Hazard Perception in Practice
At first when you are learning to drive, all your concentration has to go on trying to co-ordinate feet hands and brain to make the car do what you want it to – and it’s a great triumph when that all starts to come together. Yet, quite quickly, this aspect becomes second nature, just like it did when you learned to walk or ride a bike.
This is when you start to appreciate the real art of safe driving: "defensive driving" is the current buzzword (or words), or basically learning to anticipate the frequently daft behaviour of other drivers! It’s tempting fate, I know, but I haven’t been involved in any kind of road accident, regardless of fault, in over 35 years as a driver or as an instructor. Yet when I first passed my test, I was involved in a couple in the first two years!
 | Even though the other drivers may have been chiefly to blame, with the
benefit of experience, I now realise I could have avoided them with
better anticipation and awareness. It is about being pro-active rather
than reactive: something I was never really taught and, like most
experienced drivers, had to learn for myself - but it is a way of
thinking I am enthusiastic about teaching my own pupils.
|
As your lessons progress and you become more proficient, I will constantly be encouraging you to assess developing situations, looking for potential hazards, watching other drivers and pedestrians and trying to anticipate what they are about to do. It is very satisfying when you are able to correctly anticipate a driver changing lane suddenly without signalling or a pedestrian stepping out without looking. Then you will already be taking the appropriate action before they have even moved and so have avoided a potential accident. The key question to be continually asking yourself is “What if...” |  |
Safety during your Lessons
Before they start driving lessons, many people are understandably
nervous and worry they may crash the car. Well, as I’ve already said,
I have avoided having an accident for 35 years and, frankly, I’m very
keen to keep it that way.With dual controls and lots of experience, I can take over at any time and know when to do so to get you out of any trouble before it develops. I also ensure that I never take you into situations that you are not ready for. I don’t believe in “throwing you in at the deep end” and I believe that this style of “teaching” is both lazy and counter-productive as it has a negative impact on developing confidence.
Lastly, if all else fails, my new Peugeot 207 is one of the safest small cars on the road, with a 5 star safety rating, as well as being wonderfully easy to drive.
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