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So you THINK you're a defensive driver, huh?May 04 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Everybody knows the basic rules of defensive driving. But here are a few ideas that even some courses don't mention. Check them out, and take care! MIRRORS 1) Your mirrors are NOT adjusted correctly. If you cannot see 360 degrees around your car WITHOUT moving your head, your mirrors are all wrong. NO blindspots! You should be able to make a split-second decision on a lane change if necessary, at the flick of an eye, without turning your head. How? Your rear-view mirror should be horizontal, not slanted. Your side-view mirrors should be angled WAY out so you are actually looking to the *side* of the car, not skimming your rear render! That would be redundant with your rear-view mirror. Sideview= for the side view; Rear-view= for the rear view, get it? (Man why don't they teach this?) Now test it. Park your car at the side of the road and watch cars pass you by. First, they should appear in the rear-view mirror, then OVERLAP to the side-view mirror, then overlap to the left window, then to the windshield--all without moving your head. 2) Know that other people's mirros are not adjusted correctly. While you're on the road, pick a car and look at the driver. If at any point, you cannot see his eyes either through a window or a mirror, you are in his blindspot. MOVE!! FORGET DEFENSIVE DRIVING RULES 3) Forget all the rules about defensive driving. We're not like some computer program where you can address all the possible circumstances and how to avoid them. Instead, the next time you're behind the wheel, take a deep breath and just let it all in. Become one with the road you're driving on. I'm telling you, it works. Your peripheral vision will work in concert with your direct vision. You'll automatically start peering into parked cars on the side streets to see if a driver might suddenly pull out, or if a kid might run out from between them. Nothing will be a suprise anymore. By the time someone even thinks of cutting you off on the highway, you'll already have signaled for 3 seconds and moved to the adjacent lane. It's almost psychic. Sitting at a red light, your eyes will always be watching through 2 or 3 windshields behind you, watching for somebody to be rear-ended so you can move out of the way of the chain reaction in time. (Of course, you'll already have left yourself ample room behind the car in front of you so you can move.) You'll always have 2 escape routes in mind in case the car in the next lane has a tire blowout and veers your way. Just take it all in. You'll start to look both ways each and EVERY time you go through a green light. You will start watching ALL your mirrors 100% of the time through your peripheral vision, and always know what's going on 360 degrees around your car. You'll learn the driving habits of every driver around you within 5 seconds of seeing them, and predict their evey move with very good accuracy. THIS is defensive driving. Forget that you are driving the car. You ARE the car. If you are standing on the sidewalk, and somebody comes running your way, don't you move out of the way? Sure, you do, and you don't have to learn to avoid that kind of accident. Do the same with your car. Drive like you're, well, not driving. Derek p.s. this article goes quite nicely with my other article, "Why speeding is GREAT" (or something like that)  |
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