During the past year, Driverthink has developed and/or used various terms to describe various driving concepts.  The following is a listing of Driverthink terms.  Some are original, some are conventional. 

Warning! The definitions may be unique Driverthink definitions!

Assault Driver:  A driver who intends using his vehicle as a weapon of intimidation.

Blind Spot:  That part of the road behind you that cannot easily be seen with the Rearview Mirrors.  Especially prevalent on smaller and larger trucks.  Not good to ride in another’s blind spot for very long..

Bob-tail:  The tractor part of a Tractor Trailer rig riding without the trailer.

Bumper Fixation:  Fixing driver focus on the bumper in front and not looking anywhere else on the road.

Camber:  The vertical tilt of the wheel, either in or out.  If the bottom of the wheel is tilted out it is said to have negative camber.  If the bottom of the wheel is tilted in, it has positive camber.

Collision, Broad Side or T-Bone:  A collision whereby a vehicle hits another squarely in the side.

Collision, Head On:  Not a very healthy collision to be involved in but the pain doesn’t often last for too long..

Collision, Quick Swerve and Die:  A collision whereby a vehicle coming up on a slow or stopped vehicle, quickly swerves out of the way, leaving the vehicle behind it to rear end the original slow or stopped vehicle.

Collision, Rear End:  A collision whereby the vehicle behind a car, who’s driver is text messaging, hits the car in front of it firmly from the rear.

Cruise Control:  A device that allows drivers to set a steady speed for their cars, so the cars can drive themselves and the drivers can go to sleep.  A driver on cruise control is “Riding the Car”.

Cut Off:  Sliding too closely in front of a car in an adjacent lane to the point where that car has to at least brake to keep from hitting you.  While cutting people off has become quite acceptable in certain areas, the Cut Off still relies on fellow drivers not to hit him or worse, roll him over into a ditch.

Driverthink:  A constant state of mind where one seriously think about one's driving.

Driving a Car:  Operating a vehicle while aware of its mechanical abilities and all conditions around you.  Synonymous with “Skilled Driving”.

Driving on the Edge:  Extreme driving that places a driver at extreme risk.  Many drivers today, drive on the edge so often that their brains have “given up” and don’t even bother to warn them any more that they are at extreme risk of injury or death.

Forward Look:  The act of looking well forward of the vehicle directly in front of you, to gain better perspective of the highway situation and potential road hazards.  Forward look also, almost automatically helps to keep the vehicle centered in its lane.

Four Rules of Driverthink:  1.  Know and maintain your machine.  2.  Drive within limitations.  3.  Develop your driving skills.  4.  Develop your Driving Experience.

Gator:  A piece of tire that rips away from the core and flies through the air, eventually ending up as a road hazard lying on the road somewhere, hopefully not decapitating someone in the process.

Hard Steering:  The act of steering your vehicle through use of the Steering Wheel.

Highway Driving License:  A special drivers license (not yet in force) which would designate the driver as proficient at highway speeds, and be required for highway driving.

Independent Rear Suspension:  A type of Rear Suspension that allows the rear wheels to operate independently of each other.

Judging others by one’s own Limitations:  A state of mind whereby one person with lesser specific abilities, assumes others are also similarly limited.  He then judges the other’s actions from the restricted viewpoint of only what he is capable of safely accomplishing.  This is a favorite characteristic of politicians and many lesser qualified drivers.

Lane Centering:  The act or art of keeping your vehicle centered in its lane.  This can almost automatically be accomplished with enough “Forward Look.”

Lane Invasion:  A vehicle that drifts into another lane, especially if near an adjacent vehicle, “invading” its lane and its space.

Leader of the Pack:  A driver who wants to be ahead of the other drivers on the road.  This can be a very safe – or very unsafe ambition, depending on the given traffic flow and the reason for wanting to be the leader.

Lethal Throttle Steering:  The car steers by throttle input but the driver isn’t aware that it can
happen, or is happening. “Crunch time!”

Live Axel:  A Straight axel with a differential in the middle.  Rear wheels are connected in a straight line to each other and will react to each other’s movement.  Found on rear wheel or all wheel drive vehicles.

Merge:  The act of moving into another lane of traffic.  Merges can be Open or Tight, Fast or Slow, One Way, Two Way or Three Way merges.  You can also be merging into faster traffic (a highway merge) or traffic of the same speed (a two lane into one merge).

Neutral Steering:  Steering is neither loose nor tight.  It has no over steer or under steer.  The vehicle steers exactly where steering wheel input directs it to.  The vehicle “sticks to the road”.

Optical Horn:  The device which allows one to quickly flash high beams as a signal, whether low beams are on or not.

Over Correction:  Correcting too harshly from an evasive action that was taken.

Over Reaction:  The act of reacting too severely to a perceived or real road situation.

Over steer:  A vehicle which tends to turn more quickly than steering input would dictate.  Also known as “Loose” - especially if the over steer produces a break in traction of the rear wheels.

Profiling:  The art of trying to categorize certain types of drivers or vehicles that are more prone to be Road Hazards.

Pylons or Cones (driving the):  A way to center the vehicle in its lane by imagining yellow pylons placed inside the actual lane dividers, thereby narrowing your imaginary lane.

Rearviews:  Those silly little reflective glass things that allow you to shave or apply makeup.  Adjusted correctly, they can also be used to view the traffic flow behind you.

Riding a Car:  Slipping behind the wheel with no concept of the machine, and simply aiming it towards the destination.  The driver is behind the wheel, but is really not focused and is basically just along for the ride.

Road Hazards:  Road situations that could develop (but haven’t yet) into serious Road Emergencies requiring immediate evasive action.  It’s easier to deal with a hazard when it’s still a hazard, than it is when it becomes an emergency.

Road Racer:  This driver believes the highways to be a personal race track.  Getting there isn’t the point with a Road Racer.  Gaining position is everything.  Unlike a real race car driver, this driver is more than willing to risk his and other lives, by racing with amateur drivers.  Not to be confused with a fast but safe driver.

Road Rage:  One driver has enraged or endangered another to the point where extreme and aggressive retaliation (justifiable or usually not) is taken.

Rolling Roadblock:  Two or three vehicles lining up in adjacent lanes and moving at the same speed so others cannot pass them.  Sometimes knows as a Rolling Speed bump.  Usually performed by at least one very un-accomplished driver and often a result of Cruise Control in use by the same.

Signaling, ask permission:  Placing your signal on well before you intend to change lanes, while hoping that the other drivers will honor your request and let you in.

Signaling, short burst:  Signaling a lane change with a quick burst of signals to simply let other drivers know you are changing lanes whether they want to allow you or not.  Prevents other drivers from squeezing you out of your lane change but gives them at least a short warning.

Signaling, no warning:  Driver simply picks a spot and changes lanes without a signal.  Prevents other driver from squeezing him out of the lane change but gives absolutely no warning.

Smooth Driving:  The act of skillfully operating a vehicle, whether quickly or slowly, in a precise and predictable manner.  A major trait of the truly skilled driver.

Squat:  The producing of negative camber in the rear wheels with an independent rear suspension, thus increasing road stability during curves or turns.  The bottom of the wheels squat outward, when torque is applied.

Squeeze / Squeezed:  Being held in your lane of traffic by close traffic moving more quickly in an adjacent lane.  You can’t switch lanes with out cutting them off and risking imminent death or injury.

Stop Calculator:  The ability of the brain to analyze how quickly, smoothly and where to stop.  The Stop Calculator is a developed driving skill.

Stop on my Tail-gater:  A vehicle that may or may not tail gate all the time but always ends up stopping way to close to the car in front of it, usually within inches.  Often due to a faulty Stop Calculator.

Straight Axel:  Rear wheels are connected in a straight line to each other with no differential.  The wheels will react to each other’s movement.  Most often found between the rear wheels of front wheel drive cars.

Tailgater:  A driver who drives unsafely close to the vehicle in front of it.  The Tailgater has no fear and is quite comfortable placing his or her life in the hands of other drivers without even a thought as to their driving proficiency.

Throttle Steering:  The ability to steer a vehicle with throttle input and without Hard Steering Input.  See also Lethal Throttle Steering and Wonderful Thing Throttle Steer.

Traffic Pattern:  The speed, position and proximity that you and other drivers around you are moving at.

Torque:  A measure of circular power or force which will rotate an object around its axis.  This is how power gets from an engine to a vehicle’s wheels.

Under steer:  A vehicle which, for any number of reasons doesn’t want to steer as much as the steering input would dictate.  It wants to keep going straight.  Also known as “Pushing” or “Tight” steering.

Velocitized:  Getting so used to a certain rate of speed (usually after driving it for a long time) that you carry it off of the main highway you were driving on.  Your brain wants to keep going at the higher speed it became used to. 

Wonderful Thing Throttle Steer:  A driver uses intentional Throttle Steering to effortlessly and confidently glide through turns and curves.

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