Safe Driving with Driverthink

Many drivers are very good at keeping their vehicles centered in their lane.  Others not.  But then there are those who can’t even keep the buggy within their own lane.  When a driver veers out of his lane and into another, it’s called “Lane Invasion”.

There doesn’t seem to be much written about Lane Invasion but we all know the problem.  Lane Invasion can range from annoying to catastrophic.

So how can we identify — and deal with the different kinds of lane invaders we will inevitably meet on the roads?  It’s all about identifying Road Hazards.

The first thing we want to consider is that there are fundamentally two types of Lane Invaders.  The first is the driver who becomes momentarily distracted and veers out of his or her lane.  The second is, well – all the others!

The distracted driver is probably the most dangerous, because we don’t see it coming.  This driver isn’t really demonstrating any noticeable Road Hazard traits.  Then, suddenly something unexpected happens.  The hot coffee spills in his lap, the baby screams — whatever.  Often his distraction takes place at the worst possible moment – like when he’s right next to us on a curve or something.   

Wherever it happens, the trick to dealing with this untimely event is not to over react— especially if you happen to be blessed with wicked quick reaction time. 

Over reaction to a distracted lane invader happens to be one of this writers more thorny road tribulations.  I’ll catch the invader out of the corner of my eye and instantly jerk the wheel to avoid him.  I may then quickly realize I had more time, but by then my passengers can be a little shaken.

“What happened?  Why’d you jerk the car?!”

“Oh, just noticed that bumper over there, headed straight for my right rear quarter panel.  Not to worry.”

The second type of Lane Invader (all the others), are actually easier to deal with.  You not only notice them – it’s pretty hard to miss them, what with their absolute lack of control!  So who are they?

Well, there’s obviously the incapacitated driver.  There’s also the unskilled driver who hasn’t quite figured out curves or turns yet.  Could be the driver who simply doesn’t care.  The entire road belongs to him and he’ll use it any way he pleases.

You may be looking at the “Once a year driver.”  She rents the buggy once or twice a year.  It can be tough to keep buggies on the boulevard when you rarely hone your skills and on top of it, drive unfamiliar vehicles.  Yeah, we have all kinds of Lane Invaders.

In any event, while obvious Lane Invaders are probably far more aggravating than the momentarily distracted driver, they’re usually far easier to identify and deal with. 

There are really two basic questions we have to consider, when dealing with Lane Invaders.  First, are they ahead of, or behind us, and second — what’s their relative speed to ours?

If she’s swerving around behind us and driving at the same speed or slower than we are, there’s not much to do but keep an eye on the rearview, making sure she doesn’t suddenly have a “go-fast” moment. 

If the rearview suggests she’s gaining on us, immediate defensive strategy is mandatory.  We’ll ease over to the opposite edge of our lane to give her more room.  As she closes in, we’ll bleed off some speed (perhaps even brake) forcing her to pass us as quickly as possible.  Once she’s comfortably ahead of us we can resume our chosen speed and treat her as, well – in “front of us!”

So now a Lane Invader is in front of us.  Same question – what’s her relative speed to ours.  If she’s our former driver, she’s now pulling away.  Just want to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t lock door handles with somebody else and scatter car parts all over the road.

But suppose we’re gaining on him?

Who else is around us?  We’re going to want to ease off, while at the same time positioning ourselves with as much “maneuver room” as possible.  As we ease closer to the hazard, let’s not be bashful.  Pick the moment, then make the pass — quickly.  Now he’s in our rearview and we’re pulling away.  Not a problem anymore – at least for us.

The most aggravating Lane Invader is the one that’s just ahead of us — and insists on staying there, no matter how we adjust our speed.  Driverthink will push the envelope (i.e., speed limit) here.  I want this naughty puppy behind me and, other traffic safely permitting, I’ll absolutely add enough “go juice” to make it happen.

Lane Invasion.  Nuisance or nightmare, it’s a Road Hazard.  Be ready for it. 

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