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Rodney · 06-10-2005, 05:17 PM

MSD got part of what I was going to say. A good and skillful driver knows his or her limits, and adjusts driving strategy accordingly. If you are sharp, attentive to road conditions, and know how to make your car do what you want, you can engage in driving strategies that leave less margin for error. If you are a little fuzzy and have a long reaction time, as I do, you leave a large "zone of safety" in front of your car, maintain a more moderate speed, and make a careful study of your mirrors before making a turn or lane change.

That said, a truly skillful driver always leaves a margin for error, even if his skills are great. Most all of us have been on a winding mountain road that is strange to us, driving carefully while the locals blow past us through the turns at great speed. They know every inch of the road and exactly how fast they can go on each turn. The problem is that their judgment leaves little room for the unexpected: an oil spill, road debris, a tire that suddenly fails, black ice. We have roads like that in this area, frequented by experienced drivers, and guess what: tourists and visitors rarely wreck on those roads. Nearly all the accidents happen to "experienced" locals who did not expect the unexpected.

Finally, as others have said, you need to know when the safest thing to do is to shift your strategy from what you're comfortable with to what's going to work: to go fast when the surrounding traffic is fast, to mash the gas suddenly in heavy traffic to avoid an oncoming peril (or to cut speed suddenly to let the peril slide in front of you), to go 35 on the Interstate when there's a terrible thunderstorm and visibility is 25 feet.

All drivers have a preference for how they wish to drive. But the truly skilful driver is one who can consciously override his or her preference when it is not the best strategy. Gilda's wife believes that aggressive driving is _always_ the best strategy, but no strategy is always the best one. She confuses reaction time and some manual skills behind the wheel with being a good driver, as many teenagers do.

06-10-2005, 05:17 PM	#47 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	MSD got part of what I was going to say. A good and skillful driver knows his or her limits, and adjusts driving strategy accordingly. If you are sharp, attentive to road conditions, and know how to make your car do what you want, you can engage in driving strategies that leave less margin for error. If you are a little fuzzy and have a long reaction time, as I do, you leave a large "zone of safety" in front of your car, maintain a more moderate speed, and make a careful study of your mirrors before making a turn or lane change. That said, a truly skillful driver always leaves a margin for error, even if his skills are great. Most all of us have been on a winding mountain road that is strange to us, driving carefully while the locals blow past us through the turns at great speed. They know every inch of the road and exactly how fast they can go on each turn. The problem is that their judgment leaves little room for the unexpected: an oil spill, road debris, a tire that suddenly fails, black ice. We have roads like that in this area, frequented by experienced drivers, and guess what: tourists and visitors rarely wreck on those roads. Nearly all the accidents happen to "experienced" locals who did not expect the unexpected. Finally, as others have said, you need to know when the safest thing to do is to shift your strategy from what you're comfortable with to what's going to work: to go fast when the surrounding traffic is fast, to mash the gas suddenly in heavy traffic to avoid an oncoming peril (or to cut speed suddenly to let the peril slide in front of you), to go 35 on the Interstate when there's a terrible thunderstorm and visibility is 25 feet. All drivers have a preference for how they wish to drive. But the truly skilful driver is one who can consciously override his or her preference when it is not the best strategy. Gilda's wife believes that aggressive driving is _always_ the best strategy, but no strategy is always the best one. She confuses reaction time and some manual skills behind the wheel with being a good driver, as many teenagers do.