A number of years ago Defensive Driving was all the rage. It was cool. It was hip. It separated the really good drivers from the, well lets just say less proficient ones. Defensive Driving? Gee – what a concept!

In recent years this concept of Defensive Driving seems to have been shuffled off to the "back seat".  Defensive Driving is often now viewed as  wimpy, reserved only for those who drive slowly and perhaps don’t have the requisite skills or desire to challenge every driver they meet on the road with risky acts of daring do!

Pushing the limits of risk now seems for some, the preferred manner in which to prove ones driving prowess.  The tragic fact is that constantly pushing the limit quickly reflects the drivers complete lack of driving expertise – not to mention a total disregard for life – be it his, his passengers or the lives of others on the road.  The strange part of this is that these drivers feature themselves as absolutely the best drivers on the road!  Yup!  They may be skilled, but they're anything but - safe!

We would ask them to rethink their approach. 

Defensive Driving is not wimpy.  It is not just for the slow and unsure.  Defensive driving is still cool.  Defensive Driving can keep you alive. You can still practice Defensive Driving even if your driving style trends towards the “Get there quickly” persuasion.  You can drive quickly – but you can do it defensively!

So what exactly is the Driverthink take on Defensive Driving?  It’s pretty basic really.  You always want to be asking yourself one brutally simple question.
 

“What can that other driver suddenly do to kill me, and what can I do to keep him or her from doing it?” 

Is defending yourself wimpy?  Many take self defense courses to learn to defend themselves.  Ask any Black Belt if he or she thinks they’re wimpy.  In combat, self defense is just slightly mandatory.  Ask a combat veteran if he thinks he’s wimpy because he/she knows how to practice self defense.  Self defense is tough.  It’s macho.  The ability to defend yourself can define you – and not in a particularly wimpy way!  Being able to defend yourself is cool.  Defensive Driving is also cool.

So why is it that this cool concept of self defense seems to fly right out the window when so many drivers plop themselves into the cockpit of their favorite bop along buggy?
 

Maybe it’s because that cocoon offers them a false sense of security.  “My car will protect me – I don’t have to defend myself when I’m in it.”  Perhaps it’s because the velocity vehicle is their only chance to exercise power.  “I got this motor now.  Let’s see what it can do!”  Maybe it’s because they simply never stop to think that, even behind the wheel, self defense is still cool!  Maybe they haven’t yet grasped the concept that they can actually drive quickly and defensively at – wow!  The same time!

Defensive Driving brings into play all of the Driverthink concepts.  It is the sum total of Driverthink.  Watching for Road Hazards.  Knowing what they are.  Situational awareness.  Driving smoothly.  Anticipating what can (and often will) happen on the road while you can still make a smooth defensive maneuver to avoid it, one that your passengers won’t even know happened.

When you’re tailgating you may very well have the reaction time to jam on your brakes if the driver in front of you does something unexpected, then mash the gas to cut off another driver to get around victim number one.  But it’s not very smooth, it’s not very cool and it certainly suggests that you haven’t mastered the concept of self defense driving.  When you have to depend on other drivers not suddenly doing something silly to keep you from ending up in itsy bitsy pieces in a ditch on the side of the road , or when your passengers are busy quietly soiling your nice clean upholstery, you’re practicing anything but – self defense.

Sudden, quick maneuvers are the epitome of non-defensive driving.  If you make a sudden, unexpected move you can’t assume that other driver will be expecting it – so you’d better make sure there’s nothing she can do to interrupt your joyride.  The operative word here is “Pause”!  You don’t have to pause the car – you have to pause your brain.  “Before I do this, what can that other driver do to kill me – and how can I smoothly avoid him if he tries?”

“Is that driver in the slow lane suddenly going to swing out in front of me while I’m mashing the gas?” You can almost count on it! “Is that Nose Out on the side road or coming out of the parking lot, suddenly going to jump out in front of me while my right foot is anchored to the floor?”

A sudden illegal move magnifies the problem.  They really won’t be expecting you!

There may be times when, for whatever reasons you’ll choose to cross a double line or slip a Stop Sign or mash it through an Orange Light which turns Red by the time you get to it (hopefully only in extreme emergency).  But when you do, pause the Grey matter.  Make sure there’s not an unsuspecting driver there to interrupt your suddenly plotted Infraction.  If you don’t, the Infraction can quickly turn into a Felony - or a hospital stay.

The difference between driving defensively fast and simply driving fast is this.  At the end of the ride, your passengers will be saying, “Wow, we’re there already?” instead of “Thank God – we finally made it - alive!  Time for a dozen Martinis.”  And they won't be looking at you cross-eyed when you reiterate what a great driver you are.  They'll be telling you how good you are.

Yup.  Defensive Driving is cool.  It’s no different than learning Karate, Kickboxing or how to shoot straight.  The only thing is, you’ll probably get much more opportunity to practice your Defensive Driving skills.

Driving around Blind Curves can get really interesting.  A Blind Curve can instantly turn a pleasurable drive into a moment of sheer terror!

The first thing we must do when entering a Blind Curve is to recognize it!  If you’re on a major highway, it’s easy to get mesmerized and forget that you have to even worry about it.  “Traffic is humming along.  I’ll just continue pumping around that curve.  Traffic will still be moving and everything will be just hunky dory.  Oops!  Where’d that Bull Moose come from?  What the Hey!  That car is dead stopped – in my lane!”

Always be alert and recognize a Blind Curve before you enter it.  Be ready for it.

Once we’ve recognized we’re coming up on a Blind Curve, it behooves us to quickly analyze it.  What kind of road are we on?  Is it a multi-lane highway?  Which lane are we in?  Is it a divided highway or a single lane back road with only a yellow line or two to protect us from a head on collision?  Hmm.  Is it day time or night time?  If at night, will that buggy around the curve have his lights on at least?  Will he have his brights on, temporarily blinding us even more?  If so, we’ll have to focus on the right edge of the road to maintain our stability – and sanity.

What’s the weather like?  Will road conditions allow us to stop quickly or swerve to avoid an unexpected issue?  Good to think about this stuff.  It should be our automatic thought process every time we approach the Blind Curve.

So we’re on that lonely, back road with no marked lanes and no divider.  It’s now critical that we stay to the right – and be ready for the oncoming vehicle that thinks he has the whole road.  If the road is surrounded by trees, let’s try to look through them if we can.  If there are hills, not much else we can do.  But staying to the right side of the road will give us an edge.  We don’t want to cut corners and swerve into the middle of the road like that oncoming car that suddenly has to swerve at the last minute to keep from nailing us.

If it’s night time, oncoming headlights should alert us to the oncoming car but let’s not bet our lives on it.  Usually the darkness of the road will remind most drivers to turn on their lights but if they just got out of a bar down the road?  Might not be the case.

If it’s a back road that we travel often, we’ll probably end up memorizing the curves.  We’ll know if there’s room to possibly veer off the road and escape oblivion if we have to.

If there’s any doubt we would obviously want to back off our speed.

Now we’re on that multi-lane divided highway.

Probably don’t have to worry about a “head on” type situation here although one never knows for sure.  Most likely our concern will be an unexpected obstacle lurking around the bend.  A stopped car?  An animal staring into our headlights, eyes glowing?  A sudden accident?

The key to handling this type of Blind Curve is to leave ourselves an out.  Let’s make sure we’re not tailgating the puppy in front of us by allowing ourselves plenty of safe distance.  While we’re at it, let’s make sure we’re not being tailgated by a driver slightly less astute than we are.

Next, let’s also make sure the lane or lanes next to us are open in case we suddenly have to swerve into one of them (always a good idea anyway).  Don’t want to be going into a Blind Curve right next to another driver who will limit our ability to make a sudden lane change - or who might invade our lane while in the curve.

Speaking of lane invasion, let’s make a special effort to stay centered in our lane.  Highways are not the place to be cutting apexes and a Blind Curve is definitely not the place to invade another lane unless the unforeseen obstacle demands it.

If we should come up on a sudden obstacle, don’t focus on it.  Focus on the escape path.  It has been suggested that we will tend to direct our cars and truckies directly towards what we are focusing on.  If we focus on our escape path, we’re more likely to end up there.  If we focus on the obstacle, well – you get the picture.

Whether on that back road, the highway, or even a curved exit lane, a keen understanding of Throttle Steer is most critical.  It’s important on any curve but it’s really critical in a Blind Curve.  Why?  Only because it can kill us.  That’s why!

Our front tires are already turning into the curve.  If we suddenly have to bleed power or worse brake hard, a lot more weight will transfer to those already turned rubber puppies that are now working pretty hard.  When the increased weight transfers to them, our vehicle will tend to turn harder – even if we don’t turn the wheel.  We have to be instantly ready to counter this condition with the steering wheel (hard steering), to keep our vehicle going where we want it to go.  If we don’t, we may not hit the obstacle – but we may just hit a tree or a ditch on the side of the road instead.

Drivers who don’t understand this concept can be easily identified.  They’re either all over their lane, invading other lanes, or worse, upside down on the side of the road.

Curves can be fun.  Blind Curves aren’t.  We can increase our odds though.  Practice these concepts on curves where you can see and have plenty of room.  Then you’ll be ready when that unexpected disaster looms right around – the next Blind Curve!

Let’s get one thing straight quickly. When driving with big Tractor-trailers on the highways, it’s not the big guys who are the Road Hazards. It’s all of us little puppies around them! With few exceptions we can consider big-rig drivers the safest drivers out there.
But they are big.  If something bad happens to them and we’re involved, it probably won’t be a “go home” incident. 

There are three basic scenarios we will be dealing with when we meet up with Eighteen Wheelers on the highway or any other vehicles for that matter.

We will be approaching them (driving faster) and looking to pass, we will have one approaching and looking to pass us, or we will somehow end up traveling at the same basic speed.

To slightly compound the equation, any of the above can be taking place during daylight or night time hours, on straight or curved roads or on level, hilly or mountain roadways.  Oh yeah!  And is the pavement dry, wet or icy?

The first thing to do is give the truck itself, a quick eyeball.  Does the truck look well maintained?  Is it running steady or maybe swerving a little bit?  Is there anything going on with the truck that the driver might not know about – like smoke coming out of the wheels or off the tires?  Okay, he looks good.

Next let’s consider the vehicles around the truck because they’re the potential hazards. How are they treating the big guy?  In most cases it will be one of us little guys who causes a big problem.

It’s easy to see if someone is tailgating the truck.  Easy for us, that is.  The trailer driver might not have a clue they’re being tailgated and obviously the tailgater can’t see in front of the truck.  Said tailgater will have zero reaction time.  If the truck suddenly has to make an abrupt maneuver, the tailgater is forced (if he even can) to react rather dramatically – and if we’re not anticipating it, “dramatically” can happen right on our front bumper.

The next trucker aggravation will be the slower driver in front of him.  These trucker types may be safe, but they don’t get paid to slog along either.  They are going to want to swing out and pass the little dude.  When he signals to do so, we have two quick options.  If we were going to pass him, we better get it done.  We might also back off and allow him in front of us.   A flash of our brights here, can alert him to our presence and usually suggests to him he’s cool to come over.  Once he passes poky, he’ll probably be back over there and out of our way. 

Another frustration for the trucker is the little guy who decides to drive for a few dozen miles right in the truck’s blind spot.  Maybe she’s afraid to pass the big buckaroo, so she pulls right into his blind spot, then slows the pace and stays there for a few dozen miles waiting for a miracle.  Traffic backs up behind her.  We might not want to crowd the timid driver though.  Let’s not compound the problem.  I’ve even been known to back off and slip well behind the big guy until the situation rectifies itself.  Besides, it’s often the truck that will eventually take the lead and I’ll be right there with him.

The final consideration we want to be thinking about is an escape.  Where can we go if something suddenly gets nasty?  Is there a wide apron on the side of the road we can use if we have to?  Or are we pinned in by no apron and other traffic?  Situational Awareness is always a good thing but it takes on new meaning when a threat can crush you like a bug.  Drive accordingly keeping plenty of safe space around you!

So it’s scenario 1.  We’re approaching eighteen tires and we’re obviously thinking “pass.”  Do we have room to pass?  Are there buggies in front of us?  Are they safely passing or are they jammed up behind the one stalled in the blind spot?  Are we on a hill?  Are we going downhill or uphill?  The big guys like to build momentum while going downhill that they can use when they get to the upstroke part of the equation. We may be going faster than he is at the moment but when we reach the hill crest, is he going to be coming back at us?

Once we decide to pass, let’s do it.  We want to add enough right pedal to quickly get the job done – it’s not the time to be bashful.  Once by him, let’s not dive over right in front of him either.  We want to at least see him in our right rearview before we swing back in front of him. 

Once we do pass, let’s maintain our speed.  How many times have we seen a driver pass the truck only to slow back down once in front of him?  Great way to fill your rearview mirror with shiny Freightliner radiator cowling.

At night, or even in daytime, we may want to offer a quick couple of flashes with our optical horn just to confirm our passing intentions.  He shouldn’t mind – we’re helping him.

As we pass the truck let’s also keep a keen eye on his front steering tire.  If the truck is forced to make a sudden move, that tire will be the first and maybe only warning we get.

It’s now scenario 2 and the big guy is gaining on us.  He’s ready to pass us.  The simple solution?  Let him.  We may even lighten up on the right pedal to give him an edge.  When he passes us and has enough space to move back in front of us, we can offer a quick flash of the brights again, to let him know it’s safe to come over.  He may even thank us for the courtesy with a quick flash of his trailer lights.

Scenario 3 is really common sense but it’s amazing how many drivers ignore this simple rule – “give him plenty of space”.  If he’s running at the same speed we are, we’re either going to be ahead of him or behind him, but hopefully not along side of him.  If ahead, push the go pedal enough to gain a safe distance and then ease off to maintain the distance.  If behind, drift a little further back and then resume the desired speed.

Driving with the big boys doesn’t have to be life threatening.  It really breaks down into a few common sense basics.

• Don’t treat the Eighteen Wheeler like just another vehicle.  It isn’t.
• First size up the truck.
• Then size up the traffic around the truck.
• Then decide where you want to be with reference to the truck.
• Then – Be there!

Big Truck Drivers aren’t out there to play games with us.  They drive for a living and they do a lot of it.  Their primary objective is to get to their destination safely and efficiently.  By offering them the courtesies and respect that they (and their size) deserve, and by helping them in their efforts not to kill us – we can safely and more confidently “run with the big guys”!

Three driving books that can definitely enhance your safe driving experience, are Traffic - Why we Drive the way we Do, by Tom Vanderbilt, Drive to Survive by Curt Rich, and of course Driverthink.  As it’s author I may be partial to Driverthink, but I would also like to highly recommend Traffic -  and Drive to Survive.

One of the easiest and enjoyable ways to gain driving experience and hone driving skills is to read books or magazine articles written by the experts.  I do it constantly.  Even if you don’t have the chance to get to a race track every day, or perhaps don’t have years of experiences to draw from in an emergency, you can gain much by simply “reading about driving”.  As you cruise the written word, you will absorb expertise that you can immediately apply as you cruise the boulevard.

I would like to offer a brief “Driverthink” review of each of these books and recommend all for those who are truly serious about their driving. 

Driverthink of course, is my own book.  Okay, so I’m a little prejudice!  This book is a compilation of selected articles from this blog.  Each article is designed to explore specific safe driving issues in comprehensive detail.  The articles delve into many issues pertaining to safe driving and offer reality based suggestions not found in some of the more “politically correct” save driving venues.

I view my book as an excellent review for the more seasoned driver and a must read for newer, less experienced drivers.

You might respond to each Driverthink article differently.

• “Yeah, I know that, but I wish everyone else did.”
• “Hmm, that’s true.  But I haven’t thought about it in a while.”
• “Wow, I never knew that.  I can apply that to my driving.”

If you like many (see the “recent comments” page) have liked the articles in this blog you might want to grab a copy of the book as a review or for a newer driver you care about.

Traffic – Why we Drive the way we Do, by Tom Vanderbilt is an excellent analysis of traffic and how different drivers deal with it.  Many of us spend long hours in traffic but have we ever really thought about what causes the many different traffic situations we find ourselves in?  How does it affect our driving?  How can we adjust our driving to deal with the different situations?

Tom delves very deeply into traffic, what causes it, how it affects us and how best to deal with it – both on an individual basis and as a society!

What is a late merger?  Are late mergers a good or a bad thing?  Will simply building more roads alleviate our traffic jams?  How is traffic controlled?  Adjusted?  What are flow dynamics?  How do we behave in different traffic environments?

Tom’s attention to detail can sometimes be a little overpowering but stay with him.  The book is fascinating and his expertise is undeniable.  You will learn more about traffic than you ever thought possible!

Curt Rich’s Drive to Survive takes a somewhat different tack. For most of us, driving is the single most life-threatening experience that we encounter – and we encounter this danger on a daily basis.

Curt is a combat veteran. Being one of the same (same war, in fact), it is easy for me to appreciate how Curt applies the survival instincts developed in combat to the driving experience. 

But you need not go through combat to develop survival instincts nor do you have to be a combat veteran to appreciate the book.  What is situational awareness?  It quickly becomes instinctive in combat but it can be learned by anyone.  Curt actually “color codes” the different levels of situational awareness – and situational awareness is critical to surviving when you’re driving.

I also loved his review of the “four levels of competence” borrowed from Dr. Ignatius Piazza of the Front Sight Academy, who also doesn’t claim to have invented the concept.

You are either Unconsciously incompetent, Consciously incompetent, Consciously competent or Unconsciously competent – not only with your driving but in anything you do!  Hmmm?  At what level am I?  I hadn’t thought about that in a while!
 

Each of these books take a different approach to a common theme – that of being a safer, more skilled, more aware and more confident driver.

Each of these books can easily be purchased at the Driverthink store.  I have also selected a few magazines that make for very educational “driver reading”.  They can be found in the “Magazine Subscriptions” category.

Reading about driving sure doesn’t have to be boring!

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.