Ask Mike!

ROAD TIPS FOR YOUR CAR… AND LIFE?

To negotiate a speed bump safely, apply the brake when approaching the bowl and when you come to the bowl, take your foot off the brake and allow your vehicle to go over the bowl without pressing the accelerator. If you go over the bowl while braking, the tire cannot rotate the bowl freely and can cause serious damage to the undercarriage.

For manual vehicles, when parking the vehicle, first shift into neutral and then apply the parking brake. Then engage your vehicle in gear. If you first engage a gear and then apply the parking brake, the entire load of your vehicle is placed on the transmission gears instead of the parking brake. This will damage your transmission gears.

As much as possible avoid driving in the half clutch position as doing so will cause your pressure pads to rub against each other and shorten their lifespan. Keep this in mind especially when you pause at traffic lights and slopes. Trying to keep the vehicle in balance by making a semi-grip in order not to hit the vehicle to the rear damages the pressure pad very much. Instead, the parking brake must be engaged.

When driving downhill, if you drive down in gear, without using the engine brake and without stepping on the accelerator, you will both save fuel and descend safely. If you unload your vehicle while driving downhill, your vehicle will accelerate uncontrollably and you will have to brake continuously. In this case, the brake pads will wear.

*LOOK AGAIN: Life is certainly full of “bumps and bowls”. We meet them everywhere and in everything. In marriage, business, faith walk with God, parenthood school etc. So look again. You will be able to glean some spiritual hints from these tips for your walk with the Lord coded into these simple-looking guidelines.

ABOUT MIKE

Mike Runo is a biker, car racer, auto care consultant and the CEO of Conformity Group Ltd, based in Nairobi, Kenya. For more details on services, please call: +254-721 923 625