One of the simplest things we can do to maximize the safety of our driving is to “think” (or as we prefer to say, “Driverthink”) – about our driving.  It’s all about “State of Mind”.

Where is our brain located, when we’re behind the wheel?  What are we “thinking” about?  Where is our focus?  What is our State of Mind?

We’re all human beings.  As such, we’ve all been endowed with a brain that is always thinking about something or other.  Even as we sleep, our brain is usually hanging out on the pillow, trying to sort out the day’s events. 

As unique individuals, we all have our different issues.  That stuff between our ears is constantly prioritizing what’s important, what’s not – and what it wants to think about at any given moment.  But we can consciously direct how the grey matter prioritizes, or we can allow that wonderful grey stuff to wander off all by itself.

There’s a time and a place to do both.  When we’re doing something dangerous, or we’re operating a dangerous piece of equipment – it’s a really good time to consciously prioritize.

If I’m operating a chain saw, it’s probably not the best time to let my mind wander.  That machine I’m working with can whack off my foot in an instant if I make a mistake.  It’ll hurt!  I want to be focused on what I’m doing.  That’s my State of Mind.  It’s my priority at the moment.

And so it should be with our driving.  Why?  Because for many of us, driving is the single most dangerous thing we do, and many of us do it a lot – multiple times a day.

Safe driving is a “State of Mind” and it deserves our mental focus.

So when should we think about our driving?  We should think about our driving when we’re driving – and also when we’re not!

Okay!  Let’s pause.  We’re certainly not advocating compulsive behavior here.  We’re not about to suggest that we should obsess about driving during every waking moment and half way through the night.

But if driving is something dangerous that we consistently do, doesn’t it deserve at least a little brain time?  We spend our brain power on multiple things throughout the day or week.  Why not allocate a few moments to our driving?

While we’re driving, the road and our machine must be our primary focus.

Sure, we can think about other things.  We can chat with our passengers or mull over a family problem or few.  We can chat on the cell phone or perhaps get really into the music flowing through the sound system.  When we’re on the road, we’re going to be facing different degrees of risk and certainly.  When the driving is low risk and routine we can, perhaps safely, allow our minds to drift off to other subjects. 

But we still need to maintain that driving State of Mind.  We’ve got to be able to return to complete driving focus if our risk status should change, and we’ve got to be at least focused enough to recognize a risk when it’s happening.

Yeah, we’re all human.  If we’re headed to an interview or perhaps an important business meeting, it’s natural for our brain to already be there.  But we still need to be aware of that buzz bomb weaving around in our rear view mirror.  If we’re not ready to give it our immediate full attention, we just may not be making it to the meeting.

Conversation when driving, whether on cell phone or with passengers, is all about the nature of the conversation.  Is it a casual chat that can be easily cut off?  Or is it a more intense, distracting conversation that’s requiring all of our attention?

When three cars cut us off from seven different directions, we probably shouldn’t be multi-processing ten other issues.  We want to be multi-processing escape and avoidance! 
  

When we’re not behind the wheel, there are excellent opportunities to think about driving. 

If we’re reading a newspaper article about a nasty car accident, we shouldn’t just think, “How Awful!”  We might think, “What happened here?  What went wrong?  Could I have avoided that crash?  How?”

Car reviews are an excellent way to “think driving”.  We may not care about the particular car being reviewed, but when the writer mentions over-steer or suspension issues, we might want to consider how those things affect our little buggy – and our driving.  We’ll pick up ideas and concepts that we can take with us the next time we slide behind the wheel. 

Driving can be frightening, just another mundane chore, or a developed set of skills that build safety, control and confidence.

It’s all about what we feel is important.  It’s all about our driving State of Mind. 

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