Applying the defensive driving formula
The formula is short: recognising the hazard, plus the decision to act on the defensive, equals safety. Three things can be the hazard, and the first of them is usually the driver.
The driver's knowledge. A driver who does not know the following is a hazard in themselves:
- the road traffic law, and the traffic signs, signals and markings
- local rules and by laws
- maintenance and the pre trip inspection
- what to do at a collision or a breakdown
- defensive driving
- first aid
The driver's skill. You should be able to carry out every manoeuvre correctly and safely, and to work everything on the vehicle, the emergency equipment included. Skill you have never practised is not skill.
The driver's health. Fatigue, illness, poor eyesight, poor hearing and emotional instability all belong at home rather than behind a wheel. Do not drive if you feel physically or mentally unfit.
The driver's attitude. Check, every time, that you are alert, thinking clearly, concentrating on the job in hand and in control of your temper.
The vehicle's condition is the second hazard, and a fault becomes one the moment nobody is watching it. A short walk round before each trip is what keeps it from becoming one. Look at:
- tyres and wheels, and the spare
- brakes, including the handbrake
- steering, which should have no more than 45 degrees of free play
- headlamps, stop lights, indicators and reflectors
- mirrors, windscreen, windows and wipers
- hooter, doors and door catches
- seats and safety belts
- oil, coolant and the radiator cap, and any leak underneath
- battery, belts, exhaust and silencer
- the first aid kit, jack, reflective jacket and warning triangles
The road and the conditions are the third: light, weather, surface and the traffic around you. You can change none of them, so the defence is always the same one. Give yourself more space and more time than you think you need.