Hazard Recognition
You can’t start to imagine how important hazard recognition is. No seriously, the average driving instructor is focusing just about all his attention on the technical details that you need to pass your driver test and so, hazard recognition, is something you may not have heard mentioned before.
The judgement of hazard recognition that should be taught as a standard is not something you’ll be able to rely upon from every instructor you may encounter. Be sure to get an instructor that gives you lots and lots of feedback, encourages lots and lots of questions and who doesn’t mind repeating himself and is patient while you’re getting the hang of things.
A hazard could be anything from an obstacle, like a rubbish bin, on your path of travel or it could be a badly parked car or truck, or a pedestrian, or even a dog.
Now let me give you some advice about dogs. They can be very clever but then again they are animals that are ruled by their instincts. If, for instance, you see a dog on the left hand side of the road and you can see it is looking at the opposite side of the road…expect him to run across the road at any moment. That’s a hazard, even though nothing may have happened yet – expect it to happen.There are many similar hazards that may seem most unlikely but that you need to be aware of and specially how it will affect your reaction to it when driving.
Nobody can ever be 100% prepared for anything, but your focussed effort normally saves at least your life.
Basically, you need to be like Night Rider – remember him? Except there’s no KiTT speaking your name and giving you warning messages.
You have to be Awake, Aware and Responsive ALL the time – please concentrate on driving when you’re driving – it’s worth while staying alive.
