DEFENSIVE DRIVING

he International Road Federation, in Washington DC, has published this important research paper, from its 'Driver Behaviour, Education and Training [D-BET] sub-committee', giving the reasons why drivers should NOT be taught 'how to get out of a skid' or how to do a last-minute 'evasive swerve'. It focuses on the importance of environmental scanning to avoid and anticipate hazards and controversially suggests that teaching courses on emergency action can actually increase crash rates. Whilst we at Security Drivers welcome the contribution to the debate we believe that training in BOTH areas is the best approach. 'Defensive Driving’ can start before you enter a vehicle and can involve planning the route, checking the weather reports and establishing disruption and planned events such as marches, road works and closures. Once actually in the vehicle, familiarity with the controls, CCTV, mirrors, warnings, breaking and accelerating capabilities are all essential, even before you start the car. Choosing the route to satisfy the client while delivering the safest possible service, and during the drive awareness of every possible hazard must be constantly maintained. In this way the threat is mitigated from the outset. However, even by taking all of these precautions, we believe that the driven environment remains dynamic and unpredictable to the extent that the risks can never be completely eradicated, and that well executed evasive tactics must be anticipated and trained for. Good driving is like good dancing, achieving a balance that is graceful and appears effortless. View the paper (pdf) at: http://www.irfnews.org