What About Situational Awareness Drills in Driver Training?

When it comes to driving, the physical ability to maneuver a car in a strait line, around corners, and come to a safe stop does not make one a safe driver.  The ability to scan your mirrors every 5 seconds and scan on the right, in the middle, and to the left every 2 seconds in each direction searching for and identifying any and all potential hazards to include recognition of in-car distractions is the most important skill a driver can have to stay alive to drive. A new driver needs to recognize all potential hazards that surround them, and that are ahead of them 15 to 20 seconds down the road, and be able to describe them verbally to a qualified instructor or parent. This type of training is what most schools have as an option or use on occasion, and very seldom make it a priority teaching method for in-car training. This method is known as commentary driving, which is used effectively by other corporations in the United States. How often do you see a UPS or Federal Express truck in an accident, compared to automobiles and other large trucks?

A driver should always be scanning 15 to 20 seconds down the center of the road, to the left, to the right, and checking each side mirror along with the rear view mirror every 5 seconds.  Additionally, a smart defensive driver is able to skillfully control the space in front with a minimum of a 4 second following distance at all times, and increasing the following distance as speed increases and when weather or road conditions worsen.  The student driver should be continuously making efforts to maintain space cushions on the left, right and to the rear, during commentary driving.

If every driving school and parent is committed to implementing commentary driving drills beginning with an introduction in the classroom or online driversed,  and thoroughly establish an implement the use of it for every driving lesson behind-the-wheel, new drivers will increase their initial driving skills tremendously and better ensure that they will avoid the next potential accident.  It may be a potential accident that results in the loss of their own life, life of another person or the lives of all people involved.  All new drivers can become a smart, skillful, safe, courteous, confident defensive drivers much sooner than later.  Remember, it only starts with the driving schools, but every parent must become more involved and teach the same commentary driving methods to their teens during every driving lesson, and not just drive down the road in a strait line and make a few turns to arrive at ending destination.

Commentary driving includes the driver verbally describing all of the hazards to the left coming up 15 to 20 seconds down the road, and all the hazards in the center, to the right, and to the rear, all while maintaining lane position, space cushion, a safe speed, and constantly planning escape routes for every scenario.  These drills need to be executed over and over until a new driver becomes skilled at completing all of these tasks while driving. If the driving schools and the parents commit to their part in drivers ed and in-car driver training, all new drivers will be significantly more skilled at defensive driving much sooner than later, when it is too late.

Parents, regardless if your son or daughter is attending a traditional driving school, on-line drivers ed school, parent taught/home schooled, please become more involved in their driver education and behind-the-wheel driving lessons.  A new driver needs at least 80 to 90 hours of practice before they are given the freedom to drive completely independent without any restrictions.  We urge all parents and driving schools to use the hazard recognition form provided below, as the corner stone training method for behind-the-wheel driver training, which is a life saving tool.

Please give us your comments and suggestions, as we are always open to new thoughts and suggestions that will improve driver education and in-car training in Texas and the United States.  Click on the following article to read.

Teen Driver Crashes – A Report to Congress, July 2008 (NHTSA – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Click on the each of the links below to discover just how serious driver education and in-car training should be for every new driver in any driving school and while practicing with parents.  Hazard Recognition Driver Training , Hazard Recognition Checklist Explanation

Always with Absolute Integrity and Care,

Toni Selph

Frisco ISD Math Teacher

SmartChoice Driver School Director