Safe Driving with Driverthink

There’s a devious little Road Hazard out there.  This driver isn’t exactly a serious threat but he’s caused more than his fair share of fender benders, even if he’s not always involved himself.  Let’s call him the “Driving Lane Get me Off”.

You’re bopping along in the right lane of traffic.  It could be on a local highway, a parkway or even an expressway.  Traffic is moving nicely, so you’re still in the right lane and all is well.

The cars in front of you are moving along, so you’re quite content following them.  Then it comes time for one of them to exit the road, making a “get me off” onto an exit ramp, side street or perhaps an adjacent parking lot.  Suddenly everything changes.

Instead of smoothly and quickly moving into the exit lane or the turn lane off to the right of the road, this dude suddenly slows down in your driving lane.  A right turn signal is then launched, and, in the driving lane he comes to almost a complete stop, proceeding finally, to accomplish his right turn into oblivion.

If you don’t see it coming, you’re likely to be parked in his front engine compartment before you can even blink.  If there’s a driver approaching from the rear, who’s already in the turn lane, she’s not going to see it either and she too, will go crunch.  If the driver in front of you sees it coming but you don’t, you may very well end up chatting with her.  Not good.

As we know by now, Driverthink profiles other drivers.  I’m rather sad to say that the Driving Lane Get me Off appears largely to be in my age group.  Let’s just say slightly over twenty – by about three times!  Also not good for us senior types who don’t appreciate being stigmatized as, uhm – less than proficient drivers.

Okay, fellow seniors!  In order to save a little face here, let’s suggest that this driver can also come from the ranks of younger, newer drivers who haven’t been reading Driverthink.

So how do we avoid whacking the Driving Lane Get me Off?  It’s all about recognizing Road Hazards and this driver definitely is one.

Experience has suggested that the Driving Lane Get me Off will usually be one of three types of drivers, and each of the three are pretty easily recognized.  The trick is, after you’ve recognized them, be aware that they may indeed execute a Driving Lane Get me Off.  As with any Road Hazard, once we’ve identified the potential problem, we really want to keep a little extra space between their fiberglass and ours.

The first perpetrator of this tactic is the driver with poor vision.  You can usually spot her easily.  She’s probably driving in a slower, unsure manner.  She knows she’s going to make the turn but isn’t exactly sure when – until she finally sees it.  Once she visualizes she’s there, she slows and ultra-cautiously turns.  This driver is not often very comfortable with the rear view mirrors either so she’s likely oblivious to what’s going on behind her.  She blindly (no pun intended) proceeds with the turn, regardless of any potential consequences zeroing in on her from behind.

We then have the “lost soul”.  Also easily identified, this driver can be either quite competent or not – but he simply doesn’t know where he’s going.  You can usually spot him looking all around, or perhaps glimpsing at a map in his lap.  Once he recognizes that he’s where he needs to be, he’ll suddenly blast the blinker and dive off the road at the last minute – after pausing in the driving lane of course.  Who of us hasn’t driven in unfamiliar territory?

The final culprit is the driver who simply doesn’t understand the concept of rear view mirrors.  Like our poor vision partner, this driver hasn’t got a clue as to what’s going on behind him (or simply doesn’t care).  He’ll slow down in the driving lane to make his turn, totally unaware of how he’s slowing traffic flow.  If you’re right behind this driver and can see his face in his side rear views – yup!  You’ve identified the hazard.

If you think you might suffer from Driving Lane Get me Off syndrome, here are some thoughts:

• Always use you Rearview Mirrors.  Adjust them correctly and always know what’s behind you.

• If there’s an exit lane, use it.  Move to it as quickly as possible (check rearview) to avoid slowing down the driving lane – and possibly getting whacked in the process.

• If you’re lost, don’t suddenly dive for the exit.  Better to go around the block or turn at the next exit than to risk body crunch.

The Driving Lane Get me Off.  Yup!  Just another Road Hazard.