Hazard Awareness

This Driving Lesson Hazard Awareness can be broken in to different aspects. There are the hazards we can all see or "actual hazards". Then there are the what might happen hazards or "potential hazards". These are the hazards we should be expecting when we are told to always "expect the unexpected". The final hazard is the "road and weather condition hazard".

Hazard Awareness is generally not given enough priority by drivers. The vast majority of drivers after a period of time become complacent with their driving. The familiarity of their daily drive becomes so mundane they almost switch off. It is at this point that the average driver becomes a danger to both themselves and to others.

With our busy lives it is too easy to stop thinking about our Hazard Awareness. Remember when driving the driver is responsible for what happens at all times in the vehicle. So by not expecting the unexpected, a driver requires a lot of luck to reach a destination. Luck would not be the most reliable way to drive from poiint ‘a’  to point ‘b’.  It is in all of our interests that each driver maintains to the best of their own ability a level of concentration which will allow them react as quickly as possible in the event that the unexpected does arise. It is only through alertness and concentration that a driver has any control in a situation.

Remember to react to any situation, our brain must spend time calculating what is the best course of action to take. Then our bodies must react. Then our vehicle must react, and if the road conditions are poor the vehicle’s grip is reduced. Add all this of this time together with the length of time it took for you to refocus if you were distracted what do you think will be the outcome without the correct Hazard Awareness?

So what can you do?
By staying alert and focused on the task in hand, by increasing your Hazard Awareness and by expecting the unexpected on the roads, by assessing the road conditions, your alertness, the vehicles ability to stop quickly, along with reducing your your speed, you can help to reduce any potential danger if it arises.

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