What are the steps in the driving task?

1 The Driving Task The driving task is everything it takes to operate a motor vehicle. The three skills of the driving task are: A. Physical-coordination with the vehicle B. Social-interaction with other highway users C. Mental

2 Mental Skills are Most Important
There are at least five mental skills: 1. Understanding the motor vehicle 2. Perception based on stored knowledge 3. Understanding traffic laws 4. Judging time/space relationships 5. Concentration on task

3 People are the problem Of the three components of the highway transportation system, 90-95% of accidents are caused by human errors. Not the vehicle Not the highway People making bad choices.

4 How to Manage Information
The SMITH system. Developed by Harold Smith 50 years ago for truckers, the system helps us organized available information. There are five steps to the SMITH system

5 Aim high in steering is looking 12-15 seconds ahead of your vehicle
Aim high in steering is looking seconds ahead of your vehicle. Not continually, but checking and keeping track of what is happening there.

6 Keep your eyes moving. Move your sight to critical areas in an orderly visual search pattern.
Check your mirrors as necessary Check your gauge package as needed Check 12 seconds in front of you Check cross traffic as you approach it Keeping your central vision active.

7 Get the big picture. Know everything around your vehicle that may effect you.
The persons around you that are eating, talking on a cell phone or texting, changing CDs, reading their mail or whatever. Watch out for STUPID, they are everywhere!

8 Make sure others see you. Many accidents are caused by inattention
Make sure others see you. Many accidents are caused by inattention. Make sure other highway users see you. Use your lights, horn, even drive a bright colored vehicle. Studies show day time running lights reduce accidents by 7%. High mounted center brake lights reduce rear end collisions by 8%. Because they help others see you. That is why we have headlight laws when your wipers are on, not to see but to be seen. The same reason motorcycles have to run with their headlights on.

9 Leave yourself an out. Make sure to avoid collision traps
Leave yourself an out. Make sure to avoid collision traps. Do not leave your safety up to other drivers. You should always be able to get away from other highway users. Always leave an escape path for any mistakes you or others may make. That includes what is behind you!

10 Eye lead time is how far you are looking down the road.
When aiming high in steering, you are keeping track of seconds in front of your vehicle. While most drivers look only 3-5 seconds down the road, research has shown that 80% of collisions could have been avoided had drivers had one more second to react.

11 Following distance should be at least two to three seconds behind the vehicle in front under ideal conditions. As the vehicle in front passes a fixed object, your vehicle should not get to that spot for at least two to three seconds. In poor weather or road conditions, increase the time and distances between you and the other vehicles. Two seconds is under IDEAL conditions. Wet roads reduce traction by 25%, so back off. I dare you to check your following distance, then check and see what time other drivers are following. Check your following time on a freeway. It will be less than a 1/3 of a second, not 4 over 40 your text suggests. Is it no wonder we have so many rear end collisions? I am surprised we don’t have more. Look at the next slide, a normal day on a freeway.

12 These cars are still traveling at 50 plus mph

13 Tailgating is rampant The best way to deal with a person following you too closely is to increase your following distance so you don’t have to stop quickly. Other ways include: A. Move over/change lanes. B. Slow down/pull over encouraging them to pass. C. Tap your brake lights to alert the driver behind. D. Signal your turns early/slow down early E. Don't anger the following driver. We will talk about road rage later.

14 An orderly visual search pattern
An orderly visual search pattern consists of looking at all the traffic information in a systematic fashion. Look seconds ahead of your vehicle, to the front and sides, scanning for anything that might come in front of your vehicle. Check mirrors on a regular basis. Keep track of all vehicles behind and around you in other lanes of traffic. Thirdly, check your vehicle instruments as necessary. This means knowing what the gauges and controls should be and what to do when a gauge is not reading normally.

15 IPDE. Another way to organize available information
I: Identify. With your eyes moving and getting the big picture, you learn to identify potential hazards in the traffic scene. P: Predict potential conflicts is critical to collision free driving. Many drivers do not realize the risk of a collision until it is too late. Drivers must always be vigilant, predicting "worse case scenarios". D: Decide what to do if the worst case comes true. E: Execute your decision to slow down, change lanes, flash your lights are other actions to minimize the risk of a collision.

16 What do you predict?

17 Perception is the brain's interpretation of what the eyes see
Perception is the brain's interpretation of what the eyes see. We interpret based on previous experience and knowledge. That is why experience is critical to perception.

18 Separating hazards is predicting hazards ahead of you and adjusting your speed or direction to get to them individually instead of all at once.

19 Compromising lane positions is to change lanes or even moving over to give more clearance between your vehicle and other highway users.

20 Communication is key Ways to communicate with other drivers include: lane position; horn; lights; hand motions; turn signals; brake lights; even hazard lights. Don’t make your driving maneuver surprise someone else.

Pass A Driving Test | The Driving Task

https://youtu.be/4NUv71U5FhA

Introduction

The driving task are the variables on the roadway that are constantly changing that make hazard perception so imperative when you drive. This is especially difficult for new drivers because these six factors can come together at anytime in a different set of combinations that will change one driving situation that we completely harmless in one given day, and on another given day completely dangerous.

The driving task:

1) the vehicle,

2) the driver,

3) the road,

4) traffic,

5) light, and

6) weather.

Driver

These six factors change on a constant basis. Drivers, for example, can be young, new drivers with very few skills and very little hazard perception abilities; 20-45 years-old; people who have physical disabilities; people with only one eye have no depth-perception and need to employ other techniques to compensate for that reduction in eye sight. Other people, seniors, for example, will have reduced physical abilities - lots of driving experience, but you probably have all had the experience of driving behind senior drivers, older drivers who are driving slowly. So the driver is one of the factors, and the driver can be in any sort of given emotional state on a day.

Vehicle

The next variable for the driving task is the vehicle. Vehicles can be in any sort of mechanical fitness on any given day. Tires are bald, the brakes have not been done for some time, brake lights are out lights, lights are not working. So like the driver, vehicles on a roadway can be in any sort of mechanical fitness shape as well. So that's another factor that you as a driver are dealing with.

Roadways

Roadways, you can drive our of your driveway in the morning be on a two-lane, residential, quiet 40 kilometres an hour street - very quickly move on to a main artery through your residential area. 2-lane, much quicker 50 kilometers an hour, out onto a four-lane that 60 or 70 kilometres an hour and then be onto a freeway driving a hundred. So the roadways change all the time, and the configurations change all the time. And really the only guidance that we have for being on roadways is lights, signs, and road markings. And it's imperative that we pay attention to those.

Traffic

Traffic, we have seven different kinds of vehicles on a roadway that comprise to make traffic:

1) trucks,

2) buses,

3) cars, passenger vehicles,

4) in some cities we have streetcars and trolleys,

5) bicycles,

6) pedestrians, and the new addition to traffic on our roadways is

7) seniors on scooters.

These are being seen more and more in traffic. So be on the lookout for seniors driving on roadways on their little electric scooters.

Light

Light, is another factor. Light can change from night time when you can't see, glaring sun, middle of the day, cloudy, overcast - all of these factors change how our light varies from any given time of the day. So if you're driving long periods of time, the light is going to change dramatically. And just as one example, at night time human beings lose about half of their ability to see. There are lots of road infrastructure pieces in place that compensate for our less ability to see at night. For example, reflective signs, reflectors on the roadway to mark them out, and those sorts of things. But still, it's greatly reduced. Finally, the last factor is weather.

Weather

Weather can change any given day, especially for those driving in the mountains, and in other remote locations. You can go from rain, to freezing rain, to slush, to snow, bright blue skies. All of these things are changing. So the six factors, in conclusion, are 1) the driver, 2) the vehicle, 3) traffic, 4) the roadway, 5) light and 6) weather. These six factors can change at any given time and in one situation will be completely harmless, and in another given situation they will come together and you can be in a very dangerous position.

No where in any driving manual are these driving test secrets.

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