There’s nothing quite like repeating a journey day after day to dull your senses. This is especially true if you’re the driver of a journey that you take regularly. This can be dangerous due to being lulled into a false sense of security or driving on autopilot.
It’s on just those occasions when you must make sure that your brain remains engaged. Be actively looking for dangers, threats, bad drivers, pedestrians, motorcycles, bicyclists etc etc. Keeping your mind awake and avoiding ‘autopilot’ is imperative to ensure that you’ll be able to react, should the worst happen and a crash become a possibility.
Let me give you an example of just such an incident that happened to me – where I was switched on and the other driver was not. I was arriving to work at a previous place of employment, where there was a small roundabout prior to the parking area. A new Mazda RX-8 driver was clearly half asleep still as he swung in front of my path on the roundabout. Luckily, no damage was done to either vehicle and the (still tired) driver drove off looking incredibly sheepish.
There’s no substitute for experience and for me this means ensuring you’ve driven on all kinds of roads, during day and night, in a variety of different weather conditions. This is the point of the Pass Plus scheme and why it also grants you lower insurance premiums (from some, but not all companies).
A really important aspect of driving is learning from your experiences. Without actively thinking about what’s gone on (what took place) and how we handle situations, we never learn or improve our skills. This is why there are many out there who’ll tell you that your learning to drive actually begins when you pass your test. Roadcraft is a lifeskill when you do pass – and so it should be when you’re behind the wheel of something weighing more than a ton and capable of very quickly becoming an out-of-control weapon.
Alternatively, a competent, skilled driver with a comprehensive understanding of roadcraft can take pleasure from driving every day. Look out for future articles on roadcraft, where I’ll be giving tips on becoming a better driver.
Paul says
October 8, 2009 at 6:40 amI can highly recommend a driving experience to help break the boredom of driving. I do the same journey daily and after a while the tension builds up so once every two months or so I book myself onto either a track day or a driving experience. This gives me the release in tension I need as you can really experience a cars performance in a controlled environment. Great article by the way.
Wardy says
October 8, 2009 at 10:08 pmDriving experience does count for so much and it is easy to get switched off when driving when you get in an “auto pilot” mode.
Advanced driving skills courses should be highly recommended to teach drivers how they can drive better and more safely!
mobitronia says
October 21, 2009 at 5:31 amYeah I agree. Sometimes driving can be too boring already. So a driving experience would be a great break from the humdrum.
Roy says
February 26, 2011 at 1:00 amI offer pass plus though not many of my learners take it after passing the test, most are only interested in the scheme to reduce insurance costs.
The new drivers who have completed the course have said they enjoyed the experience and it was valuable to them as new drivers.
The “driving in all weather” part of the course as to be mostly covered in theory as we can’t magic snow, ice or rain.
I find the section most of the new drivers like and look forward to, is the motorway driving.
Most driving schools will offer motorway lessons as well.
There is no test at the end of the Pass Plus course, but the instructor has to sign you off and send your details to the DSA who will then send a certificate to the new drivier.