Safe Speed Forums

Normally driving along dual carriageways and motorways you have enough time to observe driving styles (front and rear) and decide 'no problem' or 'got to watch that one'. However, on other occasions, you make a seemingly instant decision.

On this occasion I was driving along a dual carriageway at 70-75 in the left lane and noticed (observed ?) a car coming up to pass me in the right lane. After a single glance in the mirror I had decided that that car needed careful watching. As he (or she) passed me I became even more concerned about what might happen and it seemed to me that the driver was going to cut in very close to me once they had passed. Sure enough thats what happened. If I hadn't been prepared for it then it would have been a near emergency stamp on the brakes. As it was I just needed to sit there with my foot over the brake for a few seconds.

The point that puzzles me is - What made me tag the car in the first place as highly likely to be a problem.

I had time to observe the driving and there was nothing that I could put my finger on that would have raised my suspicions. It was an ordinary saloon car going at a reasonable speed for the conditions and apparently driving normally. I couldn't see the driver clearly either.

I can only put it down to experience and subconcious pattern recognition which the human brain is superb at (given a chance).

But I would be interested in your thoughts, comments, and experiences about this sort of situation.

BobM

It's quite possible you had seen this car do something similar or "worrying" before and your subconscious kicked in.

It happens to us quite a lot - how we manage to cop or develop that "bobby's nose" or instinct.

_________________
Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

I'd say this sort of intuition was a pretty constant theme for experienced drivers. I just think that our subconscious picks up on the subtlest clues and give us the right information.

When we drive the subconscious plays a major role. It directs attention and assesses risk. It tells us how fast to drive. It even co-ordinates control actions. All our practical experience accumulates in the subconscious and that's why it's worth trusting.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

My alarm bells go when I notice the slightest lack of smoothness, or to put it another way, the driving seems to be a series of separate decisions/maneouvres, rather than a constantly adaptive progression.

I haven't put that very well, but I know what I mean

Maybe you've got a sixth sense...

...but I'd say it's more likely that the other five are just working better than you think.

_________________
CSCP Latin for beginners...
Ticketo ergo sum : I scam therefore I am!

I find I can spot things before they happen too. I get this feeling when a vehicle approaches a side-junction in front of me whether or not they are likely to pull out on me or not. Can't explain it, but it has saved my skin on a few occasions.

_________________
Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

I find the same. There's just something that tells me within a few seconds whether a driver is a clueless pratt or someone who's 'gonna floor it at the first available opportunity'. It's like you can fairly accurately predict their driving patterns in any given situation. Cannot pinpoint what it is that enables these predictions but I'd say at least 90% of the time they're accurate.

_________________
Why can't we just use Common Sense?

Cute.

But to take a serious view of the same observation, I think that those senses work a lot worse than we think. Vision especially is a very dirty data source. It's only when the brain processes the image data - partly by filling in the gaps from memory - that it becomes the wonderful sense it is.

This counts double for driving because we learn a great deal about how to use our vision system specifically for driving.

So it isn't the 'senses' that are working better than we think - it's the entire perception system.

_________________
Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

"So it isn't the 'senses' that are working better than we think - it's the entire perception system."

Yes and No. On at least one occasion I reckon it was only my hearing that triggerred the warning - though I'm not sure how considering I was inside a car, on a B road, and all the windows closed.

I had passed 2 cars and had caught up with another one in front. I saw an overtaking opportunity coming up and checked around. Then had another quick check before moving over for a good view. However, at that point I hesitated and decided to have yet another check around. At that moment a motorbike hurtled past going about 20-30 mph faster than I was (I wasn't going all that slow slow). If I had moved out when I intended it is likely he would have been straight into the back of me or off into the fields at a great rate of knots. I didn't see him (I assume a 'he') coming up behind me and suspect he was hidden by the 2 cars I had passed and the bends in the road.

I suspect that all drivers have this 6th sense to a greater or lesser degree. After all, its how we survive in daily life as well. But the individual senses are very important in their own right.

BobM

There was an post ( by SS, I THINK) long time ago , on "the lizard brain" .IG mentioned his training picking this up, would suggest that perhaps this bit of the subconcious ( like a sub routine in a pc program, looks for deviations from accepted norms pf driving standard) and flags this or that vehicle as a risk of some category or other. Can't explain it any other way as it happens to me , and even Mrs B in passenger seat ( and she's been there for over 35 years , except when i let her in to cook ) points them out to me.

_________________
lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

As a physicist, I do not subscribe to any form of 'spooky mumbo-jumbo', everything has an explanation.

To consider 'the five senses' as separate-acting systems is a mistake - as we gain skills, we learn to 'tune in' or 'tune out' certain facets of these senses as they are required. The brain acts as a sort of 'graphic equaliser' for these input systems and our learning processes allow it to make 'preset' settings depending on the skill we are using. If you are sitting at home at night and there is a power-cut, you just notice the lights go out - if you are in, say, a tube train and the same thing happens, you will notice your skin tingle, an acrid smell, a salty taste and a rushing sound as your brain 'throws all the sliders to max'.

'Precognition' and 'deja-vu' are products of the method that the brain uses in the 'chemical storage' mode of memory, where it compares the 'electrical memory' experiences with pre-stored 'chemical' files in order to choose the senses preset format to apply.

I know that this all sounds a bit 'mechanoid' but, to the best of my knowledge, that's what goes on between your ears..!

_________________
Aquila



Licat volare si super tergum aquila volat...