Many celebrated Valentine’s Day with gifts, flowers and chocolates. While celebrating your loved ones with these gifts is a moment to indulge, the greatest gift that one can give their significant other or family member is the ability to handle South African roads with confidence and superior skill. This is what driver training can do for those you love.
The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, says driver training equips drivers with skills in three main areas. “South African drivers face notorious road fatality rates, potholes, unlicensed drivers, daily bumper-to-bumper traffic and many other challenges. No one wants to send their loved ones onto the roads with only their K53 driving test as preparation for these.”
Defensive driving equips drivers in three spheres:
- Teach drivers to anticipate
If a driver anticipates what will happen long before it actually happens, it provides time to respond safely. “The main tenets of driver training are based on this principle. Following distances of between three and six seconds provide space to respond to obstacles.
“Meanwhile, looking 12 seconds ahead rather than just at the vehicle directly ahead provides adequate time to safely respond to dangerous situations. Learning to anticipate the conditions and timing of traffic lights or four-way stops also assists in reducing fuel consumption,” says Hebert.
- Reduce risk
Defensive driving teaches drivers to reduce risk by removing bad habits and illustrating exactly why these are dangerous. “One of such habit is driving while distracted (DWD). Through practical demonstrations, drivers can see first-hand how far they can travel when engaging in DWD and how long cognitive impairment lasts following a distraction.
“It also shows the importance of remaining calm on the road and not driving recklessly. Whether it is loadshedding traffic, actions of another driver, bad planning that requires rushing, responding negatively to the behaviour of other drivers that frustrates you, reckless driving is unlikely to get you there faster. Defensive driving instructs drivers how to handle challenges safely.”
- Make safe and well-informed decisions
One should be able to see potential threats and then respond to these in the safest manner possible. “The first two steps allow drivers to identify threats quickly and keep attention focused on the task at hand. Yet, once a threat is identified, a driver also needs to know how to respond to that threat.
“An invaluable skill is knowing the best way to handle challenges such as potholes, reckless or inebriated drivers, what to do when encountering lawbreakers such as those speeding, skipping robots or reckless drivers during loadshedding.”
There is no more important gift for loved ones than knowing how to handle the dangers on South African roads. “During the month of love, give the greatest gift of all: safety on the roads,” says Herbert.
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