Some wisdom isn't written into the textbooks. Some of it is passed down from generation to generation, based on years of experience, trial and error. I was fortunate enough to have a father that was rather attentive and spent a lot of time on the road. When it came time for me to start driving, he passed down pearls of wisdom that have saved my bacon a number of times. It would be unfair of me to squirrel away all this knowledge and not share it with you.
Related: Just passed your driving test? 5 Tips to ease new driving nerves
While many new drivers may benefit from the advice metered below, even us experienced folk could do with a reminder from time to time. Maybe you've been driving a long time and haven't considered some of these points or maybe, like most of us, you've developed a few bad habits along the way. Read through the tips below and head out, more confident and more importantly, safer as a result.
1. Avoid distractions
I know, this one is in every handbook out there but for a very good reason. Distractions are the primary cause of accidents and close calls. The most common distraction these days are our cell phones. Really, put the cell phone away and leave it until you get to your destination. There really isn't anything that is that important that it can't wait for you to get to your destination. If you have the ability, connect your phone up to the Bluetooth in your car for important calls and streaming music, but leave the texting until you've arrived. Newer cars have Android Auto and Apple CarPlay that will help you stay connected, but not distracted while driving. Read more about that here: What is Apple CarPlay? How does it work?
Casting your eyes down to your phone, or trying to type a message while driving uses far too much of your cognitive abilities for you to focus on what is going on around you. Things can happen rather suddenly and unexpectedly. Volkswagen carried out a rather shocking experiment in a Hong Kong movie theatre that really drives the point home.
2. Plan ahead
We're not talking about your long term goals here, we're just referring to how you think while you drive. Too many drivers concentrate on a small box around their car and don't factor in the road ahead. Ahead of you, there may be an obstacle, an intersection, or even just other traffic... it could be anything. When you only concentrate on the little box around your car, you don't leave yourself enough time to react and plan.
If there's a broken-down car, or a slow-moving truck ahead of you, the sooner you identify the obstacle and plan around it, by changing lanes, the less likely you are to interrupt your driving flow. You may not even have to slow down. Leaving your avoidance manoeuvre to the last minute is a disruption to the traffic flow and has a knock-on effect.
Planning ahead is crucial at all times. When you're in an urban or city centre, think about the next turn you have to make and start getting your car into position ahead of time. You'll miss fewer turns and exits and disrupt traffic considerably less. As a result, your travel time will be cut down and you'll be less anxious, knowing that you're ready to take that turn or come to a stop at the intersection.
Planning ahead on the highway helps avoid accidents and disruptions caused by lane changes. We go into more highway driving in the next point but remember that the faster you drive, the further ahead you need to look and think. Planning ahead will see you in the correct lane at the correct time, and even if that means having to travel for a few hundred meters behind a truck, it will still be faster than cutting across at the last minute. It's a lot safer too!
3. Join highways at speed
Highways, by design, are a rather safe way to travel and greatly reduce travel times and fuel consumption when used in the manner intended. By having everyone travel in the same direction at a similar speed, multiple variables are removed making it a safer way to travel bigger distances. This is in theory though and the biggest cause of highway accidents is a variation in speed; fast-moving traffic meeting slow-moving traffic. A car travelling too slow for the flow of the highway causes a ripple effect where the faster cars are forced to brake, change lanes or alter their trajectory. This variable that is introduced affects all of the cars around the two cars and in doing so causes others to have to react in a manner that is not anticipated. Remember the slow-moving truck in point 2? If it wasn't in your way you wouldn't have to slow down or change lanes.
You can avoid being that slow-moving truck by joining the highway at the speed that everyone else is moving at. Usually, the slow lane that you're entering will be travelling between 90 and 110 km/h. Speed up as you climb onto the onramp and get your speed up so that you can join the rest of the traffic with as little disruption possible. You'll be surprised how many people will let you into traffic if you're doing the same speed as them.
4. Leave a gap
Too few drivers, new and experienced, are unaware of how long it takes to stop a car from a speed. They will drive far too close to the car in front of them, failing to leave adequate braking distance. A following distance is the cheapest form of insurance you can buy - it costs nothing but it can save your life, and your car.
A car travelling at 100 km/h can cross a soccer field in less than 3-seconds. The average human has a reaction time of 0.25-seconds if they're prepared for the event. If they're not prepared, it can take more than 1-second to assess the situation, identify the danger, think of a plan, and react. In the time it takes you to do that, you're nearly at the halfway line of that soccer field. Add to that the car's reaction time (the time it takes for the brakes to work once you've pressed the brake pedal) and that time starts to grow. You're now past the halfway line and that broken-down car is fast approaching. A great car with sports brakes, ABS and EBD will be able to stop from 100 km/h to 0 km/h in only 30-metres. Is your car that good?
Leaving a bit of a gap is the safest way to drive. Sure, someone is bound to cut in between you and the car in front of you but that's ok, and we'll tell you why later. Trust me, they're not making any progress and you're not being slowed down enough for it to matter at the end of your journey. Let them in, they'll move on soon enough and free up the road for you.
Leaving a gap also allows you to spot dangers such as potholes. When you drive too close to the car in front of you they block your view of the road. No one wants to hit a pothole and this is an easy way of avoiding it.
To get the right gap, watch as the car in front of you passes a lamp post, then start counting, 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi, until you pass that same lamp post. You should at least make it to 3 before you pass the post. If not, you need to drop back some more.
5. Find the gap
Because highways only work in theory, there will be slower moving traffic and faster moving traffic on the highway. You can avoid a lot of traffic by finding the gaps.
Next time you're on the highway, look for the gaps. Traffic on the highway travels in packs. Slower moving traffic holds up faster-moving traffic and this causes bunching. Hanging back behind this bunch (a fair distance behind) will see you ahead of the pack behind you and behind the pack in front of you, with so much room you'll think it was lockdown again.
You'll need to find the speed to travel at that keeps you in that gap in traffic. It's usually about 110 km/h and if you're not in a rush you'll be treated to a calm, peaceful journey that hasn't presented any dangers. Try it! You'll be amazed!
6. Don't be a chicken
No, we're not saying you're a scared-cat, we're saying that you may be doing things that cause you to be a chicken crossing the road. This is based on the chicken and snake principle (phantom intersection). To best understand what we mean by that, watch the video below and see if there's a way that you can avoid becoming the chicken. (tip: it's listed in points 1-5)
The video is only 4-minutes long, but it will change the way you look at traffic forever.
7. Leave 5-min earlier
Remember how we were talking about planning ahead? This doesn't only apply to the actual act of driving, this works well in life too and can help your travels in ways you wouldn't believe.
Planning ahead and leaving 5-minutes earlier helps prevent you from rushing. If you're not rushed, you have more time to think, more time to plan ahead while driving and overall, less stress while on the road. No one minds if you arrive early, but they probably won't like it if you arrive late; so why not plan ahead and leave 5-minutes earlier than usual. You'll find that you're more relaxed behind the wheel and thinking clearer about things. This makes you a safer driver and will probably see you arrive 10-minutes ahead of schedule, giving you time to catch up on those messages you were ignoring while you were driving! Win-win!
You'll also be able to travel at that 110 km/h that is required to stay in that gap (point 5) and because you're not rushing, you don't mind leaving a gap (point 4). As a result, you won't be that chicken (point 6) and you'll be able to plan ahead (point 2) without needing to panic. See? There's a method to our madness.
8. Finally, commit
No, we're not saying you need to get on one knee and pop the question but rather commit to your decision when driving. This one is a little harder for newer drivers but if you're abiding by the points listed above, you'll soon start to see your confidence grow. You'll start to trust your own judgement calls a lot quicker and before you know it you'll be a confident driver.
And then you need to commit. If you decide to cross an intersection, do it. If you're changing lanes, do it. Hesitation leads to a lot of problems and causes most of the problems we see on the roads. Uncertainty leads to a lot of accidents that could have easily been avoided if the driver had only committed to the manoeuvre.
Think carefully about your plan (that should be fine because you left 5-minutes earlier and you're planning ahead), think of how you can do it safely and once you know what needs to be done, do one last check of the mirrors and do it. Commit to the action.
