The most
important part of your body in terms of driving is your eyes and
observation is the most important skill. Everything starts with
observation.
Proper
observation techniques are extremely important in being a safe driver
and being able to pass your road test.
The proper mindset is very
important.
The
wrong mindset
Most new drivers are under
the impression that one look is good enough. Or that solely relying on
their mirrors is enough. Or that just because a street seems clear
that it will stay that way. Or they have very limited understanding of
where a vehicle could come from and how quickly it can reach them.
This kind of limited thinking can lead to accidents or near accidents.
Or they may not understand when their view of a street is partially
blocked.
More often than not one
look is not good enough.
Ask yourself, is it
possible that as soon as you turn your head, a car could be coming
from where you just looked? Yes. Is it possible that as soon as you
turned your head that a car could have come from around the corner or
from a parking spot or from a driveway? Yes. If you only look once in
this scenario would you be aware that vehicle? Probably not.
Would have been able to
see that vehicle in your mirrors? Maybe.... Maybe not.
If you could see
everything in your mirrors there would be no such thing as a blind
spot.
Blind
spots
A blind spot is any area
of the street or intersection of which you do not have a clear
unobstructed view or any area of the street where you have a limited
line of sight. A blind spot can be anywhere. Your mirrors offer you a
limited line of sight. Your mirrors are in a fixed position, therefore
they can not give you a 360 degree panoramic view of what's behind you
or on the side of you. Instead your mirrors are most effective
in seeing things that are far away. The further away it is, the more
likely it will be in your mirror's line of sight. The closer it is to
you, the less likely it is to be in your mirrors line of sight. Thus
creating blind spots on either side of your vehicle. Anything that is
to the extreme left or extreme right of your vehicle, you will not be
able to see in your mirrors. There can be another vehicle right next
to you and even with your mirrors fixed properly you would not be
aware of it's presence.
Your rear view mirror
shows you what is directly behind you but your view may be partially
obstructed by the window partitions of the back window.
Your side mirrors show you
what's on the left and right side of your vehicle, respectively. But
if something is outside the line of sight of your side mirrors, you
will not see it unless you physically turn your head. This is a blind
spot.
The only way to see things
in your blind spot is to physically turn your head and look in that
direction.
Used properly your mirrors
can be very effective but even then they are not 100% reliable. Good
observation employs equal use of your mirrors and looking over your
shoulder. Compare the two.
Next time you are in your
vehicle look in your mirrors then look over your shoulder. Take a
survey of everything that you see in your mirrors as opposed to when
you look over your shoulder. Are they the same exact things?
Whatever you can see when
you look over your shoulder that you cant see when you look in your
mirror is a blind spot.
Also your mirrors may not
give you an accurate perspective of how far away a vehicle actually
is. Thus the phrase "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear".
Blind spots can be created
by anything. The headrest in your car can cause a blind spot. The size
of a window partition can cause a blind spot. A pedestrian, a parked
vehicle, a tree, a bush, even passengers in your own vehicle can all
make it difficult to see.
Good observation requires
that you have a 100% unobstructed view of the road. Most people rely
on something less than that. Anything less than 100% is a gamble.
Most people have very poor
observation skills.
Mostly because they are
not taught the proper techniques and also because they have the wrong
mindset as it pertains to observation.
A proper mindset assumes
that anything can come from anywhere at anytime.
It only takes a split
second for a car to appear.
We’ve all heard
of that expression… “That vehicle came out of nowhere…!!” But is that
true? Can a vehicle come out of nowhere? Is it a magical vehicle? Is
the car being driven by David Blaine? Or did it actually come from
somewhere? If it came from somewhere, you have to ask yourself… why
didn’t I see it? Maybe you were not looking good enough. Maybe you did
not look at the right moment. Maybe you failed to anticipate that
particular situation. Maybe you failed to anticipate a speeding car or
a vehicle swinging from around the corner or a vehicle pulling out of
a driveway or a parking spot. Maybe that’s why you didn’t see it. And
not because it just appeared out of thin air.
Anything can come from
anywhere at anytime.
Those type of
situations make a car “seem” as if it came from nowhere. How long does
it take for a vehicle to “seemingly” appear out of thin air? A minute?
A second? A split second? It only takes a split second. As soon
as you turned your head from left to right while looking for traffic,
a car could have turned the corner at that exact same moment or the
light could have changed allowing traffic to approach you or a car
could have pulled out of a driveway and in any of these situations,
you would never be aware of it’s presence. Unless you looked again.
Anticipation is a key element in being aware of all these possible
scenarios. Experience is another.
Anticipation is a key
element in good observation.
There are five
different questions that must be answered and understood to master the
skill of observation. They are:
What, When, Where, Why, How…
What to look
for – cars, pedestrians, bicycles, traffic lights, signs, pavement
markings.
When to look
- you should look before, during and after every move or
maneuver. The most important time to look is right as you start to
move. That is the “critical moment”. As soon as you step on the gas or
take your foot off the brake, look over your shoulder. As soon as the
car starts to roll, look over your shoulder. That is the most
important time to look for traffic. That is when you are at the most
risk of somebody hitting you or you hitting somebody. Look over your
shoulder. Look over your shoulder. Look over your shoulder.
Where to look
– not one, not two or three blocks down but look as far down as you
can see. Look for driveways, parking spots, double parked vehicles,
cars at stop signs, cars at traffic lights, cars coming from around
the corner, the sidewalk for pedestrians. (Anywhere...)
Why look –
to avoid accidents.
How to look
– use your mirrors and look over shoulder, look several times (one
look is seldom good enough), look before, during and after your move.
As soon as you take your eyes off of one part of the road that is the
opportunity from something to come from that direction. It only takes
taking your eyes off a particular part of the road for a split second
not to see a vehicle. Remember that. Operate with the mindset that
anything can from anywhere at anytime...
Blind spot recognition
Your blind spots
are generally considered to be on either side of your vehicle. To the
far left and to the far right.
Develop a habit
of practicing to look over your shoulder. Anytime you are pulling out
into traffic or merging with traffic, coming out of your lane or
switching lanes you should look over your shoulder. Anytime you are
moving from one side to the other and there is enough space for a car
to pass you on that side, you should look over your shoulder. Anytime
you are double parked and you are about to move you should look over
your shoulder. Failure to look over your shoulder in these situations
could lead to an accident.
You must be able
to recognize places where blind spots can occur. Some typical places
are:
Pulling out of a
parking spot. (the other vehicles parked behind you make it difficult
to see traffic approaching from your rear)
Stop signs. (when
pulling into an intersection from a stop sign, trees, bushes and/or
parked vehicles can make it difficult to see approaching vehicles. One
or more of these types of obstructions can block more than 50% of your
view of the road)
Switching lanes.
Trucks parked close
to the intersection could obstruct your view of a stop sign or a
vehicle coming out from a side street.
One way/Two way street recognition
Common mistakes
Pulling out
- when your car is on an angle your mirrors are on an angle. Therefore
for a brief moment, when you look in your mirrors they will be showing
you the curb and not the street.
Stop signs - when
you stop sign often your view of the road is partially obstructed by
parked vehicles. People usually take it for granted that nothing is
coming not fully understanding that they actually can't see enough of
the street from their current position to accurately make that
determination. Move out enough into the intersection to see at least
two blocks down in either direction unobstructed.
Intersections -
sometimes people spend too much time focusing on one thing and not the
other. There are several places you should be looking when about to
make a turn. (approaching vehicles, pedestrians in or approaching the
crosswalk, vehicles behind you, the traffic light.) Failure to equally
pay attention to these things can lead to an accident or a poor
decision. Check everything, then double check then triple check.
Looking only once
Traffic light -
not noticing when the traffic light is changing.
Not looking at
the right time - the most important time to look is right as you
release your foot off the brake and your car starts to move.
Not looking enough -
depending on what your are doing several looks over you shoulder may
be needed. Most people make the mistake of only looking one time.
One way/Two way
street recognition - at first glance it is hard to tell the difference
between some one way streets and two way streets. The mistake
lies in relying on the width of the street as an indication as to what
the street is. A lot of people mistakenly assume that if a street is
extremely narrow that it is a one way road. Another mistake is the
assumption that all two way streets have a yellow line going down the
center of the road. Look for more reliable indicators such as the
direction of parked cars, one way signs, which way the stop sign is
facing, traffic lights and the flow of traffic.
Peripheral vision -
this is the ability to see things out of the corner of your eye. This
ability can help you see objects that may be in your blind spot or
that may be approaching you unexpectedly.
Short sighted - not
looking far enough down the road. Look as far down as you can see. In
every situation you should be able to see at least two blocks down in
either direction.
Anticipate - learn
to anticipate all the different places a vehicle or pedestrian can
come from. Learn to expect the unexpected. Don't drive in a little box
as if you are the only car on the road. Every driveway, every
intersection, every pedestrian, every moving, parked or stationary
vehicle can be a potential problem.
Switching lanes -
most people rely on their mirrors only. Although proper use of the
mirrors is very effective, they can not show you everything. The
proper way to switch lanes is to combine looking over your shoulder
with using your mirrors.
Signs & pavement
markings - most people do not pay enough attention to them. They are
designed to give you direction.
Parallel
parking - Most people are focus only on looking in one direction or at
one thing. You should be looking over your shoulder, checking the
passenger side mirror, rear view mirror, looking in front for traffic,
looking in back for traffic, making sure you have enough clearance
between the front of your car and the back of the vehicle you are
parking behind.
Reversing - most people do
not look over their shoulder. Anytime you are reversing you should be
looking over your shoulder out the back window.
3pt turn - most
people do not look enough. Constant head movement left and right is
necessary along with looking out the back window when reversing.
Turns - not
paying attention to the traffic lights, not looking for pedestrians.
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