night can help you to eliminate an odor. They’re called “hacks” because you’re figuring a way around the conventional way of doing things, much like hacking a computer system.

Here are several hacks related to your car that will help to make driving and automobile care a little bit easier.

Driving Hacks

• Blinded by bright lights? Follow the side line: everyone hates that jerk that drives towards oncoming traffic with his high beams on. This is not only obnoxious but dangerous. An accident can happen in those brief few moments of temporary blindness. To stay on your intended path, watch the line on the right side of the road, keeping your distance at all times.
• Going into first gear in a manual on a hill: every driver who’s handled a manual transmission vehicle has very special feelings about hills. Coming out of neutral into first while on an uphill incline requires a careful balancing act between the clutch and the gas, an act that often involves accidentally hitting the bumper of the car behind you. If you have a hand operated parking brake, use it as a buffer while getting into gear. As soon as you catch first gear, release the hand brake, allowing you to move forward without any awkward rocking.

Car Care Hacks

• Short garage? No problem: this is a cool tip that I learned from my grandparents. If fitting into your garage is a precision game that consistently requires lots of attempts, try this. Place your car exactly where you want it, and then grab some thin rope and some tennis balls. Make a hole in one of the tennis balls, thread it through, and tie a large knot at the end. Hang it from the ceiling so it touches the center of your windshield, right below the rearview mirror. By aiming for the tennis ball and ending when it hits your windshield, you’ll always park in the right spot.
• Clean your headlamps with whitening toothpaste: headlamp covers foggy? Rub a thin layer of some run of the mill, non-flavored whitening tooth paste on them and work around with a rag (don’t let any get on the body of the car). Then take a wet rag and wipe off the toothpaste. Your cover should look noticeably clearer. It’s advisable to try this first in a corner of the cover before you attack the whole cover.