defensive driving




almost got into a disagreement with a car coming in the opposite direction as i rounded a bend. put the total blame on the vehicle that had been ahead of me. i was behind this vehicle when it started to slow down. it slowed to a crawl and hesitated about halting. then further ahead, it slowed down again and this time, activated the hazard lights. naturally, i filtered right to move ahead and overtake. it then decided to move on as i was abreast with 'his' vehicle. i did not get the chance to see the nut who was driving, so i assumed it was a male driver.

the driver of the car that was coming towards me in the opposite direction had to be cursing me for being so reckless as i accelerated to move out of his path. i did not have the chance to stop to explain the situation to him as it was raining quite heavily.

one of the first thing you learning in defensive driving is to regard every motorist on the road as an idiot. if you accept that everyone makes driving errors, the logical thing to do is to drive with a wary attitude. be careful of approaching red lights, because you know a light by itself never stopped anyone. watch out for folks getting ready to pull out from parking beside the road. look for gaps in lines of traffic which might be the result of someone pausing to let another vehicle cross in front of them.

there are others: failure to signal a lane change or turn, or tailgating someone when they are poking along because they need to make a turn—a turn they suddenly will make when they see it at the last second. you can think of dozens of others. be alert to the possibilities and have a strategy in mind for dealing with them.