Skills

I've been reading Moving to Vision Zero: Road Safety Strategy Update and Showcase of Innovation in British Columbia and was struck by these words: "The Safe System Approach enables more ambitious progress by treating the road system as a product of numerous components." One of these components includes driving skills.

Evolution has shaped us to process visual information perceived at a walking speed of 5 or 6 km/h. This means that looking ahead for 3 to 6 seconds of eye lead time is plenty to keep from running into objects in our path. This natural tendency is not enough for reliable driving decisions and collision avoidance.

Roundabouts and traffic circles are not new to British Columbia, but if the complaints in my inbox are any indication, they are still totally mystifying to some drivers. Common issues include bulldozing into the circle without yielding, signalling when there is no need, not signalling when there is a need, and yes, going around them in the wrong direction.

Mirror, signal, shoulder check, change is the chant that we all know to follow for a successful lane change. We also use our rear view mirrors to give us a better view than our eyes alone when we are backing up. Is this all that mirrors are used for and are these the only times that we use them?

Is it really necessary to make shoulder checks while driving? If you expect to pass a driving exam in British Columbia the answer is a definite yes. However, some driving schools are teaching mirror adjustment techniques to replace shoulder checks.

This video from Young Drivers of Canada shows the safest following distance on the road and how to adjust this distance depending on the road conditions. Maintaining a safe following distance does not appear to be a skill that is practised by a majority of drivers today and the video is a good refresher on a skill that you should be practising without fail whenever you drive.

I watched the driver on either side of me this morning on my way to work. We were stopped waiting for a red light to turn green and I could see that both of them were totally focused on the that light. Neither one of them moved their heads and immediately started off when the light turned green. What a wonderful example of blind faith!

There were some students in my Elder College class last week that were surprised to learn that it was no longer generally acceptable to hold the steering wheel with your hands in the 10 and 2 position. Who would have thought that how to hold your vehicle's steering wheel would change, or that it even mattered?

Do you plan to avoid trouble when you are driving? A defensive driver always tries to maintain a space cushion around all four sides of their vehicle. The habit gives them both time to decide and a place to go if a problem occurs.