COMMANDER'S PERSONAL NOTE
NO 5 : BETTER DRIVING
General
1. Nearly anyone of sound mind and body can learn to drive a motor
vehicle - but to drive it safely and well is an art. Experience alone is not
enough; unless the right techniques are learnt and the rules of the road
understood thoroughly, mistakes are repeated and become habit. This
note is not aimed at teaching you how to drive but at emphasizing
essential aspects of better driving.
The Basics
2. Almost every driver is convinced that he drives superbly. Yet, the
perfect driver - the man who always drives smoothly, safely and
methodically - does not exist. Every driver is only on the way to
perfection, regardless of the years of driving experience behind him.
3. Safe driving calls for a total awareness of what others are doing, and
the ability to communicate with them. For a driver a hazard is anything
that calls for a change of direction, speed or gear. It should be the
intention of every driver to prevent his vehicle from being a hazard to
any other road user.
4. Moving Off. The following actions must be taken:-
(a) Adjust seat and position to be able to reach all controls
easily.
(b) Adjust rear view mirrors to provide maximum visibility.
(c) Signal appropriately using the lights and hand.
(d) Look behind and on your sides. Then move off.
5. Stopping. The vehicle has three braking systems - the accelerator,
gears and the brakes themselves(feet and hand). A controlled stop should
involve the use of all three. With proper road observation and
anticipation the sequence will involve taking your feet off the accelerator
long before the brakes are applied; gentle application of the brakes;
changing into a lower gear; braking again, and finally coming to a gentle
stop. Do not be a hazard yourself, therefore stop off the road surface, if
possible, otherwise to the extreme left, always. Always make sure your
hand brake is in working order and when parked always keep the hand
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brakes on. Do not stop voluntarily when your vehicle will restrict the
passage of others.
6. Road Observation. A driver must take in the whole scene around him,
evaluate it, and then act. He must see, then interpret, then anticipate,
then act. The driver needs concentration, reaction and anticipation,
accurate interpretation of even the smallest detail, and sometimes even
intuition. The driver has to consider not only what he can see, but also
what he cannot see. Observation alone is not enough, the driver needs
the eye of a detective - looking for clues and interpreting them, then
deciding what they portend. Some examples are given below:-
(a) If a vehicle emerges from a side road, assume there are
others behind it.
(b) Dumps of road building material often will mean men and/or
machinery close ahead.
(c) Animal dung on the road warns of danger.
(d) Skid marks on the road should warn you of dangerous
curves or other hazards.
(e) Parked vehicles, especially buses and trucks will invariably
mean some person on foot hidden by the vehicle. Look for feet
under and through the parked vehicle.
(f) Foraged wood or grass clippings or bundles will indicate the
foragers close by.
7. Road Usage. Whether or not a road is divided into two carriage-ways
by a median strip or painted lines, you must use only one half of the road
surface - leaving the other half free for opposing or overtaking traffic.
This aspect must be specifically observed when turning into or out of road
junctions. An example is illustrated on the last page.
8. Reversing. Never reverse from a side road into a main road. There
is no exception to this rule.
9. Night Driving. Driving at night involves restricted vision, dazzle from
the lights of other vehicles in front and behind, the need to operate your
own vehicle's lighting system properly. Headlights on full beam can be
used only when there are no other vehicles in sight - coming towards you
or going away. Do not dazzle any other driver - directly or through his
rear view mirror. Use the glare of other's lights to observe unlit traffic on
the road ahead. Flash your main beam momentarily to improve vision,
but only if absolutely essential.
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10. The Horn. The horn in a vehicle is provided only as a last resort
warning. Do not use it as a routine measure, to announce your presence.
Use of the horn is the equivalent of unparliamentary language in
conversation.
11. Indicator lights are not to be used to signal following vehicles to
pass. The increasing usage by truck and bus drivers of the right turn
indicator to ask the following vehicle to pass is dangerous, as it may well
mean that the vehicle ahead is actually turning right.
Your Responsibility
12. It is your responsibility, as officers, to ensure that you know all the
rules of the road. You have to also ensure that the driver of every vehicle
you travel in is corrected every time he flouts any rule. If you do so, in
time, all drivers of your unit will be better and safe drivers.
13. As officers, it is always your duty to ensure that drinking and driving
are kept as far apart as possible. Make sure that you do not take the
wheel after a late-night party under any circumstances. Also your driver,
if waiting for you must not be given a tot by the hosts `to keep him
warm'.
(R Subramanyam)
Suratgarh Brigadier
Nov 1995 Commander