Vision narrowing under "spirited" driving, Normal or not? Options

[Tom Perso]

Hey Guys,

I am a pretty inexperienced auto-x/track driver. In my life, I've done a total of 2 auto-x events and done some ride-arounds at the track.

I don't normally drive "spirited" on the street, but I've found a nice backroads on my way home from work. Quite a few twisties, fall colors on the trees, and sunlight peeking thru. It's quite a relaxing time after a hard day of work.

I'm pretty comfortable with the curves, and most of them are fairly open so I can see around the curve.

So, with that, I've put the BMW 325IS thru it's paces today. (The 914 is on jackstands, sans engine).

So, I've noticed that when I'm really winding the car out and hanging near the limits, my vision narrows - much like that in a "fight or flight" situation. I noticed this when I was at my auto-x's which was very disconcerning when you're trying to look ahead for the next turn, keep an eye on the gauges, and have a general "feel" of where you are on the course, when you have tunnel vision.

Is this a normal occurance, or is this just me and my inexperience? Anything that I can do?

I would assume that having a more open field of view while hanging it out thru a corner would be most benificial - especially in a track situation. Watching the line you're on, checking the car in front of you, and the ones in front of them.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Tom

[lapuwali]

A technique to help, which can be practiced all the time, is to try to look at the rearview mirror w/o moving your eyes. "See" the whole picture. In many cars, you can see both the center and left side mirror in one "view". You can do this during the morning commute, and you can do it at speed (well slower than your max).

Another thing to watch for when learning how to up your speed is "Look where you want to go". This sounds almost trite, but it's astonishing how many people, when they get into trouble, end up staring at exactly what they end up hitting. If you can force yourself to NOT look at the edge of the road when you're in a bit too hot, and instead look up the road where you want to go, you will often get yourself out of trouble. Avoiding target fixation is a key element to not regularly crashing.

Finally, when you look up the road, pay attention not to where you ARE (because you're there, so you can't do anything about it), but instead at where you'll be in a few 10ths, which you CAN still control. If you can combine the "wide view" with "look where you want to go", you'll usually end up actually looking about 0.5 to 2 seconds up the road, depending on how much you can see, and how fast you're going at that moment.

Devote a little bit of your brain to always checking to see if you're all tensed up (and relax), and whether you're looking at some point 0.1sec in front of the hood, or 1-2 seconds up the road. This will eventually become automatic.