Ford PH holds Driving Skills for Life – A needed refresher course on driving

Ford Philippines held its Ford Driving Skills for Life seminar last August 24, 2019, It featured a practical driving course in which participants could apply what they learned during the seminar.

The seminar gave the participants to review and understand what one should do before they set off in their vehicle. A couple of tips were given out, like when one should check their fluids and their tire pressures. According to Ford, this should be done whenever one goes to the gas station to refuel as it is a free service. The seminar was headed by J.P. Tuason of Tuason Racing School

A key statement to focus on from the seminar was from Tuason about when you should check your oil level as well as your tire pressure. He stated that you should have your oil and tire pressures checked when you gas up. It also came with a warning. While checking your oil is a free service at gas stations, customers should note that gas stations want to sell you oil. He also mentioned that as the engine runs the measurement on the dipstick will always lose a certain amount of oil. The missing oil is still in the engine but being circulated and will not register on the dipstick until the engine cools down. He further emphasized that while engine oil can be measured while the engine is hot, to get the most accurate reading, engine oil should always be measured when the engine is cold. This allows time for the oil to settle back down to the bottom of the engine.

The seminar also focused on how to check for leaks from a vehicle. It emphasized that before setting off the owner should look under the car. A car will spend at least eight hours or more in parking and during that time what will leak would have already leaked onto the floor. In this manner, the vehicle owner will be able to see which fluid is leaking. The fluids can range from engine oil, gear oil, automatic transmission fluid, and brake fluid. All these fluids have different kinds of colors and viscosities which will help the owner identify what fluid is leaking. Knowing what these fluids look like can help the vehicle owner understand what part of the car needs to be repaired or replaced.

After the seminar, the participants were grouped into four. Each group had an assigned exercise to accomplish and to try out. Each of the courses all had the same vehicle, which was the Ecosport titanium the main vehicle highlight of the event.

First on the list of exercises was the braking course. Here participants had to accelerate the Ecosport up to 50 km/h and brake hard at the first cone inside a designated braking zone. This course was meant to show off and give the participant the feel of how and when the Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) of the Ecosport kicks in. Every car had a marshal in it, to help guide the participants on when to brake and the purpose of the exercise.

Next was the handling course where participants got to experience first hand how the Ecosport handled on a small course. There was also the added challenge of doing the same course but while using a cellphone. This was done in order to show the participants that distracted driving can be a dangerous thing and as the driver, one should focus on the road and not on their phones. It was also emphasized that two hands should be kept on the wheel specifically at the nine and three positions. This because of the airbag system which is standard in all vehicles. Having your hands at ten and two may result in you punching yourself when the airbag deploys

Another exercise was parking. Here participants had to park in a relatively tight parallel space and in a normal vertical parking space in reverse. This tested the knowledge of the participants on how they would park a car. This also tested the participants' spatial awareness as it is key when parking a vehicle, to know where the vehicle is in relation to the parking space. 

Ford PH says that the series of Driving Skills for Life seminars are its way of giving back to the public. These seminars are free to join and serve as a refresher course for those who might have forgotten certain driving skills. This is also the Blue Oval's way of promoting safer driving in the Philippines