Being a safe driver
It’s one of those arguments that can seem to run almost endlessly- what makes a safe driver? There are several competing theories and it seems that the majority of drivers consider themselves “safer” in their driving habits than they probably are. Whilst it’s unlikely that any one authority will have the last word on the subject, are there some common themes that add up to being a safe driver?
Perception, perception, perception - if there’s a single word that most often crops up in articles on being a safe driver, perception seems to be the key. Perception is so much a key, in fact, that certain principles have formed the core of many driving tuition courses since the 1950s. According to these principles, safe driving is a life skill based around the perceptive skills of concentration, observation, forward planning and anticipation. These skills are combined, of course, with the necessary practical skills required to handle the car and keep it fully under control. Perceptive driving - and being a safe driver - comes down to being prepared for any and every eventuality on the road. The seemingly “clear road” ahead is never empty! In order to react to a problem or hazard, it’s important to be able to see it.
The perception of a problem also hinges on recognising what type of hazard it is. Most drivers will have heard the time-worn excuse “I don’t know where he came from - I just didn’t see him”. Hazard awareness and perception, therefore, will take into account whether the hazard is in the shape of a road junction or a bend, or whether it’s a moving hazard, such as another car, lorry, pedestrian or cyclist. It also takes into account our own speed and the speed of the other road users along with any weather conditions affecting visibility and the state of the road. It’s also important to identify if there’s a single hazard or a combination of several hazards.
Perception, of course, is about seeing. There’s little point anticipating and understanding hazards unless we can see them. Any defective eyesight needs to be properly corrected so that the driver can see and make safe judgments, especially when the weather or darkness makes vision even more difficult. Similarly, perception is about staying alert, free from the impairment of tiredness, drugs or alcohol and free from other in-car distractions which can take the driver’s concentration away from the job in hand.
Although there seem to be a hundred or more schools of thought on being a safe driver, perhaps one of the ‘acid tests’ is the assessment made by car insurance companies. It’s their business after all to know the risks they’re taking by insuring all types of driver and distinguishing between those they can reasonably expect to be “safe” and those who are less so.
For car insurance companies, being a safe driver is about the profile of the driver most likely to make a claim. Although gender, age and occupation come into it, insurers may set the greatest store on the driver’s record of past claims. Safer drivers are those who make fewer, less expensive claims and have no driving convictions. A brief visit to our comparison website will help you compare different car insurance policies from different providers. You may get a an understanding of the ways in which insurers “reward” those drivers with a clean driving record and few or no past claims, together with the no claims discounts available for those who make no claims in the future.
