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 travel time is plenty to keep from running into objects in our path. However, this natural tendency is insufficient for reliable driving decisions and collision avoidance.

I almost always check the price of gasoline when I pull onto the highway headed for work each day. An increase in the numbers usually brings a groan and starts me thinking about how to use less. The way I drive my little truck can have a significant influence on how much fuel it uses.

For British Columbians, fall has definitely arrived! We're back to rain, ice, snow and low visibility. This month's tip is a repeat from last year, Driving Smart in Bad Weather, which gives important pointers on how you can handle all these weather changes.

Twenty years of traffic policing has left me wondering if today is the day that another driver will involve me in a crash. I seem to be asking myself this more and more often as I observe the behaviour of other drivers around me. Driving is probably the largest risk that I take in my life right now.

Mirror, signal, shoulder check, change is the chant that we all know to follow for a successful lane change. We also use our rearview 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?

How long has it been since you read the manual that new drivers study to prepare for their first driver's license? Why bother you say? You've been driving for years and know it all. I wish I could say that!