Driving Theory vs Real-Life - Part 2

Had a long thought about the previous post on me skidding in Perth.

After thinking long and hard, only one thing comes to mind : Be mentally prepared everytime you are behind the wheel.

What my father and all other defensive driving instructors said is true. Mental preparation is the only way. Once the skid happens, there was no time to switch from chatting with friends in the back-seats to handling the skid. Instincts kicked in - and human instinct is to press harder on the brakes when the vehicle doesn't slow down, and try to steer away even when the tyres do not have traction.

The only way to react correctly is :

(1) Mental Preparation to overcome incorrect basic instincts ; or
(2) Repeated training such that normally incorrect instincts are rectified. That means lots of time and lots of burnt rubber.

And defensive driving is always about anticipation. That will put you in the correct mental frame of mind to handle situations. Read somewhere that it takes just 3 seconds to "Zone out" or go into "Auto pilot" mode and will take longer to get back into the correct mental state and back to have the same reaction-time as an alert driver. If anything happens during that "tuning back" stage, the driver is totally clueless.

And some people say I am "tense" behind the wheel.


*-*-*-*-*


Once I am back to Singapore, had to adjust back to my own car. Hit the wrong stalk for signal, sending 10-days of dirt gathered on my wipers to be smeared all across the windscreen. *silly grin*

Also had to adjust back to the brakes of my own car. This morning, I had to adjust back to the driving pattern of Singapore.

After 10 days of driving in Perth, I am used to switching lanes casually once my signals are on. I am used to people giving way and not cutting into my lane.

What a difference is this morning on my way back to work, with a car going faster after I put on my signal to change lane. *sigh*