Driving Skills – How to Keep Your Eyes on the Road

운전연수 Driving is a fundamental life skill that gives people the independence and sense of freedom they need. It can also improve their job prospects and professional development.

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Having advanced driving skills allows you to anticipate the behaviour of other road users. This is especially useful if the weather or visibility is poor.

Eyes on the Road

Keeping your eyes on the road is one of the most important things you can do while driving. It allows you to see hazards, check mirrors and blind spots, keep track of other cars and 운전연수 traffic conditions. It also helps you make good decisions. Studies have shown that even brief glances away from the road can significantly decrease your reaction time and increase your crash risk.

Eye movement research while driving has been done using a number of different methodologies from simple simulation and test drive studies to more immersive virtual and on-road experiments that require the participants to actively control their vehicle while accounting for their surroundings. In many of these studies, the researchers tracked the drivers’ eye movements to determine fixation duration, horizontal spread of search and vertical spread of search. This information was then compared to crash data for each participant.

Results of these studies have found that any secondary task engagement increases the likelihood of a crash or near-crash (CNC) and that this risk is independent of the type of secondary task engaged. However, it could not be determined whether the pattern of distraction favored longer durations of eyes off the roadway for novice teenage drivers or that the durations of eye glances related to wireless secondary tasks were more dangerous for certain driving conditions, such as driving straight ahead on moderate speed roads with little traffic versus maneuvering through an intersection in heavy traffic.

Listening to the Traffic

When you’re driving it is important to listen to the traffic. This is especially true when you’re changing lanes or merging into traffic. Listening to the traffic will help you to anticipate other road users, so that you can make safe decisions in any situation.

It is also important to pay attention to your surroundings and be aware of any changes 운전연수 in the road conditions. This will help you to be prepared if there is adverse weather or diminishing light, which can affect your visibility.

You should be ready to respond quickly to any sudden changes in the road conditions. This can mean slowing down or even stopping if necessary. It is important to remember that other road users may not have the same awareness of the road conditions as you do, so give them plenty of space.

Taking refresher driving classes is an excellent way to get back into the groove of good driving habits. It is easy to become overconfident in your own abilities, and getting a refresher course can help you to focus on the aspects of driving that are important to your safety. Having the right skills will allow you to remain calm and focused, even in stressful situations on the road. This can reduce the risk of accidents and traffic violations. Correlations between background variables, self-evaluated perceptual-motor and safety skills as well as DBQ variables (ordinary violations, aggressive violations, errors and lapses) showed that safer drivers are less likely to commit violations and lapses.

Observing Other Road Users

As well as paying attention to other drivers, you need to be able to observe the road and its features. For example, you need to be aware of the position and movements of other road users – including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders – and how they may react to changes in your driving. You also need to be aware of the surface of the road, especially in bad weather (such as spray caused by puddles) or after heavy rain (where there may be hidden dips).

To carry out effective observation you must constantly scan the road ahead, both sides and behind your vehicle. This requires good vision and the ability to shift your gaze around quickly without becoming over-focussed on any one area. It is a key skill that can be improved by practice and it is the skill that allows you to anticipate how the road situation might develop ahead of you – and that, in turn, leads to safe driving.

When it comes to observing other road users, you need to pay particular attention to motorcycles, who can be hard to see in traffic and have very little protection from the elements. You also need to be careful around large vehicles, as they take longer to stop and their blind spots can be difficult to judge.

Developing a Sixth Sense

Many veteran operators have a sixth sense that they rely on while driving. This is often an unspoken ability to notice things that other drivers would not – such as a passenger that does not board the bus, vehicles turning in front of them without signaling or unusual road or traffic conditions.

A new study suggests that this innate sense counters cognitive or emotionally charged distractions but not texting. Researchers tested volunteers by having them drive the same simulated stretch of highway four times: twice distraction free, once under cognitive stress (researchers posing them challenging questions), once under emotional stress and once while texting. They found that even though steering became jittery under all of these conditions, lane departures only became unsafe when the driver was texting.

The scientists who ran the study believe that this is due to a part of the brain known as the anterior cingulate cortex which works as an error corrector. When a driver gets distracted, ACC instantly intervenes to counteract the jitters caused by the disruption in their eye-hand coordination loop. However, when a driver is texting, this function is interrupted and lane deviations occur. Identifying this norm and teaching new operators about it could help them to understand why it is important to refrain from using their phone while driving.