Distracted Driving has been getting a lot of attention lately.  Even Oprah is getting in on the act.  This is a good thing but most of the attention appears directed towards eliminating, reducing, punishing or at least educating Distracted Drivers.  For those of us who already get it, a more important focus might be on how we can defend ourselves from said drivers.

Distracted Drivers are after all, Road Hazards in the first degree.  They are the direct opposite of Driverthink Drivers who consistently focus on their driving.  Distracted Drivers focus on – anything but!

In an effort to defend against these threats, Driverthink has taken to breaking the Distracted Driver into three basic categories.  They are the Unwillingly Distracted, the Unknowingly Distracted and the Blatantly Distracted drivers.

Unwillingly distracted?  Of course!  How many times have we ourselves been suddenly distracted from our driving by events out of our control?  This driver knows she’s driving though, and will usually recover from the distraction quickly. 

The Unknowingly Distracted driver is a different animal.  These drivers don’t take their driving very seriously.  They haven’t learned yet that engaging in an activity which can kill you, generally requires more than casual attention.  They don’t understand what a Road Hazard is and probably won’t recognize one until it becomes an emergency.  You don’t want to be that “emergency”. 

A second Unknowingly Distracted driver has been mesmerized, perhaps by miles of uneventful driving.  He’s drifted into never-never land but will most likely recover quickly when he realizes it – or when events dictate.

The Blatantly Distracted driver is the one that really insults us but at least they can be easily identified.  Their distracting endeavors are much more important to them than their safety or the safety of others and they really don’t care who knows it.  Often, they’re oblivious to anyone or anything around them.  Perhaps the distraction makes them feel more important.  They’ll be less important though, when they’re dead! 

So how do we best defend ourselves from Distracted Drivers?

 
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Situational awareness is always a critical factor when driving but we usually tend to focus only on the vehicles around us.  How is the car behaving?  True, a distracted driver may very well exhibit erratic vehicle behavior but not always.  To defend against the distracted driver we have to elevate our situational awareness.  We have to get a little more personal. 

We need to peek thru their windows and get to know the people in those buggies. It’s not guns that kill – it’s people that kill.  It’s not cars that kill – it’s drivers that kill!  Don’t focus on the car.  Focus on the driver.

So who’s driving?  How’s she acting?  Does he fit one of our “bad driver” profiles?  What is he doing?  Who’s in the car with her?  How are the passengers behaving?  Does the driver at least look focused?

Needless to say, if we’re waiting at a green light for the driver in front of us to lift their eyes off of their lap, we can probably suggest that they’re texting.  Gotta’ treat them as if they’re blowing a 2.5 on the breathalyzer and keep distance at all cost! 

A cell phone glued to the ear?  Maybe it’s a hazard, maybe not.  It’s not politically correct but one could suggest there’s not much difference between a cell conversation and a conversation with a passenger — and you really don’t need two hands to safely operate a modern vehicle (although they should be quickly at the ready).  More importantly, what is the conversation about?  If it’s a calm relaxed conversation that’s not distracting the driver, cool.  If the driver is yelling and screaming with hands flying all over the place, duck for cover.  An intense business conversation requiring too much attention?  Also a danger. 

While we’re getting “up close and personal” with our fellow travelers, who else is in the car?  Are there kids in the car?  Pets?  Both have been known to unwillingly distract the best of drivers.  Even if the car is behaving well and the driver appears in control, it might be prudent to offer a tad more space.

What kind of conversation is the driver having with passengers?  Relaxed?  Animated?  Having a fight?  Clowning around?  Is the driver involved or is she ignoring the distractions and maintaining focus?  React accordingly.

Time for a quick thought.  We never want to judge others by our own limitations.  We’re all different people with different abilities.  Not every driver that we see chatting on the phone will be distracted.  I think of a trained pursuit driver who can engage in a 150 MPH chase while transmitting by radio or communicating with HQ via cell phone.  She’s skilled, not distracted.  She’s trained and capable of doing both.

The difference between multi-tasking drivers who become distracted and those who don’t is, “uhmm” – whether they’re distracted or not!  Some drivers can safely pull off multiple tasks while maintaining driver focus.  The distracted driver only “thinks” she can – but her concentration easily drifts from the road without her even realizing it.

How can you tell the difference?  The capable drivers are maintaining total road focus, regardless of what else they are doing.  They are ready to instantly drop any other activity and immediately zero in on a road problem if necessary.  It shows. 

The distracted driver doesn’t even know there’s a problem.  His focus has totally drifted from driving and he won’t even realize it until its too late.  If you’re eyeballing him, you’ll realize it!

So what’s the best way to defend against Distracted Drivers?  Elevate your Situational Awareness.  Look past the sheet metal and into the car. Make it personal.  Recognizing the Distracted Driver before he becomes a Road Emergency, may very well save your life!

One might think this a silly question but, of all the Road Hazards we will inevitably encounter, many will turn out to be another driver we’re bopping along with.  One of the best ways to gain an edge as to which of those drivers might be a serious Road Hazard is to profile the type of vehicle they’re likely to be driving in. 

Profiling has helped keep this driver out of harm’s way – far more than once!

Before going any further we should revisit the definition of a Road Hazard.  A Road Hazard is not yet an emergency requiring immediate evasive action.  Rather, it is something that could quickly become such an emergency.  The obvious reason to identify Road Hazards is simple.  It’s much easier to avoid them while they’re still Road Hazards, than it is to avoid them when they become urgent Road Emergencies.  The objective of profiling, then, is to identify them before they even become obvious Road Hazards.  Hmm!  Who wouldn’t want that kind of edge!

It often seems that drivers with certain skill levels or lack of same, are often drawn to certain types of cars.  While a majority of vehicles will attract drivers within a whole range of driving skills, certain makes or models seem to attract drivers with similar driving traits and some of those driving traits may be loosely defined as “Road Hazard at any speed”.  These are the puppies we want to profile.  What are the cars these drivers tend to choose?

We’re not going to name any specific vehicles here for a number of reasons, (Do I drive one?) but profiling these puppies really gets pretty basic.  The next time you see a vehicle demonstrating a specific trait that could be hazardous, make a mental note of the make, brand or type of the vehicle.  If, over time you continue to see the same vehicle exhibiting the same traits, you’ll soon have your own really neat and personal profiles – of cars to be aware of.  You may soon find that your newly minted profiles break down in to three basic categories.

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The first is the erratic driver, or more specifically, the car he will be driving in.  This driver may drive slow or be moving right along in traffic but his common trait seems to be that he can make sudden, unanticipated movements when least expected.  It may be a lane invasion.  Perhaps a sudden stop.  Perhaps he suddenly slows down for no reason, leaving you inches from his rear bumper when you thought you had twenty car lengths of space between you.  Whatever he does, it’s unexpected.  He’s a Road Hazard when you see him.  When he makes his unexpected move, he can quickly develop into a Road Emergency.

Your next profile could be the fast and aggressive, but actually quite skilled driver – and she’s not always bopping along in a Corvette or Mustang.  This driver will buzz right on by you, but she’ll probably do it in such a way that you couldn’t hit her if you tried.  The distinguishing feature of these drivers is that they are skilled and generally safe drivers.  They may be fast – but they’re “smooth fast”.

 If you should see one of these bad girls coming, it would be prudent to kinda’ stay put where you are.  If you should suddenly make an unexpected move while she’s zinging up behind you, zipping quickly past you, or zapping back into your lane as she passes, it’s not going to be pretty.  (Zinging, zipping, zapping – I like that!)  Anyhow, profiles 1 and 2 very definitely do not mix!  What brand of car does Profile 2 drive?  I’ve got my list.  Let’s see what you come up with!

Finally, there’s the third Profile.  This puppy doesn’t mix with anybody.  He’s fast and aggressive with driving skills that shouldn’t be allowed outside of the driveway.  This guy thinks he’s a great driver but his driving skills make you wonder how he’s even keeping it on the road.    You also wonder how this guy could even still be alive.  In fact, many of these Profiles are quite simply not alive any longer! 

Yours is still breathing though and it’s only because he relies completely on the skill of other drivers to get out of his way and avoid impact.  Now you’ve been elected as one of those lucky “other drivers”.  You want to get as far out of his way as possible and be ready to dodge him  if he comes at you.  Let him kill a tree or hopefully something else that doesn't breath.  Do these threats drive certain types of cars?  Hmmm!

Inherent in all this “profiling of cars as Road Hazards” stuff, is judicious use of your rear view mirrors. Too often, when we search for Road Hazards, we tend to focus on what’s out there in front of us.  “What are we going to hit?”  When watching for rolling Road Hazards it’s just as likely they’ll first loom large in those shiny little mirror things that we use to shave – or hopefully also to see what’s behind us.  What's going to hit us?

Once you’ve developed your own vehicle profiles, it is important to remember that not all drivers of those vehicles will fit your profile traits.  Drivers in other vehicles may very well still be unidentified hazards with the above noted traits.  You may want to watch your targeted profile for awhile though, and consider it “instant Road Hazard until proven otherwise”! 

Profiling the other cars on the road with you and the way they behave is an “odds” game.  It gives you a “heads up”.  It puts the odds in your favor.  And who wouldn’t like better odds when driving!

Ever been cruising along in the left lane of a three lane highway?  You decide to swing back over into the center lane since you’re no longer passing anyone.  You check your rear views and the center lane you want to be in is clean and green.  You make your lane change, and suddenly – there’s another vehicle filling up your rearview mirror about 3 inches off of your back bumper.

“Where the heck did he come from!”   You brace for impact.

I just finished reading Change Your Brain Change your Life, by Daniel G. Amen, M.D. Three Rivers Press, New York.  It rapidly became one of the most important books I’ve ever read.  It’s a very positive book but it’s also very scary, particularly from a Safe Driving point of view.

The crux of Dr. Amen’s book is that a lot of us are struggling with deficiencies that are caused by the physiology of our brains, either defects caused by inheritance, or perhaps as often, by a long forgotten brain injury.  We can see ourselves and almost anyone we ever knew ...<< MORE >>

One of the most important things we can do to avoid mishaps on the road is to identify Road Hazards.  One of the tools in our arsenal that helps us do this, is Profiling drivers and the different types of vehicles that they’re driving in.

Over the years I have read countless articles, tips and suggestions about what to do when you’re driving and you start to feel drowsy.  Most of them are the typical excellent ideas.  For myself, however, since way back when the ink was still dripping off of my brand new driver’s license, I’ve followed a simple, basic rule.  It has always kept me alert and very much alive.  I drive the car!