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India is one of the largest automotive markets in the world. Hundreds of cars are sold here each day, be it the first-hand market or the used car market. The road space in our cities, however, does not grow in the same geometric progression as the graphs on the sales charts of car manufacturers and sellers. Naturally, traffic conditions in all cities, without exception, have worsened over the years and driving in such conditions is now more perilous than ever before. The good news though is that you can still do enough to safeguard your own interests, i.e: your car’s safety and your own. The answer lies in defensive driving. Here’s the first in a three-part series on how you can drive defensively.
Defensive driving is the exact opposite of competitive driving. It is based on the premise that your safety lies mainly in your own hands and that the better you control your vehicle and the road space it occupies, the safer you’ll be. Defensive driving is based on awareness, anticipation, responsibility and consideration for other road users.
Awareness of the driving environment, which changes continually as the vehicle moves forward, is crucial to safe driving, ie: defensive driving. The key aspect here is good observation skills. This is what will help you assess a situation and then decide on your course of action. Look ahead to spot things early on so that you get early warning signs. At the same time improve peripheral vision to spot things around you.
While looking ahead will help you spot things early on, you must also analyse everything you see. Will that pedestrian on the sidewalk step on to the road in front of my car? Irrespective of the answer you must be prepared for that eventuality so that in case he does step out and in front of your car you are already prepared to stop rather than indulging in an emergency braking manouevre at the last possible moment.
A good driver is always aware of his responsibilities. He knows that not only is his safety dependent on his actions but those of others as well. This includes cars that might be behind him. As a result he avoids things like braking late, driving around a blind corner at speed without signaling or sudden acceleration and so on.
Defensive driving also takes into account that there will be times when others will make mistakes around you and land you in a situation that you would ideally avoid. Watch the car behind you to see if it’s driving too close to you. Let the vehicle in a hurry pass, if he is driving aggressively there is no need for you to do the same. One fool on the road is enough of a hazard anyway.
