We hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  For those of us who spent considerable time on the highways over the last two weekends, we hope all survived without any seriously traumatic incidents.

Holiday driving really seems to bring out the worst of our highway drivers.  As I cruised the highways I sat back in almost complete disbelief.  Can it be that almost no one knows how to drive our highways anymore?  Or is it just that the minority who don’t, stand out so vividly that it just appears that almost everyone is a risk?

Younger, inexperienced drivers off to college.  Senior drivers poking along, seemingly unable to see four cars in front of them.  Drivers from all walks of life who only take to the highways a few times a year to get to Grandma’s or their chosen holiday destination. 

Drivers who drive so seldom they don’t even own a car.  They rent one, dust off their driver’s license and take to the highways placing themselves and all of the rest of us at extreme risk.

Rolling roadblocks on cruise control almost everywhere – being cut off by faster drivers who haven’t got a clue about throttle steer, or what kind of suspension they have and how it affects their handling.
 
Countless citizens who have no idea how their cars will react under an emergency maneuver and worse – wouldn’t have the faintest idea of how to control it if it did start to go sideways.

“Pow!”  Right into a ditch or worse, another vehicle.

Cars weaving back and forth in their lanes, wandering from side to side, totally incapable of keeping their buggies centered or worse, not even aware they're weaving.  Same drivers totally unable to take the slightest curve or turn without sliding completely out of their lane and dangerously close to other drivers, nervously avoiding them in the adjacent lanes.

Tailgaters without a clue as to what’s happening on the road anywhere past the bumper in front of them.  Drivers practicing the masterful art of being road hazards almost everywhere you look.

Driver’s who’s only polished highway driving skill appears to be the innate ability to hang in another driver’s blind spot for miles on end.

And unfortunately, yes – as a result?  Accidents all over the place, holding up traffic for miles.  It’s not very pretty.  And "Hey!"  It's always the other guy's fault.


Now Driverthink has never been an advocate for more rule and regulation but let’s get serious.  We simply cannot tolerate these drivers on our highways any more.  They’re simply way too dangerous.

It’s time for a Highway Driving License.  So how would it work?

Stuck somewhere between our regular (Class D in New York) drivers license and a commercial license, would be a Highway Class driver’s amendment or license.  It would simply become illegal to drive designated high speed roadways without one.

While we wouldn’t advocate road blocks to determine if the driver is properly licensed, penalties, when found driving on the highway without one, would be severe – perhaps even temporary revocation.

So how would we qualify for such a license?  There would be two basic qualifications.

First, drivers would have to pass a much more comprehensive written test.  The study for this test would cover basic highway driving fundamentals.  Look past the bumper in front of you.  The danger of tailgating.  Blind spots.  How your car’s suspension affects the vehicle.  Smooth driving.  The danger of disrupting traffic flow.  Identifying road hazards.

Silly stuff like that.

Next would be some kind of realistic, periodic physical test.  A vision test to see if you can still see.  A reaction test to test basic reflexes.  Is the driver at least physically capable of driving in a high speed environment?

How about a highway road test?  Nah!  Never happen. 

In order to realistically have such a test, drivers would have to be tested to see if they’re capable, on roads where speed limits are fundamentally meaningless.  To drive safely on the highway you’re almost forced to break the limit and it would be politically incorrect to fail drivers for not breaking the law!  Such a truly meaningful and life saving exercise would be completely unacceptable to the powers that be.

Never the less, safe highway driving isn’t about going fast or slow.  It’s about having the skill and ability to drive a high speed boulevard safely – at whatever speed you choose to boogie.

If we’re really going to be serious about stopping our highway carnage, it’s time for drastic measures.  Perhaps it’s time for a Highway Driving License.  What do you think?

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 in the good doctor’s review of these problems of the brain – but to varying degrees of seriousness.  Many of these problems can be confirmed by doing a SPECT type of brain scan imaging to be followed up with various methods of therapy.

The good news is that there are fixes to many of these brain problems.  The bad news is that people suffer with the problems, not knowing that there are often easy cures.  The scary part is that many of these problems are serious – and they’re often on the roads with us!  Yikes.

Ever wonder what causes Road Rage?  Maybe it’s a problem in the dominant temporal lobe compounded by issues with the cingulate or prefrontal cortex, caused by a minor brain injury that happened years ago.  I’ll never do the good Doctor justice in this brief article, but such stuff can cause a person to lean to excessive violence.  Not good.

When we ride the roads with other drivers, we’re also riding with their brains.  Dr. Amen has caused me to go back and re-visit some of the many road interactions I have had with other drivers over the years – or more specifically, that my brain has had with theirs. 

When I dealt with that angry driver who jumped out of his car to threaten me, was he just a nasty wiseguy , or perhaps was he dealing with a brain disorder suffered from a fall off of a swing, many years ago when he was just a little kid.  Didn’t matter much to me at the time because he quickly changed his tune when I got out of the car to meet him (I’m kinda tall, kinda strong, kinda ex-military and can be kinda’ physical myself if I have to), but it begs an interesting question.

Driving a vehicle safely at any speed takes a lot of focus.  Sure, it’s easy to just tell someone to focus on the road, but what if their prefrontal cortex is simply not going to let them?  The prefrontal cortex also affects judgment which I suppose could be a critical factor in operating a boogy buggy – especially at significant speed.  Oh, and what about impulsive behavior in the cockpit?  Not too good either.

Ever feel abnormally anxious or fearful when getting behind the wheel?  Could be, if you have an issue with your basal ganglia.  Not a good thing when driving, to be too anxious.

The cingulated gyrus affects our abilities to shift our attention.  Do we ever have to do that when driving?  Uhm, maybe a thousand times a minute!  Am I getting this right, Doc?

We could go on for quite a while longer but the point to be made here is that we’re driving on the roads with these issues – whether they’re someone else’s issues or perhaps even our own.

So what’s to be learned here, from a safe driving point of view?

Not everyone we’re going to meet on the road has the same mental abilities as we may have – and we’ve got to be ready for actions by others that we may not be expecting.

While some of these “driving brains” may have nominal and controllable issues, others (including our own perhaps) may be just a teensy bit more serious.

If we should see ourselves with some of these driving brain issues, just understanding them and how they may affect us will at least give us a “heads up.”  We can try to either fix the problems or at least recognize that maybe we need to develop a “work around.”

As for the others around us?  Let’s remember that, when we’re driving we really never know who that other driver is.  We don’t need to fear every other driver we meet on the road, but respecting their possible limitations, and not judging them by perhaps our own, will make us more alert, safer drivers – at whatever speed we choose to drive.

Change Your Brain Change your Life.  One of the best reads I’ve seen in a long time.  Try to get a copy of this book.

Understanding your brain and the brain of others when you’re driving, may very well Save your Life.

Driverthink had been planning to address the “Quick Swerve and Die” in a future article but this event refocused the priorities.

The Quick Swerve and Die road collision, is one of the most dangerous events you may ever face on the highway.  In many cases, it can be the last.  It almost always takes place on a highway where traffic is moving along and different factors contribute to it.  It isn’t (usually) caused by speeding.  It is almost always caused by a slower driver.  Most often, it is the slower vehicle together with one of the ones behind it, that fall victim.

Here’s how it unfolds.  It’s a two or three lane highway and traffic is moving along at normal speed.  Suddenly, a driver in one of the lanes comes up on a slow or stopped vehicle.  He didn’t see it in time to stop.  It may have been a blind curve, a down sloping hill (the apparent case in our recent tragedy) or simply lack of attention.

Nope.  He didn’t see it in time to stop – but he did see it in time to quickly swerve out of the lane and into another, thereby avoiding imminent disaster – at least for him!

Yup, now he’s okay.  But what about the car that was cruising along behind him?  She has absolutely no time to react and “Bang” – no more Sunday mornings.  For lack of a better term, I like to call this the “Quick Swerve and Die” collision.

There are multiple factors that will combine to quickly cause a Quick Swerve and Die situation.  Being aware of them, and of ways to anticipate the situation, can help us avoid this very serious collision.

The first factor is obviously the slower or stopped vehicle.  One might suggest that it is this vehicle that perpetrates the event.  He may be stopped because of traffic in his lane.  He may be driving slowly because of the driver in front of him, or she simply may be driving too slowly for current conditions.

The second factor is the car that was moving along behind the first.  For what ever reasons, he wasn’t able to avoid the event while staying in his lane.  While he may not have been speeding, he may not have been allowing adequate space in front of him either.  Perhaps he simply wasn’t paying attention or then again, it could have been completely out of his control. In any event, he suddenly came up on the slow or stopped vehicle and had no choice but to swerve out of the way.

The third factor is of course, the third car.  She too, may not have been paying attention, or she may have been driving too closely in back of the second car, but most likely – she wasn’t able to Forward Look.  She couldn’t see past the car in front of her for what ever reasons, until it swerved – and then it was simply too late.

Here are some serious thoughts on how to avoid a Quick Swerve and Die collision.

For the slower driver:

• If uncomfortable driving at normal highway speeds, find an alternative route.  Many do. It can save your life.

If you find yourself behind the slow driver or stopped traffic:

• Closely watch your rearview mirror.  If necessary you may want to flash your brake lights or even your four way emergency flashers to warn traffic behind you.

• Plan your emergency escape.  Can you quickly change lanes or even get off of the road if the car behind you – can’t stop without hitting you?

• If the car behind you suddenly swerves into another lane, take immediate action.  Do what ever you can to get out of the way of the next car in line.

If you are the third driver:

• Always try to Forward Look beyond the car in front of you.  If traffic in front of that car is slow or stopped – back it down.

• Watch for the swerve.  If you can’t Forward Look and/or you see the car ahead of you swerve, be prepared to take immediate evasive action.

• When you can’t Forward Look, be sure you leave some extra “safety cushion” distance between yourself and that car in front of you.

The Quick Swerve and Die.  Watch out for it.  Breathing is a nice thing! 

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.

Now most of us would agree that the concept of Profiling has taken on some rather dubious controversy.  It’s not exactly “Politically Correct” nor is it something that’s particularly easy to talk about.  But hey, we’re not pulling over people here, nor are we handing out tickets.  That’s not our job as everyday drivers.

What we are trying to do – is to stay alive on the road.

Anything that can help us do that, whether politically correct or not, is something we might want to Driverthink about.  Besides, it’s not like we have to share our profiling biases with anyone and face the wrath of a politically correct media.  All we want to do is increase our odds of identifying a Road Hazard when we’re chugging down the boulevard at whatever speed we choose.

We always want to be identifying Road Hazards.  Why?  Because Road Hazards are a whole lot easier to deal with when they’re hazards, than when they actually become Road Emergencies.  A Road Hazard is by definition, something that could quickly become a Road Emergency.

It’s time for an obvious disclosure.  When we Profile our fellow road residents, we’re doing exactly that.  It’s an “odds” thing.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone or every vehicle in our profiled group is a Road Hazard.  It just means that to us, the odds are in favor of our having a problem and we definitely want to watch the situation more closely.

Another disclosure.  We’re not going to identify any specific groups here.  We’re not looking to embarrass or insult anyone.  Besides, profiled Road Hazards can be different from one area to another.

Throughout a long driving career I have always picked up on the fact that certain types of drivers or certain brands of vehicles fall into certain types of driving styles – and some of them can be Road Hazards.  These profile groups fall into two general categories.  First there are the drivers themselves, and then there are the buggies they choose to drive.

First let’s watch the drivers.

Obviously, if I see a driver hunched over the steering wheel with their face glued to the windshield and a tense and nervous look on their face, I tend to back off.  But there also are drivers who fall into different groups.  It’s these groups we want to identify, whether it be by age, gender, size, haircut, gene pool, or any combination of the above!

In order to properly profile our risks, we might want to discard some of the obvious biases out there, and start fresh.  Not all older drivers are slow and dangerous, nor are all young drivers careless speed freaks.

It’s probably safe to suggest that a driver on a cell phone or busy text messaging deserves special attention.  But even a driver on a cell phone doesn’t strike me as an automatic Road Hazard.  It’s no different than chatting with a passenger.  It isn’t about the cell phone, it’s about the conversation.  Is it a casual chat that still allows attention to driving, or is it an animated or serious discussion that will divert attention from the driving thing?

It’s fairly easy to profile drivers.  All you have to do is watch them for a minute or two.  Most of us do this anyway, sub-consciously or otherwise.

Profiling the vehicles gets more interesting.

Profile groups seem to change over time – from year to year or period to period.  But there’s no question that certain makes of vehicles seem to attract certain types of drivers.  Some of them we can profile as “Instant Road Hazards until proven otherwise”. 

Some makes of cars will just always seem to do unexpected things if we watch them long enough.  Others will fall into the “either good or bad” category and yet others, we might group in a “somewhat aggressive but usually safe and skilled” category.  Of course there are many that simply can’t be grouped at all.  It really gets kind of interesting. 

How can we profile our fellow drivers?  It just takes a little focus.

When we see a car or driver acting in a certain way, we make note of the type of car and who the driver is.  If we start to see the same make of car or same type of driver doing the same kind of tricks, we’ll automatically begin to build our own profiles. 

Profiling may be a sensitive issue but it has saved many drivers from many a Road Emergency over the years.  Yup!  We saw it coming!

It’s an interesting question, posed recently on one of the car commercials we hear every day.  I couldn’t Google the ad but I think it was BMW.  The question raises an interesting topic that has been occasionally referenced in past Driverthink articles.

Let’s zero in on when we gave up driving our cars.  Driverthink would suggest it happened in stages.

First, what’s the difference between driving, or riding the car?

When we’re driving the car, we’re in sync with our machine.  We’re focused on how it’s handling, shifting, and steering.  We’re tuned in to road conditions, traffic and are actively feeling how the machine is behaving on the road.  And “machine” is the operative word here.  We understand that we’re operating a machine and appreciate how it will react to our inputs. 

When we’re riding the car, we simply don’t seem to care about all of this “machine” stuff.  We hop behind the steering wheel, crank the ignition, slide it into gear – and when we push the go pedal it just goes.  We give it about as much attention as a non-driving passenger would.  It takes us to where we’re going and that’s about all we care about.  We’re focused on just about anything other than driving.  We may technically be driving, but primarily, we’re just along for the ride. 

Now in all fairness to a large segment of the driving population, not all of us have given up “Driving the car”.  For many, however, the notion that we’re operating a very dangerous piece of machinery never really crosses our minds until something ugly happens – and we find ourselves bouncing around inside it.

How did we get so complacent?

Back in the days of the Model T, drivers knew they were operating a machine.  They had to crank it just to get the motor going.  Those planetary gears took a lot of attention.  If drivers hit a rut in the road, those old suspension systems forced them to really “work the car”.

Then cars began to get cushier.  Electric starters made starting the engine automatic.  Turning a key isn’t much of a thought process.  Cars started coming with nicer stuff, like roofs to keep off the rain and windows to isolate us from the elements.  Gear boxes and clutches made shifting easier but drivers still needed to at least feel the engine revolutions to know when to shift.

But “Whoops!”  Along came the Automatic transmission.  Now you didn’t even have to know there was such a thing as an engine.  Slip it into “Drive” and miraculously, off you went.  No really heavy thinking there.

Suspensions improved too.  No longer would a bumpy road jar the fillings out of your teeth and force you to “work your car” over rough terrain.  And speaking of terrain, roads were getting better.  Things also got quieter.  Drivers couldn’t even hear the engine or road noise outside.

Let’s not forget Power Steering either.  In those old buggies you really felt it when you had to muscle that steering wheel into a curve or a turn.  With Power Steering?  A pinky finger would do the trick and if you couldn’t feel the road any more, Detroit, in its infinite wisdom, figured that was a good thing.

In short, road vehicles became more like mini living rooms.  They didn’t require much physical force to operate, or much thought either.  For generations of newer drivers, the concept changed.

Today, it’s no longer about “Driving there”.  It’s simply about “Getting there.”

For those of us who lived through the changes, perhaps we got kind of lazy. Newer generations simply weren’t forced to appreciate and understand the concept that, when driving a car from point A to point B – driving should be at least a minor part of the equation.

We still have Drivers.  Regardless of the generation we still have people who are in touch with their machines.  If you ask almost any driver why they own a Stick Shift car, they’ll likely tell you, “It keeps me driving”.  Motor Cycle operators had better be Drivers and there are still serious Drivers in everything from muscle cars to our everyday basic buggies.

But we’ve got lots of Riders too.  They slip behind the wheel, slide it into “drive” and just ride along until they get where they’re going.  Manufacturers even cater to Riders with “blind spot” alerts and cars that park themselves.  Cute gimmicks that serious Drivers shouldn’t really need.

Vehicles today provide a very comfortable, effortless mode of transportation.  But they’re still machines.  They still require attention.

If you’re a Rider, try learning to “Drive the Car” – before that comfy but still dangerous machine finds ways to remind you – that it still deserves respect!

My wife received this comment from a friend reviewing Driverthink.  I responded, “Nothing wrong with wanting to be the leader of the pack – as long as you can do it safely – and as long as you have a good Bird Dog (radar detector).  Cheers!”

But lets Driverthink about this a little more – it was a pretty interesting comment.  The first “Leader of the Pack” thoughts that come to mind are:

1.  Are you a fast or slower driver?

2.  Are you in congested, local traffic, or are you on an open, less congested highway?

3.  Are you a skilled, competent, smooth and courteous driver?  Or are you willing to throw both caution and any respect for fellow drivers, to the wind?

It probably matters.

If you’re caught up in slow or congested traffic, your quest for Leader of the Pack status is most likely going to be a futile endeavor.  No matter who you put behind you, you’re still going to have lots of metal in front of you.  You can either continue to frustrate yourself, or succumb, chill out, and enjoy the scenery.

If you’re on an open highway, however, it gets more interesting.

The slower driver can become leader of the pack by, well – being slower on the road.  Traffic piles up behind him and if there’s not another lane to pass in, he becomes Leader of the Pack by default.  If there is another lane, he’ll need another slower driver to pull along side of, thereby setting up a “Rolling Roadblock”.  Ah Hah!  Now the traffic can’t get around either driver.

This technique of course, will potentially subject him to Road Rage or at the least, some substantial hate and discontent from those stacked up drivers, but what the hey, there’s no one in front of him – until someone loses it and decides to run him off the road entirely.  Nope.  Not good for slower drivers to play “Leader of the Pack!”

This takes us to the faster driver on the open highway with the addiction under discussion

Assuming you are of the skilled and courteous ilk, the desire to achieve leader status is really all about Forward Look and Smooth Driving.  Ask any racecar driver.  They all want to be “Leader of the Pack.”

Looking far ahead of you will allow you to see which lanes are moving faster.  You can then select the desired path in plenty of time to take advantage of it, especially in states where passing on the right is not at least a felony.  How many times have we watched an impatient driver swing out from behind us, only to see her run smack dab into a slower lane of traffic and get squeezed as multiple drivers then pass her by.  She wasn’t looking ahead.

Curves offer excellent possibilities for passing – as long as, and only if, you have the requisite skills and highway conditions to do so.  While you’re Throttle Steering through the curve, you may be smoothly and confidently gaining advantage over much more powerful vehicles with perhaps less skilled drivers, who haven’t quite figured out yet, that horsepower isn’t quite everything.

So what are the advantages of being the Leader of the Pack?  What are the disadvantages?  There don’t seem too be many of either.

Advantages:

• There won’t be any accidents happening directly in front of us.  Accidents are much easier to avoid when they’re in our rearview mirror.

• Constantly analyzing the traffic flow and strategizing where to position ourselves will keep us alert.  We’re driving the car.  We’re not just along for the ride.

Disadvantages:

• We’re probably going to be the number one target of the radar gun.

• We’ll be first to come across wildlife.  Might be better to let a car in front of us, take that “Bambi” through the windshield.

In any event, if we’re so obsessed with our quest that we’re cutting people off, driving erratically or tailgating others to gain our new position, then at the very least we’re a Road Hazard.  And yes – we could develop Road Rage in the process.

If we really don’t have to be the leader but simply like to move quickly, remember.  The highway is not a racetrack.  We can develop the skills to be higher speed drivers safely.  We don’t have to be first to be fast – and we shouldn’t have to strike fear into hearts of our fellow earthly inhabitants in the process.

Keeping a slightly faster car in front of us can possibly protect us from those disadvantages we just considered.  Won’t slow our progress much either.

Leader of the Pack.  If you’ve simply got to be there, cool.  Just be there safely!

I can’t shake them.  If I speed up, they speed up.  When I slow down?  Yup – you guessed it.  I’ve even had occasions where I intentionally switched lanes to try to break the force, but yup. They followed me right over and stayed precisely put, right there in my blind spot.

I’ve never actually pulled off the road and had one follow me to a stop, but I expect it to happen any day now!

It has to be some kind of strong magnetic force.  Why else would a driver permanently position his vehicle in another’s blind spot – and then doggedly stay there, no matter how hard that driver tries to lose him?  It’s gotta’ be the magnetic quarter panels.  That puppy is stuck to me like glue.  He simply can’t escape to find a safer place on the highway!

Now of course in close highway traffic it’s understandable that you’re going to have vehicles in your blind spot from time to time.  But on an open road?  With plenty of space?  It’s simply amazing.

Most seasoned highway drivers quickly come to realize that space between cars is huge when it comes to highway safety.  The concept is pretty complex, but simplified, it goes something like this:

“The more space you have between other rapidly moving cars on a highway, the less likely they are to hit you!” 

Once a driver grasps this highly complex concept, she will generally try to space her buggy out from the other traffic.  Not only the traffic in front or in back, but also on either side.

So why would someone want to drive right next to someone else when there’s plenty of room to space out?  Coffee spills out of the cup holder?  Turns to yell at the kids?  Pow!  Instant lane invasion which is going to clean the door handles right off your car.

And to ride in someone’s blind spot for no reason?  He doesn’t see you, he moves into your lane and presto.  You’re either going to tangle bumpers, make a panic stop, or you’re going to be running down that large Oak tree on the side of the road.  Nahh!  Don’t think so.

So what is it with the Blind Spot Rider?  It can’t be cruise control.  Yeah, it’s true that cruise control doesn’t give a hoot whether you’re safely spaced out or not, but even when the cruise control is doing the driving you can either move ahead, or drop behind the car.  Cruise control doesn’t glue itself to you.  It just keeps blindly motoring on at its chosen speed.

After lots of miles, I think I’ve finally figured out the Blind Spot Rider.  It’s not the quarter panels that are magnetic.  It’s the driver. 

The Blind Spot Rider is a “people person” – normally an admirable trait.  She likes being with other people and now, on the road, you're that “other people”.  Being together with other people gives her comfort and now you are that comfort.

This trait combined with the fact that she hasn’t grasped that “space is safe” concept yet, causes her to stay close to you.  She’s sub-consciously much more comfortable riding right there with you, than all by herself – even though she’s much safer when she’s a just a little lonely. 

Now that I’ve figured out the Blind Spot Rider, I’ve finally figured out how to lose him – for his own good and mine.  It’s all about making him feel slightly “less comfortable” with me.

Okay, let’s pause!  We can imagine all kinds of ways to make other drivers less comfortable with us, but let’s keep it safe and civil.  Cutting him off, mouthing obscenities or not so subtle hand gestures, are not obligatory here. 

There’s is a way to deal with the Blind Spot Rider.  When no one's close behind you, brake hard enough to bring her up on your side.  Then just give her a look.  Not a mean look, not an angry look.  Just a look.  Make eye contact.  She will lose her “comfort factor” with you and begin to sub-consciously distance herself.  I’ve tried it.  It works.

The Blind Spot Rider.  It’s about comfort – preferably, the lack thereof.

If you’re a people person who likes being near others, please consider this thought.  The open highway – is probably not the best place to bond!

What's a “Nose Out”?  We’ve all seen them.  It’s the puppy sitting on a side street or perhaps coming out of a parking lot, waiting to move in to your lane of moving traffic. The volume of moving traffic on your road has forced the driver to sit and wait for his “go” opportunity.

The problem with the Nose Out is that, while she’s sitting there waiting, her right foot can get a little itchy.  She inches ever closer to the moving traffic, as she waits for the opportunity to “launch”.  She may also be getting “psychologically” pushed by the twelve cars lined up behind her.

So when is the driver going to “lose it” and just go, cutting you off and forcing you to a panic stop?  You really don’t know -- so being the good little Driverthink driver that you are, you recognize the road hazard and slow down yourself to at least lessen the potential impact.  This of course, forces the Nose Out to wait yet even longer.

It seems like a “No Win.”

It gets worse.  As you slow down and begin muttering to yourself, you suddenly realize you might very well be muttering those unkind words about yourself!  How many times have you been sitting there on that launch pad – doing the same thing?  Hmmm.

There are basically three kinds of Nose Outs.

The first guy comes screaming up to the intersection and then at the last moment, brakes hard, to avoid getting annihilated.  You have no idea whether he’s going to actually make the stop or not, so your right foot has to be, at the least, hovering over the brake pedal.

Then there’s the Inch Out.  This one keeps inching out into traffic and again, sets up that uncertainty in your mind.  It forces you to gauge a near miss, or “close encounter”.

Finally, there’s the Push Out.  This guy has now inched out to the point where his nose is actually in the lane of moving traffic.  He’s not going yet, but he’s forcing the traffic to either stop and let him in, or swerve into another lane to avoid crunch and bump.

The trick to dealing with the Nose Out is to first decide which side of the equation you’re on.
If you’re the driver waiting to enter the traffic, some thoughts come to mind.

• Do – come smoothly to a stop and wait for the opportunity you’re comfortable with.
• Do – face the oncoming traffic.  Look at the drivers.  If they see that you see them, they will be much more comfortable and will likely continue their pace.
• Do – learn to size up the speed and distance of the oncoming cars.  Do you have enough space to safely enter traffic?
• Do – take a quick look before you go, to make sure you still have an opening where you intend to be -- in about five nanoseconds.
• Do – watch both lanes of oncoming traffic.  Is someone in the far lane going to swerve into yours, just as you leap out?
• Do – wait for your move, and then make it.  Once you have decided you can go --“go”. 

• Don’t – inch out further onto the road.  This will slow the other driver down and you’ll simply be waiting longer.
• Don’t – let the drivers lined up behind you, determine if or when you should move out.
• Don’t – be looking at everything but -- the oncoming traffic.  It’ll slow down the oncoming driver.
• Don’t – Pull out and then just sit there.  Entering a quickly moving lane of traffic is not the right time to practice zero to sixty in, let’s say a half an hour or so.

If you’re the driver in the traffic, the Nose Out conundrum gets trickier, but there are steps you can take to minimize the quandary.

• Do – view the Nose Out as a Road Hazard.  We know she’s not a Road Emergency yet, but she could quickly become one.
• Do – watch the driver.  Is he looking at you?  That be good.
• Do – Forward Look.  The sooner you see the problem, the more time you’ll have to analyze it.

• Don’t – slow down unless you really have to.  The driver behind you may not be expecting it.
• Don’t – panic and swerve out of your lane unless absolutely necessary.  It is better to slow down than swerve.

The Nose Out.  To deal with it, put yourself on the other side of it.  How would you want that other driver to treat you?

We’re paying for our complacency with crumpled sheet metal, broken bones, cuts, abrasions, contusions, higher insurance premiums and yes – unfortunately with loss of life.  Not good.

So why is this happening?  Why is it so easy to ignore the fact that, when we’re rolling our cush-mobiles down the highway, we’re still operating a very dangerous machine – at speed?  Stuff can happen at speed and it’s not always good stuff.

Have we all decided that Driving on the Edge is okay?  That risking our lives on a daily basis won’t ever really catch up with us?  I think not.  Rather, it’s that Driving on the Edge has snuck up on us!  We don’t even realize we’re “on that edge” anymore!

Traffic has gotten faster and more congested.  It’s one thing to boogey along an open highway with plenty of visibility and few cars on the road.  It’s quite another when that highway begins to resemble a NASCAR speedway and it’s an Eighteen Wheeler that’s in front of us.  We’ve gotten used to our more aggressive roadways – and this can hurt us. 

The sudden stops are second nature.  We almost expect that driver to swing out of the side street or make a left turn right in front of us.  Cutting people off has become almost acceptable.  We face danger every day on the roads and we’ve so gotten used to it we don’t give it a second thought until we have to.  Then, it can be too late!

Now those NASCAR race drivers face danger too.  They drive on the edge in every race.  So what’s the difference between them and us?  Let’s Driverthink about it.

First, the race cars are specially designed.  A race car driver can walk away from a crash at 150 mph because the car he drives is designed to protect him from it.  Yes, our motorized living rooms are fairly safe too, but even at 50 mph it’s not going to be pretty.

That racecar driver also has skills.  The cream floats to the top.  If he’s not at least, an extremely skilled driver, he’s not a racecar driver for very long.

But what’s the major difference?  That racecar driver knows he’s driving on the edge.  He understands that one wrong move – one twitch of the wrist, can send him into oblivion.  He knows when he’s loose or tight – and how to deal with it.  He’s as focused as any driver could ever possibly be.
 
We’re not.

We need to learn to recognize when we’re suddenly driving on the edge or when we’re taking chances, and when we’re not.  It’s all about recognizing that increased risk -- which will place us on the edge.   

So how to we recognize it, when that high risk situation overtakes us?  How can we learn to realize that, suddenly, we’re “on the edge?”

Driverthink has always suggested that it’s not a great idea to intentionally place our lives in the hands of other drivers.  If we’re depending on other drivers to keep us alive, that should be a “wake up call” that we’re now Driving on the Edge. 

If we’re changing lanes and have to depend on the driver we’re moving in front of, to hit his brakes so he won’t hit us, we’re Driving on the Edge.  We’re giving up control of our own destiny.  It’s in his hands.

If we can’t see well beyond the vehicle in front of us, and we’re driving too close to her, we’re also Driving on the Edge.  We’re driving blind.  Seventy is still seventy whether we’re on her bumper or seven car lengths behind her, but those seven car lengths can keep us out of the high risk zone.  If we Tailgate?  We’re always on the edge.

How do we deal with Driving on the Edge?

• We don’t get used to it.  Don’t let Driving on the Edge sneak up on us.

• Recognize the risk.  Be alert to driving situations that transition us to higher risk.

• Don’t intentionally place ourselves constantly at risk.  We will eventually get caught.  Maybe -- we’ll even live to tell about it.

• If we find ourselves in high risk situations, try to back off.  “Space” is “King” when it comes to risk avoidance on the highway.

• Until we can remove ourselves from the risk, think “racecar driver”.  We must give the high risk situation our full, undivided attention and focus.

Driving on the Edge.  Learn to recognize it, avoid it and don’t let it sneak up on you.  Most of all, fine tune the driving skills you will need – when Driving on the Edge does suddenly become unavoidable.

Have you ever tried to figure out how we all got stuck with HOV lanes?  I have.  It isn’t easy but it appears to be a Federal mandate type of nightmare, courtesy of the Federal Highway Administration (whoever they are), connected somehow to the Federal Department of Transportation and/or the Department of Environmental Control. 

Then, in conjunction with various state transportation agencies that monitor them, we end up with our HOV’s.  In short, the HOV was created by, and appears to be hobbled in -- bureaucracy.  Wikipedia offers an interesting and more detailed discussion, particularly in their “criticisms” section.

Together with a lot of Federal doublespeak, the Federal Highway Administration website link above, notes that “In accepting Federal funds to acquire right-of-way, to design or construct HOV lanes, agencies agree to manage, operate and maintain the HOV lanes in a safe and efficient manner.”  Safe and efficient?  Hmmm.  That’s debatable!  They take our tax dollars and barter them back to us as the HOV nightmare.

High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, often called Car Pool lanes or Diamond lanes, appear to have been first introduced in California during the 1970’s.  Original intentions were to reduce highway congestion while saving precious gallons of fuel by rewarding those who would carpool. 

It sounded good but if you web search “HOV’s” you’ll find preci