Are you though?
Really?
There are different kinds of good drivers and I think it is best if I break down a few of them.
There are good fast drivers, people who can circuit race cars for example.
There are good rally and off-road drivers, people who can control a vehicle well under difficult and sometimes extreme circumstances.
And then there are good road drivers. You can be good at all three, but generally, that is not the case and we need to be more honest and open about this. Programmes like Top Gear* perpetuate the myth that good driving means driving a car sideways and fast around a corner. You can see from how many accidents that they have had between them (That we know about) that it is not necessarily the case. While doing this on a track is absolutely fun, and I have done it myself, it is not a good idea on the road.
You see another type of driver is the one that drives well on the road. This is an almost entirely different skill set to the others. Obviously beyond the actual mechanics of controlling the car anyway.
Safe road driving involves other people and animals, that’s where the unpredictability lies. If you are racing on a track, you have a level of trust that the other people with you also know what they are doing and you should generally have mutual respect. There are also marshals and first aid people should you unexpectedly run out of talent.
When you are driving on the road you have no idea what idiot is next to at the roundabout waiting to veer wildly across all of the lanes whilst looking at their phone and smearing a Big Mac across their faces.
Driving safely on the road does not necessarily mean slowly either, it means driving to a speed where you know that you can react to unexpected changes. I try to leave enough time for me and other drivers to make a mistake so that I can allow for it.
Awareness and planning are a massive part of becoming a better driver. Start by asking yourself questions when you are driving. I mean preferably about driving obviously. If you are driving through a busy town wondering where you put your favourite pants maybe is not that helpful.
Unless you inadvertently put them over your eyes. Which seems unlikely on reflection.
Want to know something else? I am a better driver some days than others. So are you. It is just the way of things. In everything we pursue as human beings, it is universally accepted that sometimes we have off days. Try accepting that when you are not feeling your best and change things accordingly, including maybe not driving for a bit or simply stopping and having a moment to relax and reset.
If you have a big drive coming up then prepare the car and yourself. Do all of the car safety checks, tyres and washer fluid etc. Then do your own checks, is the seat comfortable, do you know the best way to where you are going? The amount of people who put hours of thought into what they are going to do when they get somewhere and almost nothing about how. One day you may not get there due to you not paying attention to the how.
We all need to remember that driving is potentially dangerous and is not a right, it is a privilege.
If you find that you are regularly accelerating harshly between having to slow down for things you are not a good driver, you are an utter knob. You know when people look at you when you loudly burp and fart your car up the road before having to brake harshly again for the old lady crossing the road? No one thinks that you are cool, we are all thinking *Insert swearword of your choosing here*.
Just stop it. It is not impressive and you are wasting fuel and knacking your car. I agree that acceleration can be fun but so can laughing at people who wrap their “sporty” car around a lamppost because they have more speed than ability.
There is no correlation between being able to afford an expensive sports car and being able to drive it well. That’s capitalism lying to you. I could afford a reasonable guitar, I can barely get more than a handful of chords out of it though. It is more likely going to sound like I am torturing small animals than actual music.
For the record, I consider myself to be a good road driver, and an okay track driver and I cannot rally to save my life. Not done much of it to be fair though. When I say that I am a reasonable track driver that means on my own against the clock. When you add in other drivers I do not have the mindset to overtake in potentially risky situations. See I am critical of my own driving too, you should try it.
Taking a long hard look at the way you drive and assessing where your strengths and weaknesses are can only help you work on becoming a better driver. Do not judge other drivers as much and judge yourself. What’s the phrase? “Heal thyself, physician.”
Try and drive nice.
I have a Kofi account here if you would like to donate some money to the Trev making stuff fund.
*I love Top Gear and The Grand Tour, but that does not mean that I do not realise that they perpetuate a problem. Both of driving styles but also environmentally.
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