50 years of avoiding the loonies out there.... don't know how... just, mostly, have....
Actually started driving cars at 8 and motorcycles by 9 years old so that's a couple more years to tag on... Oh the joys of growing up in a scrap yard... Didn't matter if you crashed because they were being scrapped anyway and its so much better to learn you craft out in the field than be a damn nuisance poodling about on the road, whilst doing kangaroo impressions..
First Observation... Confidence.
Driving a car or riding a motorcycle requires confidence... in truth the vast amount of experience needed to have to ability do either well is purely down to confidence.... you think you can and you can.. (self doubt kills you just as quickly as inexperience)
But the tricky part is the amount of confidence... to much and your over-confident and your in a ditch saying (Ill let you choose the comment - but my favourite is "well that did not go as planned")...
The right amount means that you get to where your going without falling off the road or into someone else.... And.... you learnt something new along the way..... i.e. you can rear wheel steer around that corner at legal speeds.. Its all about keeping it inside your natural abilities....
Not like, as some people do.... and Mr Hammond did..... say "I am a driving God" and then crash... mind you still love Mr Clarksons quote of " slide through those pearly gates... backwards and on fire..." which, again, you may well do through over confidence..
Or your under-confident and your siting at a T junction waiting for the
road to be absolutely clear before pulling out, whilst behind you is a
flotilla of horns going of...
Or you are afraid to drive in town... or even out of town... Motorways.... Narrow roads that have tight bends...... etc... etc.. etc...
Under-confidence limits your abilities and the enjoyment of motoring... It also increases you chances of saying "never had an accident but seen several in the rear view mirror"
One of my Aunts used to take her hands of the steering wheel and cover her eyes if she found herself going over 40.. I kid you not....
Second Observation... Skill/Technique
Again, in truth, confidence is all that is required to drive on empty, normal, roads... but skill is the thing you learn over time.... and you need when there is any other traffic, obstacles, potholes and sheep about..... (don't hit a cow.... you might not have allot of car left)
you cant rush it..... you will either have a crash or will cause one....
You cant buy it.... you can pay for lessons to speed it up... but have known more than a few people who have proudly said "this guy has no idea" when referring to an instructor .... because they think they know better.... That comment looks, real, good on a headstone as they, themselves, are the ones with no idea...
You can only learn up to your natural reaction speed.... The brain takes half a second to react to something new... So its mechanism to get round this is automatic reactions... you do something a few times and then the brain says "OK got that.. when I see/feel/hear that... I do this".... instantaneously and then takes it a step further and says "this is new but its similar to...." and the auto reaction kicks in.
First time the back end steps out its, shall we say, entertaining.... but the next you just turn into it without thinking... that's automatic reactions.... the more you drive/ride the more automatic it becomes.... and if your brain is wired right you can end up a stunt rider with ease.... well with a lot of practise and a mountain of cardboard boxes...
But if its not important to you to be a better driver/rider as motoring is "just a form of transit" then the brain gets bored and switches off the auto react and just goes into a lazy autopilot mode... which means when something happens out side your normal "comfort" range... you crash or crash into.
An example of all of the above is my personal pet hate number 23 (and yes there are anymore)...
Just watch a tailgater on the dual carriageway... easily recognisable by lack of distance to the car/bike in front of him and the brake lights are on when the one in front are not...
- Overconfident in Abilities and Reactions while Underestimating the Surrounding Conditions -
(To be honest you should never use your brakes on a dual
carriageway... look far enough ahead... keep a sensible gap... and just
lift you foot off the accelerator and, just, use engine braking)
Third Observation... Anger
Don't care how good a driver/rider you may be you get angry and your abilities go sky high but your survivability goes to zero..
Yes I have seen some of my friends ride faster and better than there natural abilities allow.. but you become focused... single minded... and that's just simply dangerous... deadly even...
If some moron pulls out in front of you and you don't need to brake then why get angry... If someone pulls out in front of me and floors it... could not give a monkeys...
If that moron pulled out and you did have to brake the just be glad you missed him as getting angry and shouting obscenities often just gets you rear ended because you forgot to move again...
If the moron pulled out and you hit him.... don't get angry... just get the phone out and photograph everything...... LISTEN.. don't verbalise... you will be £'s better off in the end... mind you you may need that punching bag hung up the garage when you get home...
Fourth Observation.... Indifference
Why do most accidents happen within half a mile of home or a workplace.... Indifference.... "I always turn here so why do I need to indicate!" being my pet hate number 16....
The "you should know where I'm going" brigade do my head in. Longest I ever worked at one place was 15 years... and always indicated to turn in... but, as there were thousands who worked at Cranes, hundreds, everyday, did not.... kept the factory nurse busy anyway...
Fifth Observation.... Perception
The ability to be aware of your surroundings... More and more drivers these days are not...
Pet hate number 19.... Slip Lanes..... especially the one at the bottom of the A140 where it joins the A14.... nearly been killed there on many an occasion....
I'm coming up the slip lane behind someone.... were doing 60/60+ already.... I look over my shoulder/in the mirror... to check the gap... and when I look forward again the car in front is braking.. violently..... THE LORRY CAN NOT DO 60..... but he still panics and brakes rather than just carry on onto the carriageway...
I'm swerving up the inside of him... the lorry driver is laughing his head off... and the car driver, now stopped, need five times the gap before he can pull out again...
A really good trick/habit is to assume that someone is going to suddenly appear and pull out of every junction you pass..... and the thing is to think "where can I go"... it that gate open... is the pavement clear... that hedge is softer than the brick wall... anything is better than hitting something head on..
And in truth I have had to resort to driveways a couple of times rather than have a collision.
Never ever think "it will not happen to me" for the universal truth that is "Its never if it happens... its simply when.."
Anyway as I said at the start.... Not a "survivors" guide just random notes of the journey..
Would I love to do another 50.. not sure... to many cars and to few major roads to run them on.... but its all academic really as I know the Fuchs' Dystrophy will kick in one day soon and that will be that....
Be careful out there....
P
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