Driving.

[sobrique]

I think I'm going to stop discussing driving technique.
There's reasons.
Oh there's reasons.

95% of drivers believe they are above average.

Lots of people drive.

Some of the people I speak to have a desire to gain superiority points.

Opinion of 'safe' vs 'unsafe' are very subjective. There's common ground at either end, but things like lane discipline, space needed for a maneuver, and appropriate speed are all subjective, based around perceptions, awareness of other vehicles, conditions and 'car knowledge'.

The ratio of 'bad' to 'good' is vastly unbalanced, because the bad is remembered, but the good is not.

And the real sin of driving, that of obliviousness, is something one is unaware of until it becomes extreme. Everyone has a basic level of alertness, but it's vastly skewed by mental states, whether one is tired, stressed, enthusiastic or just showing off.

Comments

[karen2205]

If you're this into driving technique and stuff, why not take an advanced driving course - see http://www.roada.org.uk/?

[lisekit.livejournal.com]

I have a pet theory that ability to dive goes in the same basket with ability to rule - if you believe you have it, you're probably not fit to do so. I'm just thinking of all the people I know who, loudly and publically, consider themselves "good drivers". Needless to say, they're shit. Inconsiderate road users who believe their responses are superhuman (and of couse, better than those of the machine that's ultimately going to interpret their responses into, like, stopping....) and that speed limits are unnecessary. They'll honestly have quite long debates about why limits don't apply to them.
Me, I don't consider myself a "good driver" or any kind of driver, much. It's just a functional thing - I get in the car, I drive. I Mirror, Signal, Maneouvre, I try to stay within the speed limit, and I look where I'm going. This usually brings me to my destination without killing somebody else.

I did hear a nicer theory about driving which was that everybody ought to have experience of being each kind of road user; so you find out how difficult it is to stop a lorry; how difficult it is to see unlit bicycles; how sensory depration affects motorcyclists. Pedestrians should learn how vehicles stop (or don't) in an emergency. Cyclists should learn not to pull out into traffic without ensuring they can be seen. And so on. But I don't think anybody has this unique range of experience.
I do personally think that pedestrians who have never driven cause a lot of problems (that's right Missus, step out into the road without looking, 'cos I can teleport around you...oh, why don't you go ahead and thrust your baby in a pram out into the road before you, so it can get killed too?)

[gingerboy.livejournal.com]

I do like that idea that everyone should learn what it is like on the road from everyone else's point of view. Unfortunatly I'm sure there'd be plenty of people still doing very silly manouvers because they believe they're invincible.

I do try and drive using some of the defensive driving ideas the Institute of Advanced Motorists / Police Roadcraft manual (must look out my copy of that, think it's still at my parents...) - things like identify potential hazards, being aware of other drivers so you can guess who's going to try and do what stupid manouver etc.