Experience the colorful Guizhou

-The most gorgeous and simple natural beauty

5. Driving Chapter

Driving Chapter is considered by many people to be very It's boring and not fun; but to me, it is the most important chapter.

On the afternoon of September 25, 2021, the rare autumn tiger was raging, and the temperature was as high as 36 degrees. My car drove into the last high-speed service area on the return journey - the Daye service area, which is only 6.6 kilometers away from my home. Put the luggage neatly on the back seat of the suitcase, drink water and rest, and get home safely in the best condition.

I said to the co-pilot: Many self-driving travelers breathed a sigh of relief when they were about to get off the expressway and finally arrived home. Unexpectedly, when they were relaxed and entered the expressway toll station, their eyes were not listening due to fatigue, and they collided head-on. Going up to the stone pier caused great disaster.

I went on to say: Only when you step on the brake pedal, park the car in your own parking space and turn off the engine, will you be considered safe at home.

At 7:30 am on September 6, 2021, the self-driving tour of Guizhou started, and it will last for 20 days until arriving home smoothly on September 25.

This self-driving trip started from Huangshi City, Hubei Province, passed through southeastern Hubei, and traversed the entire Hunan Province from east to west. After passing through Tongren, Guizhou and entering the Fanjing Mountain Scenic Area, it detoured through most of Guizhou. , visit Hunan Fenghuang Ancient City on the way back, and return to Huangshi via Nan County, Hunan.

The whole journey was 3,775 kilometers, and the fuel was refueled 5 times, totaling 1,346 yuan. The car was charged for 60 yuan on the way, and the total cost of fuel and electricity for the whole journey was 1,406 yuan, or 0.37 yuan/km.

Arriving at the destination safely is my only criterion for driving. Based on this principle, I don’t rush on the road, let alone drive at night, and I don’t drive tiredly. I only take the path that I have control over.

Almost the entire journey is on a highway. China’s infrastructure maniac has extended the highway to the edges of various scenic spots in Guizhou Province, making it very convenient.

The national highways in Guizhou are now easy to travel. Most of them are paved roads. In many places, they are almost parallel to the expressways, but the time is about twice as long as the expressways.

Time is efficiency, which cannot be measured by money.

As a long-distance self-driving that connects the past and the future, I attach great importance to it. I would rather be cautious than indulgent. The control is remarkable, but there are also many problems that are still stubborn. I will pick up some places to remember. Record it, deepen your impression, and constantly improve yourself.

1. Highway

Good things:

~Always keep a distance from the car.

Remember the teacher’s words: the distance behind the car is the life-saving distance. I do this very well. No matter there are few cars or dense traffic, I always maintain a following distance corresponding to the speed. If a car cuts in, I will slow down and continue to maintain a corresponding distance from the car in front.

~Highly alert at entrances and exits

However, I am highly alert at the entrances and exits of highways and service areas. I stop the gas in advance and put my foot on the brake pedal to observe the passage. When there are many cars, Change lanes to the left lane ahead of time, away from the entrance and exit.

~Pay close attention to the intersections connecting high-speed hubs and slow down according to the signs.

But when approaching highway interchange hubs, entrances and exits, etc., I will slow down and turn off the audio, listen to the navigation announcement with my ears raised, and look at the signs ahead with my eyes wide open. The co-pilot will also be highly alert to remind me. There is no mistake in coming or going.

~Be careful not to be rear-ended

When driving at high speed, I will be as alert as a rabbit. I will evaluate at any time if there are cars threatening me in front of, behind, left and right of my car. I will scan them continuously. I check the left and right rearview mirrors and the inside rearview mirror at any time, and always put myself in a relatively safe parking space. Before slowing down, I will look at the inside rearview mirror and never let the car behind me rear-end.

~Headlight language of oversized cargo

During this high-speed trip, there were countless oversized cargoes, often passing one after another, one after another. I basically kept to the super large cargo front, communicated by light language, and turned on the left turn signal. I didn't care what others did, but I always persisted, and there was never any danger along the way. Based on my intuition, when some big truck was about to overtake the big truck, he must have seen my left turn signal and approached quickly, so he gave up on overtaking and let me overtake him first.

~Following is comfortable

Later on the return journey, I found that if I followed a car in front of me at a speed I recognized, and kept a long distance, it was really comfortable and a great relief. No tension, very relaxed.

~Turn on the lights and turn the mirrors when passing through tunnels

While driving in the Enshi Grand Canyon, the co-pilot counted 66 tunnels through which he passed. During this trip to Guizhou, we passed through countless tunnels, entering tunnels, exiting tunnels, exiting tunnels, and entering tunnels. We passed through groups of tunnels, long tunnels and short tunnels. The advantage is that it is basically adapted to the tunnel environment. Every time you pass through a tunnel, you must do two actions: turn on the low beam and open your sunglasses.

Guizhou Tunnel is the most beautiful. The lighting is relatively bright and the layout is beautiful. It is also a sight.

There may be more to list, so I won’t go into too much detail to avoid getting bored.

The bad aspects:

After driving down the Guizhou expressway, I can still recall some of my faults, and some of them were recorded on the phone by the co-pilot at the time. Write it down to warn yourself that you must change it.

~Irritability

There are many winding roads in the mountains of Guizhou, and the speed limit is 100 kilometers per hour, which is reasonable; in many sections of Hunan, the terrain is flat, the roads are straight, and the sun is shining, and the speed limit is 100 kilometers per hour. , will inevitably produce boredom, which is reflected in the control being controlled by emotions, involuntarily speeding up, and many times unknowingly reaching the speed of more than 140 per hour. More than 140 is not terrible, but the terrible thing is caused by irritability. You must restrain yourself and cannot exceed 120 kilometers.

~Not enough texture

I dislike the slowness of some cars in front, passing left and right. It seems to drive well, but in fact it is rough, not stable enough, and lacks driving texture. It is just right. You haven't reached the stage where "driving skills can be developed quickly and steadily". If you continue to accumulate and don't do anything beyond your control, you will succeed naturally.

~Didn’t see it

When I entered the toll station at the exit of Hongfeng Lake Expressway, a small yellow truck passed me diagonally on the left side of the road. It startled me. If I didn't slow down, I would have hit him. The first time you encounter this situation, your observation is not in place. In the future, you should turn your head and scan for the wrong path.

There should be many more, I really can’t remember them, so let’s let them go for now

2. National highways, provincial roads, county roads...etc.

I also walked some National roads, provincial roads, county roads, and rural roads are generally within the scope of driving skills. Although they are not smooth and smooth, they are still smooth. The distance and time required to travel on national highways, provincial roads, county roads and other roads are not long, but the risks are greater than those on highways.

Traveled through mountain roads in four places

①Zhenyuan Ancient Town

A hotel in the Ximen area of ??the ancient town has a high score and is quiet. It can also charge my car, but it requires Go around the city and enter the town from the west via Qinglong Bridge. I agreed immediately.

We walked all the way from Fanjing Mountain into the ancient town of Zhenyuan. As we walked, the road became narrower and narrower, turning into a two-way two-lane road. There were no cars in sight for a long way. I wondered if I was going the wrong way. Ask the co-pilot to use his mobile phone to navigate according to the location sent by the other party. That's right. Okay, let’s keep walking and it turns into a winding road. I went up and down and made many turns. When we met, the two sides made a tacit understanding of each other. I was highly alert but not nervous. I was in a state of excitement and was still within the control of my driving skills. I didn’t know where to start. How long does it take to reach the Qinglong Bridge at Ximen. My driving skills have improved, which is great when I think about it afterwards.

②Hongfeng Lake Bridge to Yachi River Bridge

When studying the map of Guizhou, there are 2 roads from Hongfeng Lake to Yachi River, and an ordinary road leads directly to it for no fee (about 50 kilometers) , a highway has to go around in a circle, which takes more than ten minutes. After careful consideration, we decided to take the ordinary road.

This ordinary highway should be a hybrid road that is a combination of provincial roads, county roads, township roads, village roads, etc. It’s good to enter the fashion. The more you walk, the more complicated the conditions become. The road is not paved. “It rains all night when the house leaks.” It started to rain while walking. The road is getting narrower and worse. There are also winding mountain roads. I am He is the kind of person who gets more excited the more complicated the road conditions are. He mobilizes all his nerves to enter a state of combat readiness, a level of alertness, overtaking, meeting, and yielding cars on narrow roads, and crossing puddles one after another.

Encountered a second danger on the way:

-Encountered a calf. When we were going uphill on a narrow bad road, a calf in front of us was walking very slowly on the right side of the road. I wanted to drive slowly to the left in front of the calf. Unexpectedly, the calf accelerated and moved forward. I braked and stopped 1 mile away from the calf. At about 10 feet, the calf walked across the road without any fright. He must have practiced it. I was shocked and took a breath. My judgment was wrong. I either stopped and waited for the calf to pass before walking;

-Get across the intersection. I walked for a long time, passing through sections of bad roads, and finally arrived at a Y-shaped intersection. At that time, the car behind me was still squeezing up from the left. Many cars were crowded at the intersection on the left, and the cars on the right were parked at the intersection waiting for the light. , the situation was very chaotic, I felt very unsafe, and the decision was made within a few seconds. I entered the intersection without hesitation, turned left and entered the right lane. In an instant, I was out of danger and suddenly safe. . The co-pilot said that he might have hit a red light; I said that I would accept it no matter what, even if it means deducting points and fines. No information received yet.

③ Yachi Heshan Road

When I came to see the bridge from Yachi Hexia Expressway, I took a section of Panshan County Road, an asphalt paved road with two lanes in both directions. The road is narrow but easy to walk. After many turns, I came across the scene of a collision between two cars that did not slow down when going around a corner. I increased my vigilance and slowed down the car, and drove around one turn after another, safely and flawlessly.

④Aizhai Internet celebrity Panshan Road

It is an asphalt paved road. The whole journey does not feel big and there is nothing to write about.

3. Specific problems

①On the morning of September 15, on the two-way two-lane road to Xingyi City, the electric car and tricycle in front of me were traveling at a very slow speed. After following for a while, I felt a little impatient. I got impatient and accelerated to take the road to overtake, but there was already a car approaching in front of me on the opposite road. It’s better to be patient and keep talking for a while.

②On the morning of September 23, when I was leaving the ancient city of Fenghuang, I turned left from the branch road onto the main road and robbed someone else, causing the car on the main road to brake and slow down. Really need to change.

There should be some more, but I couldn’t record them.

4. Vehicle situation

I picked up the car on June 9, 2021, a plug-in hybrid vehicle Song plusdmi. This trip to Guizhou carried us safely and smoothly, without any glitches.

- The seats are comfortable

The vehicle ride design is scientific, the leg rests and lumbar support are just right, and they fit tightly. I have a lumbar disc herniation, so I prepared a belt support before traveling. But I didn’t take it with me once along the way. After 20 days of driving, the co-pilot and I didn’t feel any discomfort in our neck, shoulders, or waist.

-Plenty of power

Powered by electric power, the power is equivalent to the high-power 2.0T version. The power response is quick, smooth and powerful when climbing hills, speeding up, and speeding up again on high speeds.

- Convenient charging

There are 10 accommodation sites in Guizhou. Except for Qianhu Miao Village, Fenghuang Ancient City, and Shiqian Town, cars cannot park in the hotel and cannot be charged, and the other 7 All accommodation hotels provide air-conditioned sockets for smooth charging. Four hotels in Guizhou provide charging for free, and three hotels in Hunan charge based on electricity.

When it failed to charge, I took two methods. One was to start the engine on the spot and use oil to charge it to 50% of the power. The other was to force the battery to be maintained. When going on the highway, the engine was powered by the recoil charger and The engine is charged and the battery capacity is recharged to 42%. Both methods can solve the power demand.

All Chinese food on the highway is cooked using electric discharge from outside the car. 220-volt electric discharge is very convenient and consumes little electricity.

Disadvantages of the vehicle:

-The trunk is a bit small;

-The rear window glass is small and is a concealed glass, which affects the rearview mirror Observation;

During the 20-day self-driving trip in Guizhou, we made some breakthroughs. In addition to tasting local delicacies, we basically cooked all three meals by ourselves; but we have not tried sleeping in the car yet. Maybe one day we will be brave enough to do so. Give it a try and you may get used to it.