Respectfully, I'd say I'm an excellent driver, as far as safety record and common sense, etc. I've been driving for 30 years, and this includes heavy city traffic, interstate highways, and probably the most dangerous being the canyons of SoCal driven regularly. I think this is partly due to my never having felt competitive while driving, and no desire to challenge or answer challenges of dominance by other drivers. I do occasionally get a ticket; maybe one every 5 years for something like turning during hours when turns are prohibited, and honestly that's been because I just didn't pay attention to the time of day, and I do speed when safe on the open highway, although the law doesn't allow that.
My understanding of physics; particularly inertia, allows me to "see" a potential problem before it happens, which has let me get out of having accidents on many occasions. I don't panic while driving, and I don't do things like suddenly turn or change lanes without knowing who is around me, and double-checking. I watch other drivers, and try to tell what they might be about to do, and I put myself in a good position to evade it if they suddenly cut in, or pop out of a driveway, etc. Simple things like noticing a squirrel running across a road ahead, might mean a dog or cat is a few seconds behind it. Same with a bouncing ball and a child... I also don't make people angry by going slowly and holding people up; I pull over politely ASAP on one-lane roads when people come up behind, and I always obey the "slower traffic keep right" law and etiquette. All of these things lead to safer driving. And of course I keep vehicles in excellent condition, and I don't let things like burnt out brake lights, or bad tires, loose steering, etc., accumulate and pose dangers.
Charles
29 Jul 2013, 10:23 am
