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How to improve your cornering
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Driving tips and other life stuff

How to improve your ingenie cornering feedback

If you’re insured with us and you’re not getting good messages about your cornering, or you just want to improve, you’ve come to the right place.

Why aren't I getting good cornering messages?

  1. Going around corners too fast - the number 1 reason!

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    Taking corners at speed means you won’t have time to react to any unseen hazards you might encounter

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    If you can't see around the bend (so you've got mainly bushes and trees filling your windscreen), you're taking the corner too fast - reducing the control you have and the grip your car has on the road

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    Keep looking up ahead so you have time to slow down gradually before the bend - using your brakes as you corner can make you lose control because your tyres can’t keep their grip on the road

  2. Turning too sharply

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    Turning sharply means you're asking your tyres to suddenly grip in a direction against the power of your car, which is still heading forward - this can happen even at low speeds

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    When cornering to the right, position your car towards the left of the lane if it is safe to do so - this will give you a clearer view around the corner so you have time to prepare for any potential hazards

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    When cornering to the left, position your car towards the right of the lane so you have good sight of hazards

     

Could anything else affect my cornering?

  1. Weather

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    Rain, snow and ice can make it much easier to skid on corners, so you need to adjust your driving:

     
    • Slow down - you'll have much more time to prepare for corners if you're not driving too fast
    • Gradually ease off acceleration as you approach the bend to reduce the forward motion you're about to steer against
    • Avoid braking harshly, which can cause you to skid
  2. Time of day

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    Driving at night is statistically more dangerous than driving in the day and your preparation for a corner needs to be much earlier:

     
    • Your perception of distance is not as good in the dark so you need to drive slower to allow for upcoming sharp bends
    • Your low beams only light up about 250 feet in front of you, so if you're driving too fast you won't have time to see and prepare properly for the corner
  3. Doughnutting

    Yep, that's one. Seriously - we see it all the time. People just don't put 2 and 2 together to realise that turning tight circles at high speeds will give them bad cornering feedback.

Remember:
Improving your driving also improves your chances of getting a discount if you're insured with ingenie. Find out how to improve your speed, acceleration and braking.

Get more Driving tips in the Young Driver's Guide.


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