The Ten Commandments

When I started driving instruction, it became apparent that there were common faults that often presented in the majority of drivers.  I found myself dealing with same situations and the same responses, and after a while I noticed a consistency about the information and advice that I found myself repeating frequently.

After a year, I decided to record them.  That list became the Ten Commandments, the ten most important things I would want learner drivers, experienced drivers, fleet drivers, advanced drivers, commercial drivers, driving instructors, and anyone who uses the road, to bear in mind.

It seemed to me that, like the biblical commandments, this advice was often simplistic.  Indeed, I suspect that it's true to say the more important the advice, the simpler it is. That takes nothing away from it's importance.

I also think there's a kind of denial we all go through.  'I don't do that, though I've seen lot's of other people make that mistake...'  

Hmm...  According to the Institute of Advanced Motorists, 98% of drivers consider themselves to be above average (see here).  They can't all be right, can they?  I know I periodically make some of these mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and move on safely!

1)  Don't hit anything.

Pedestrians, cyclists, cars - should these things need justifying?  Road deaths represent the biggest cause of deaths of under 25's in England, which is an appalling situation to be in.  Road deaths can only happen when a collision occurs, and they are almost always avoidable.  In fact, shall we lay that down as a challenge?  Can you think of a collision that could or has occurred that couldn't be avoided?

2)  Look where you're going.

Sounds simple?  Where would you look to check a blind spot?  When would you check it?  Where would you look when you're reversing?

3)  The longer you can keep two hands on the wheel, the better.

Hmm.   I can sense a lot of raising eyebrows at this point.  Isn't it ok to drive one-handed?  Can't I change the CD when I want to?  I tend to drive with my left hand on the gear stick - is that so much of a problem?

Truth told, not always.  The problem is you don't get to choose when the times when it will be a problem will occur.  Releasing a grip on the wheel or 'palming the wheel' work fine, until you go over a stone or a pot hole or a squirrel, and then you have no control over where you're going.  If you're lucky you'll get away with it.  If you're not, you, or someone else, won't.

4)  It's very hard to find what you're looking for if you're looking in the wrong place.

Very often, I experience journeys where the driver is caught unawares by a conflict that hadn't been identified.  Usually this occurs from either insufficient observation, or from observation at the wrong time and/or the wrong place.

Observation needs to be targeted for a reason.  Every change of speed or direction we might intend needs to be preceded by some sort of evaluation of what effect that will have on those around us.  The question is, how do we prioritise these observations?

Essentially the answer is we need to look in the direction we're going to go, and that comes down to a lot of door mirror work in the direction we intend to head.

5)  Avoid conflict, even if you're in the right.

Being right is not as good as being alive, and they're not always the same thing.  Other people make mistakes. I believe we'd all be a lot better road-users if we accepted that we make mistakes too, as well as 'them others'.

If we accept that mistakes are, to some extent, part and parcel of life on the road, then I believe our long term interests are best served by trying to reach some sort of mutual understanding than some sort of mutual conflict.  If people makes mistakes around you - take a deep breath, and get on with it.  Aggression and conflict only lead to a state of mind where it's impossible to make calm, rational decisions - and that can only be the opposite of where we want to be.

6)  Don't expect people to behave predictably.

They won't.  Trust no one.  Make decisions based on what you can see, not on what other people do.  

Covered in this is is the classic 'use the person next to you on a roundabout as shield'.  It works out fine until they see something you can't (because they're blocking your view) and jump on the brakes, leaving you to soak up the collision.

7)  Stick to the rules of priority like glue.

Many of the conflicts I see stem from breaches of priority.  If you're not sure whether you should be going or not, it's time for another quick glance at the Highway Code.

Moreover, it's often not so much about going when it's not driver's priority - it's more about drivers giving way whe they don't need to - letting pedestrians cross the road, letting cars out of side roads, etc.  Not so bad?  Well, that's all fine and dandy if drivers first of all check the situation they're encouraging traffic out into - but they tend not to.  You will rarely see advanced drivers letting traffic out when it's not their priority.  They usually don't want the responsibility.  If you can do the observation, then ok - but usually, you want to be sticking to the rules of priority.

8)  All drivers should know the Highway Code backwards.

What's so important about it?  Well, it's impossible to lose the feeling that what we have on the road at the moment is millions of drivers free-styling it.  The only way to form order out of this chaos is a common system, and that system is the Highway Code.

The thing is, reading it once is not enough, whether you read it 20 years ago, or recently for your Theory Test, it needs to be read frequently, because - guess what? - it changes.  Every couple of years or so, an update is released, to take account of changes in traffic law, technology and current thinking about approaches to traffic.

The Highway Code is important - it gives us all a backbone to what we should be doing.  You wouldn't play a game of football against an opposition who play with the rule that it's ok to pick the ball up.  Traffic is the same.

9)  When it all goes wrong, stick to your lane and keep the space, even if it means you end up going somewhere else.

Changing lanes is hard.  You don't want to do it accidentally and you only want to do it deliberately when you're damned sure you know what's going on around you.  

In addition, it's not just a case of making sure you see everything you need to.  It's a matter of making sure that everyone who needs to see you can and does.  In a parallel lane system, everyone's going to be heading in roughly the same direction at roughly the same speed.  That's a recipe for sitting in each other's blind spots.  Don't.  Consider dropping back another 10 metres, or getting past, rather than sitting on someone's shoulders.

Sometimes you'll want to change lanes, and find you can't.  Hey ho.  No sweat.  Go somewhere else and turn round.  Late, sudden and unpredictable lane changing is a cause of many crashes and deaths each year.   Always better to go somewhere that you don't want to go than hit something you don't want to hit...

10)  You never stop learning to drive.

I always think that's in a positive and negative way.  Every day I see drivers do something that makes me wince, and say to myself, 'Jeez - better make sure I never do that!'  Every day I see drivers do something that makes me think, 'Wow - I hadn't thought of that - good call!'  Indeed, some of the things I teach in driving have been copied from learner drivers doing good things that I hadn't thought of.

Keep learning, and value the process.  It's the only way to go forwards.

Well - there you go.  All comments gratefully received...