Articles – Page 9 – Shaun de Jager

Airbag Safety and Best Practices

In North America Airbags, aka Supplemental Restraint System (SRS), first started being installed in cars back in mid-1970’s and have been required by law since 1989. We all understand the basics – in the event of a collision, the airbags (but perhaps not all of them) will deploy to help protect the occupants. Pretty simple […]

Prescription Medicine, Drugs and Driving

This can often be a confusing issue. Whether we like it or not, at some point we’re going to end up taking some form of medication. Perhaps it’s just something from the shelf at your local pharmacy, known as Over The Counter (OTC) to treat the symptoms of the Common Cold, or perhaps it’s something […]

Check Your Nuts!

Hopefully by now everyone have switched to Winter tires but have you checked your lug nuts since they were switched? Well if you haven’t switched to Winter tires yet, you’re long overdue but it’s not too late and that’s something you should get done as soon as possible. The next thing to think about is […]

Towing an RV Travel Trailer Tip – Load Distribution

Once the weather starts getting nice, people all across North America hook up their travel trailers and head off on camping vacations. Sounds lovely. But one thing that most drivers don’t think about is how they load their trailer, which is hugely important. Time and time again, RV camping trailers sway out of control, flip […]

Ghost Car

Sometimes life is just stranger than fiction. This evening while coming home from Minden, we (fellow instructors Traci, Michelle and I) had an interesting and rather scary moment when we met a Ghost Car. Driving in Pea Soup thick fog (Traci was driving, I was in the front passenger seat, with Michelle in the back), […]

First Impressions of the BMW 1M

July 10th, 2013

admin

Every once in a while a car comes on to the market that just brings a huge smile to your face. The BMW 1M is just such a car. Some may not like the styling but I do. It’s not an overly large car, in fact it’s not a whole lot larger than a MINI but unlike the MINI, it actually has a pretty sizable truck and the rear passenger seats are actually usable also.

The car is about $60,000 and that really is a lot of money for such a small car. However, what you get for that money is one action packed coupe with a 335bhp, 6-cylinder turbo engine with enough acceleration that can take you from 0km/hr to jail in about six seconds. Believe me when I say that this little coupe deserves some serious respect and in nearly every way it out performs it’s bigger brother the M3. It’s also about $13,000 cheaper and has more rear passenger space so it really is worth looking at if you’re in the market for a new sports car.

I recently had the pleasure of driving this little power house on a track where I could really open it up. I must say…What a blast! See the video below.

It’s simple, elegant, functional (even practical) and finally BMW gives us a new car that doesn’t require an engineering degree to figure out how to use it. Just push the button to turn it on and drive away! To liven up the experience, it’s just a matter of pressing a couple buttons to turn off the traction/stability controls and engage M-mode (the ‘M’ may as well stand for ‘Madness’). I must warn you though…if you turn on the M-mode and turn off the traction/stability controls…you better have fast hands and know what you’re doing because this ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ has one hell of a bite. Although it’s a very easy car to drive, you could quickly find yourself in a ditch thinking to yourself “I should have left the traction/stability controls on”.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKwB76AmYXM

Edit: Turns out the BMW 1M stopped being produced in June of 2012. Considering the limited production of only 6309 units sold worldwide, this could very well be a collector piece.

Lawrence Hacking’s Overland Adventure Rally

June 27th, 2013

admin

This isn’t the type of thing I usually cover but this could quite possibly be the best adventure event of the year. Lawrence Hacking, a guy who’s been racing off-road motorcycles since he was 16 and was the first Canadian to complete the famous Dakar Rally back in 2001, has created the Overland Adventure Rally. The event is July 12-14, 2013 and is being held in Campbellville, Ontario.

So what right? Off-road rally’s are held all over the world right? Sure…but not like this one. This one has a class for just about everyone…including cars! This is all about just having fun regardless of what you show up with. Got a vintage bike or car? There’s a class for that. Got a bike from India, Taiwan or China? They have a class for that too. There is also a paved route for the cars or bikes that are really not suited to slippy, bumpy roads which is about 200km long. The more challenging off-road route is 230km and is mostly gravel and dirt roads with a few more challenging sections. Obviously the more challenging bits can’t be too rough or the sidecar class wouldn’t be able to get through. I’m banking on that actually because I will be riding a 2009 Russian Ural with a sidecar loaded with a passenger. For my passenger, aka Monkey (as sidecar passengers are known), aka Navi-guesser…ahem, navigator, this will be her first rally like this. Well…truth be told…it will be my first off-road race too but I have done rally style events before. At least I have some previous experience off-roading in both cars/trucks and motorcycles. Now at the time of writing this, Lawrence tells me that there is only one other bike entered in the sidecar class. I guess that means I’m looking at a 2nd place trophy! LOL

Simon Pavey

What also makes this event interesting is that thanks to BMW Canada, the rather well known Simon Pavey (7-time Dakar finisher and UK-based BMW GS Training instructor) will be one of the guest speakers. You may also remember him from “The Race to Dakar” documentary which covered the challenges surrounding the Dakar Rally as actor & world motorcycle adventurer Charley Boorman attempted to tackle the race for the first time.

Rene Cormier

Another guest speaker is less well known globally but his accomplishes are vast as another who crossed the world (in nearly every direction) on a motorcycle. Perhaps he will tell about the times he was shot at while sleeping under his motorcycle in the USA (he woke to the sound of gun shots and gas pouring on him thanks to a bullet piercing his fuel tank) and the time he took gun fire from shady guards at a check point in Africa. Ya…really!

If you’re interested in a copy of the flyer, just click this link.

If you want the full details of the event, click here.

Actually…just register by clicking here.

Safe Driving is No Accident!

May 8th, 2013

admin

It’s that time of year again folks…more lovely weather and more crashes on our roads. Cars, trucks, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians are all seeing a dramatic increase in crashes. Some injuries are quite serious, some are life-threatening…some are fatal.

We are all ‘road users’ regardless of our chosen form of travel and we all have a responsibility to be safe out there. Even if you’re a pedestrian, its your responsibility to make sure that no vehicles are coming before stepping out onto the street. Stop texting while you walk folks…you’re putting yourself at risk of being hit by a car, motorcycle, truck or bicycle. You can control that by paying attention and looking looking around for traffic.

Motorcycle crashes are once again spiking right now and that seems to happen every Spring. However, that doesn’t make it acceptable just because it happens every year. More bikes equals more crashes. Drivers just aren’t used to seeing motorcycles yet. Lets face it, they haven’t seen many during the winter months and every time a driver hits a motorcycle, they always say the same thing…“I didn’t see them”. Did you even look? Sorry drivers, but when a car and a motorcycle collide at intersections, the driver is at fault 90% of the time. Open your eyes and look twice in each direction before entering an intersection or when turning from one road to another. Take a look at the first video below and you will see a car pulling out in front of me while I was riding.

Now before you think I’m placing all the blame for motorcycle crashes on hapless drivers, riders have a huge responsibility for their own lives and to ride safely. Most motorcycle crashes are single vehicle crashes…just them and in those cases, it’s 100% their own fault and mostly from taking corners too quickly. Keep in mind riders, you haven’t been out on your bike for many months and you need to clear the cobwebs out and it’s almost like you have to ‘re-learn’ how to ride again. Your riding skills are rusty and so is your ability to recognize dangerous situations. There is also a lot of sand and salt on the roads left over from winter snow clearing leaving the roads rather slippery.

You’re essentially invisible out there and you need to ride accordingly. Drivers have a hard time seeing motorcyclists (partially because they don’t bother to look twice and partially due to the design of their vehicles) and to make things worse, the human eye has a hard time gauging your closing speed. Please…slow down and ride smart. I know your itching to take your bike for a rip but there are race tracks you can go to, when you really want to ride fast and hard. Public roads are not the place for spirited riding. Of course the same needs to be said to drivers who can finally put their sports cars back on the road. Take it to the track!

Driver & Rider Training Courses or Private Instruction

Regardless of how long you’ve been riding or driving, it’s a good idea to take some refresher courses every now and then. It doesn’t matter how good you are, or think you are, you can learn more and be even better. Over time we forget stuff and become complacent. We forget that driving a car or riding a motorcycle is the one thing we do every day that can get us killed. So take some responsibility and hone your skills every once in a while. For a few hundred dollars, you’re investing in yourself and your own safety. If you’re in Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, touch base with me (www.shaundejager.com). I would be happy to provide some additional driver training and help you become a safer driver. If you’re a rider, please check out LearningCurves.ca and tell them I sent you.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XIm7yb9voM
^ Nearly hit by turning car

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iToE0InVDIo
^ Driver runs red light