Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/838705
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 JUNE 2017 Motoring III YOU might believe you're the new Sterling Moss or that you're Malta's best driver ever, here are 10 signs you might not be as good a driver as you might think. 1. Not parking neatly – you don't want to end up on OnlyIn- Malta for parking haphazardly. Plus, it's inconsiderate to others, and you risk damage to your car from other people. 2. Riding the clutch – keep your foot off the clutch unless you're actually changing gear. You need your foot as a brace, and you'll prematurely wear the clutch if you ride it. 3. Taxi stops – coming to a halt with lots of brake pressure on so the car rocks back on its suspen- sion as you stop. Horrible. 4. Fondling the gear lever – if you're not actually changing gear, your hand shouldn't be anywhere near the gear lever. Guys love this for reasons we'd best not explore. If you think you might need to quickly change gear to deal with an unexpected situation, you are wrong – firstly you should keep an eye out so that such situations don't happen, and if they do, you'll react with steering wheel and pedals, not gearshift. 5. Unnecessary stops – the mark of a driver who isn't observ- ing what's happening, and then you're just wasting fuel and brake pads. 6. Holding the steering wheel wrong – hold it at a quarter to three (not ten to two) so you have good control, and don't hook your hands inside the rim as you'll be injured in the event of an airbag going off. 7. Harsh driving when cold – rough, harsh driving is bad at any time, but especially so when the engine is cold and not well lubricated. 8. Following too close – not only can you then not react in time to problems, you also can't see problems developing. You don't get there any quicker, so settle down and back off. 9. Bad observation – being surprised by things when you could and should have seen and predicted them from a long way back. Sooner or later you'll have an accident. 10. Being distracted – not fo- cusing on the drive and these days that's usually mobile phone use. There's a reason it's an offense. And the worst sin of all? Not improving, and blaming others for everything. Every time you drive you will make mistakes, and you need to recognise them, identify the problem and improve. Even if it "wasn't your fault" – could you have done something to avoid the near miss? Good drivers ask themselves that question as they know there's no point having "I was right" on their tombstone. APPLE will include Do Not Dis- turb while driving functionality when it releases its iOS 11 update for iPhone and iPad. The update will be released in the coming weeks and includes a whole host of other features to make smart- phones seem smarter. But, far and away the most use- ful feature will be the Do Not Dis- turb while driving feature which when used should help to keep users more focused while driving. In the EU, safety bodies claim around one quarter of all road collisions are the result of drivers using a mobile phone behind the wheel. In a statement about iOS 11, Apple said "iOS 11 introduces a new way to help drivers stay more focused on the road with Do Not Disturb while driving. iPhone can detect when you may be driving and automatically silence notifica- tions to keep the screen dark. Users have the option of sending an auto reply to contacts listed in Favorites to let them know they are driving and cannot respond until they arrive at their destina- tion". Think you're a good driver? Think again. Apple iOS 11 to include 'Do Not Disturb while driving' feature Apple will roll out Do Not Disturb while driving functionality when it releases its iOS 11 mobile operating system for iPhone and iPad later this year