I drive a lot. I drive on highways, side streets, on tracks, off-road, even through obstacle courses. Sure, it's the nature of my job, but I also love to do it. Even if I wasn't being paid for it, I think I'd try and find a way to spend as much time behind the wheel as I could. Because I'm on the road so much, I see a great deal of other drivers on the road around me. I've learned to assess certain situations and anticipate sketchy moves and keep myself out of trouble. I'm confident in my abilities and my manoeuvres on the road.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of most people.
This is a topic I've visited (ranted about?) many a time. And while some might think I'm going on about being aggressive on the road, trust me, I'm not. Confidence behind the wheel could mean the difference between a safe ride home and an accident; it's as simple as that.
Just on my ride to work this morning I saw 4 near-accidents thanks to hesitant, unsure drivers. It wasn't that any of said drivers were in the wrong, just that their unsure moves caused some seriously sketchy situations on the road.
When you take a scared driver and plop them in the middle of a pack of confident drivers; that's a recipe for pure disaster. It might be beneficial here to state that an overconfident, cocky driver is just as dangerous. It's a fine line, and one that should be toed carefully. Keep yourself on the confident side, away from all the cocky and you'll be good.
Unsure drivers hesitate with lane changes (start to drift, panic, slam on brakes, drift back, panic again); unsure drivers brake constantly; unsure drivers often don't check their mirrors out of sheer confusion/fear; unsure drivers make themselves worse drivers than they really are.
Some might argue that the cocky, overconfident drivers on the road bully them into being unsure and unsafe. I'd say that's a bunch of bull. Think of the road like you would a high school cafeteria. If you wanted to stay off the radar, you didn't cower in a corner attracting attention, you were confident and sure of yourself. Those were the kids who strolled through the corridors unknown to most, and unscathed by bullies and/or daily beatings. It was the unsure kids who were the brunt of all the jokes and all the problems.
So, how do we solve the hesitant, unsure driver problems on the road? Well, that's a tricky one. Honking and trying to coax unsure drivers into the right moves often scares them even more. Suggesting further testing is just insulting, but I think I have a solution: spend more time behind the wheel.
The more you drive, the better you get at it (or so the theory would go). Perhaps better isn't the right word; more like the more you drive the easier it is to do, like any task would be when repeated constantly.
And if you want a momentary boost of confidence behind the wheel, I want you to think about the most successful thing you've ever done in your life and how you felt at that moment. Translate that feeling to your driving abilities at that moment. Then, check your mirrors and your blind spots, and make your move with confidence.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of most people.
This is a topic I've visited (ranted about?) many a time. And while some might think I'm going on about being aggressive on the road, trust me, I'm not. Confidence behind the wheel could mean the difference between a safe ride home and an accident; it's as simple as that.
Just on my ride to work this morning I saw 4 near-accidents thanks to hesitant, unsure drivers. It wasn't that any of said drivers were in the wrong, just that their unsure moves caused some seriously sketchy situations on the road.
When you take a scared driver and plop them in the middle of a pack of confident drivers; that's a recipe for pure disaster. It might be beneficial here to state that an overconfident, cocky driver is just as dangerous. It's a fine line, and one that should be toed carefully. Keep yourself on the confident side, away from all the cocky and you'll be good.
Unsure drivers hesitate with lane changes (start to drift, panic, slam on brakes, drift back, panic again); unsure drivers brake constantly; unsure drivers often don't check their mirrors out of sheer confusion/fear; unsure drivers make themselves worse drivers than they really are.
Some might argue that the cocky, overconfident drivers on the road bully them into being unsure and unsafe. I'd say that's a bunch of bull. Think of the road like you would a high school cafeteria. If you wanted to stay off the radar, you didn't cower in a corner attracting attention, you were confident and sure of yourself. Those were the kids who strolled through the corridors unknown to most, and unscathed by bullies and/or daily beatings. It was the unsure kids who were the brunt of all the jokes and all the problems.
So, how do we solve the hesitant, unsure driver problems on the road? Well, that's a tricky one. Honking and trying to coax unsure drivers into the right moves often scares them even more. Suggesting further testing is just insulting, but I think I have a solution: spend more time behind the wheel.
The more you drive, the better you get at it (or so the theory would go). Perhaps better isn't the right word; more like the more you drive the easier it is to do, like any task would be when repeated constantly.
And if you want a momentary boost of confidence behind the wheel, I want you to think about the most successful thing you've ever done in your life and how you felt at that moment. Translate that feeling to your driving abilities at that moment. Then, check your mirrors and your blind spots, and make your move with confidence.