Forget about "expecting the unexpected"

It's often said in driving that we should be always be prepared for the unexpected but I don't like that phrase and never, ever use it in my training at any level!

I find the phrase almost insultingly prejudicial. There is an implication that the individual saying it is the only person ever born who knows what he is doing and that everyone else is deliberately stupid, incompetent and unworthy of holding a driving licence. It doesn't seem like a fair attitude to take towards others to me.

Can you imagine walking down the street, seeing a guy in his front garden mowing his lawn and saying "you're doing that wrong mate, I can't believe how stupid you are, you don't even deserve to be allowed out of the house if you're going to use a mower like that"? On the other hand, can you imagine being the guy cutting his lawn when that happens - how would you react? People are often very judgmental of other people's driving without any real evidence to support their view aside from the fact that they'd have maybe done something differently (which of course, doesn't make it wrong and might actually be "more right" than what the critic would have chosen to do).

When I'm driving, what I do is look at what is happening around me with an open mind towards both the level of competence of those around me and their intentions on the road. It helps me to avoid surprise, which in spite of what you read about speed, cyclists and kids is THE cause of ALL car crashes.

I don't EXPECT everyone else to get it wrong, but I DO think about ways in which it COULD go wrong and I try to make allowances in my driving for all eventualities!

For an example of this in action, imagine we are driving straight ahead at an upcoming crossroads controlled by a set of traffic lights. Our light on Green and we think that the light's been on for ages and may change to Red, so we reduce our speed from the 30mph limit to 23mph as we approach so that we could stop easier if the change happens. The light doesn't change and as we reach that point where we decide to pass through the lights, we glance to our right and left (it's best in that order if you give it some thought) and see a car approaching from the right. The car is clearly slowing for the lights that are on Red for them and the balance between speed and distance to the stop line all looks good - this car is stopping, so we proceed through the lights and carry on with our journey.

So there's no drama in that example, no death, no idiot, no mistake, nobody who "got their licence free with their Weetabix one morning" or anything like that... but it's easy to imagine what we'd do if any of it went wrong:

• If that light changed, we were able to stop easily (and stopping easily reduces the risk of a following vehicle rear ending you at the lights) - NOT UNEXPECTED!
• If that driver coming from the right was actually coming from the left, we'd have seen him in exactly the same way - NOT UNEXPECTED!
• If that driver coming from the right was unaware of the lights ahead of him and subsequently wasn't slowing down for them, we could have slowed further or stopped completely to avoid the collision - given the evidence he's presented to us, this also is NOT UNEXPECTED!

Obviously this situation could play out in millions of different ways, but the same attitude of keeping an open mind towards others and making decisions based on their behaviour alongside other information around you will protect you from being involved in any collisions.

It's time to start expecting the expected.

And as a final note, it's worth noting that I didn't bother wasting time on "why" that driver from the right might not be aware of the lights. That isn't my concern and it's totally a guess - he could be blind, distracted, drunk or anything like that, but it doesn't matter to me I'm wasting time speculating on it when I should be taking action to reduce the risk posed by this driver's actions. The question of "why" is one for the Police.

Nick Heath Driver Training is a Driver Training company based in Rode Heath, South Cheshire. We supply driver training services to drivers at all ability levels from novices wanting to pass a driving test (Nick Heath is a DVSA ADI Grade A) through to occupational drivers (DVSA Fleet registered) through to Advanced Driver Training and Examinations including the Taxi Driving Assessment (Diamond Examiner) and Driving Instructor Training (DVSA ORDIT registered). More details can be found on our website or by calling 0800 820 20 38