jmm@ecijmm.UUCP (05/13/89)
In article <579@censor.UUCP> jeff@censor.UUCP writes: > > In the middle of this "I'm ok, but there's real bozo's out there" >discussion I'd like to bring up the (possibly apochryphal) study that found: > > 80% of all drivers classify themselves as being "above average" > >... > > Just for the record I'm a below average driver, but I compensate >by driving defensively and carefully. (So I guess that makes me better than >most out there. :-) Certainly more objective... Would anyone care to comment on "What attributes make an above average driver?" I would start by saying that a slavish obedience of any and all traffic laws at all times is not a sufficient answer. There are definitely times where a good driver breaks a traffic law - for example, I often choose to NOT signal a turn when it is more likely to be misinterpreted then properly understood. (The above statement is absolutely not the same as any sort of claim that traffic laws should be regularily and studiously broken. Following traffic laws unless you have a good reason not to is a good start to driving well -- sort of like not using goto statements unless you know that this is one of the few exceptions is a good start towards programming well, but it is not the whole story.) I think that the most important attribute of a good driver is "road sense". This includes having a mental picture of all the cars in your vicinity, including their relative speed, acceleration and any actions suggesting possible sudden changes. (Vicinity is relative - it includes oncoming traffic for a long distance away.) This mental picture should be good enough that at all times you *KNOW* whether a lane change is safe, possible, dangerous, or certain to cause an accident and whether this status is about to change. (That does not mean that a lane change without looking should be done casually, just because it is known to be safe, but rather if an emergency occurs you shouldn't have to start worrying about whether there is a car in your blind spot - you should know.) This mental picture should include projections of what the current trends mean - what problems (e.g. congestion) are impending from the current actions, along with a consideration of how these problems relate to your own position. For example, when a car is catching up to you rapidly, you should almost always be able to arrange to pull over to let them be at the moment they catch up, yet not have to drastically slow down while they are passing you. This might mean speeding up before they catch you so that you will be at a clear spot, or alternately slowing down to let them pass you before you reach a congested spot. -- John Macdonald