Next in our blog posts of “What makes a good driver” is anticipation. Once you start to learn to drive around Newbury, your driving instructor can tell you the potential risks and they will get you to look at what may happen next.
Anticipation is the capability to understand and be aware of the problems which are transpiring around you. Consequently this will produce more alert driving, which can be another significant quality in any new motorist. Suppose you drove along with your eyes covered, could you have the ability to anticipate other cars? “No”, could be the response that comes back to you. This goes someway to show that if you only look as far as the end of your car, you’ll not be prepared to anticipate the potential risks you meet. To be able to see the dangers coming up it is imperative to change the places you look rather than to be concentrating on the tarmac or the number plate of the car in front of you. By using this method you can be more likely to have the skills to anticipate what exactly can happen ahead of you and so allow you to start to react a tiny bit sooner than other vehicles.
Defensive driving is the capability to predict what may take place and subsequently drive more cautiously. You’ll develop into a smoother motorist by reacting to hazards much sooner, sometimes 1 mile or more ahead and thus won’t have the need for emergency stops. Over many years of driving you will see lots of clues as to what might happen; children playing football on a pavement, what do you think is possibly going to happen next? A workman behind a car or van. An ice cream van parked at the side of the road. A cat on a pavement. The truth is there are many potential indicators that it would be extremely hard to collate them all in this article. It has been said that experienced road users react 2 seconds earlier than inexperienced car drivers. That’s because with many years of experience a driver can generally anticipate what may happen next, you may notice these indicators and subsequently you may already start to ease of the accelerator in expectation of the likely hazard.
Take into consideration a novice motorist who is coming to a crossing. On the edge of the pavement is a youngster talking on his mobile, only a few steps from the crossing. So what should be going through the drivers mind? Well the driver should really anticipate that the young lad will step on the crossing without paying attention. Consequently the driver will need to have started to ease of the gas in plenty of time so that if ever the young lad does step onto the crossing we are able to stop effortlessly without resorting to harsh breaking. If the young lad walks past and does not step onto the crossing then no harm done. At the very least you have stopped a possible collision by anticipating.
When you take driving lessons with Peter Skelton Driving School, your instructor will work on these skills to ensure that you become a safe and competent driver for life.