An Opportunity to Have Your Driving Checked by a Third Party

I have long believed that driving a car is an "act in a confined space" rather than "willful intent." The interior of a car is clearly a "confined space," so as long as you are driving alone, you are rarely pointed out for any mistakes you make. Even if there are passengers, the prevailing sentiment is that "it is the manners of a passenger to not criticize the driver's actions," so it's rare to have mistakes pointed out. Thus, self-taught driving habits are increasingly reinforced, and incorrect operations, judgments, and actions are repeated. What's worse, cars can easily become "weapons" capable of killing or injuring people. I have long thought that this situation must be fundamentally rectified.

"Could my own driving be the most dangerous?" If you say that, I have no comeback. Sometimes, I have to drive in ways I can't be proud of to get my work done, and I'm not absolutely certain that my everyday driving is correct. In fact, being certain in that situation—that is, becoming complacent—is probably the most dangerous thing. Therefore, I try to participate in opportunities like driving schools where my driving can be checked by a third party whenever possible. By the way, my profession is to drive cars and write about my impressions, and I am over 50 years old.

The program I participated in (or rather, covered) this time was a summary of the introductory essence of the Audi Driving Experience. This program itself has a long history, having started in Germany in 1983 and been introduced to Japan in 2001. However, recently, it has often been used as a "campaign prize" in Japan, making it difficult to say that it has been operated in earnest. Yet, Audi, which is also actively involved in motorsports such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and GT3 racing, has an inseparable relationship with sports driving. Therefore, by utilizing the Driving Experience to create an environment where people can safely learn sports driving, and with the grand goal of "eventually producing racing drivers," the program was fully relaunched from fiscal year 2016.

The courses range widely from beginner levels to winter courses utilizing quattro, and the Audi Race Experience for those aiming to become racing drivers. Furthermore, it seems possible to participate in programs held overseas in cooperation with Audi's German headquarters. Of the courses, I attended the highlight part of Active Safety this time. Originally, the program is designed to teach participants from the basics, especially those unfamiliar with emergency braking, but due to time constraints, we only experienced the final finishing part.

Should Have a Great Effect on Accident Prevention

The curriculum for the day was broadly divided into two parts. One was related to emergency evasive maneuvers, and the other was related to cornering. For emergency evasive maneuvers, we practiced avoiding obstacles while performing full braking by steering, and a double lane change to avoid obstacles without braking and then return to the original lane. The former is intended for low-speed driving in urban areas, and the latter for avoiding danger on expressways.

In the cornering part, we used a very small oval course with cones set up to learn the basic actions of braking, turn-in, and exiting. Furthermore, at the end of the curriculum, we participated in a game similar to a simple gymkhana (a competition to race around a compact course made of cones to compete for time) using this course.

Honestly, all of them were faithful to the basics and very simple in content. However, by carefully and repeatedly practicing these simple actions, one can make various discoveries. For example, we tried emergency evasive maneuvers with five models: "RS Q3," "RS4," "RS7," "RS3," and "R8." While the lightweight and compact RS Q3 and RS3 could be controlled as intended, with the somewhat heavier RS4 and RS7, there was a subtle time lag between operating the steering wheel and the car's actual movement changing. This might be related to the differences in the 4WD systems (the RS Q3 and RS3 use Haldex, while the RS4 and RS7 use mechanical limited-slip differentials), but it was a great opportunity to learn that emergency evasive maneuvers vary subtly depending on the car you are driving.

Well, even without going into such advanced-level discussions, simply experiencing the ABS controlling the tires as they approach locking during full braking, or the ESC trying to prevent the tail from swinging out during a double lane change, should have a significant effect on accident prevention. After all, the reality of the latest premium cars is that you will inevitably rely on electronic control systems in extreme situations where accidents are likely to occur...

Learn the Essentials of Driving Simply

The cornering lesson on the very small oval course that followed initially involved driving slowly and carefully as close to the cones as possible, and then gradually increasing the pace to learn how to drive without deviating from the cones. At first glance, this seems easy, but it is quite difficult. As the pace increases, understeer inevitably occurs during corner entry, causing the car to deviate further from the cones. The key is to brake earlier as the pace increases to slow down sufficiently, then to eliminate understeer through smooth weight transfer, and then to smoothly operate the steering and accelerator to exit the corner. However, the faster you go, the more the actions of braking, turning in, and accelerating become disjointed, causing you to stray from the cones.

Unlike a circuit, the cones lined up in a row serve as markers, making it extremely easy to determine whether the car is understeering or oversteering. This was truly an "eye-opening" curriculum, and it provided me with an invaluable opportunity to reconsider my braking timing.

In the final gymkhana simulation, each participant's time is measured. What becomes apparent here is that it's not about driving flashily, but rather that smooth, efficient driving leads to the fastest times. This is a fundamental truth of driving, applicable to both public roads and circuits: smooth driving is fast, safe, fuel-efficient, and a source of joy for passengers – the ultimate state.

For drivers who have never participated in this type of school before, I strongly recommend the Audi Driving Experience, where you can learn the essentials of driving simply. For more details, please refer to http://www.audi.jp/ADE/.