safety Road sense is common sense
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by H. Shillabeer
• Accidents are caused by people-not by inanimate objects like lamp standards, stationary vehicles or for that matter moving vehicles, which are, of course, controlled by people.
Too often we hear the statement after an accident that the driver has poor road sense, but, I wonder, do we really appreciate what road sense is? Road sense is merely common sense applied to a situation on the road and it is something which can be developed by training and experience.
Training to pass the heavy -goods vehicle, driving test will not of itself develop road sense to a high degree. This type of training is a type of examination cramming with only a test pass in view.
Training for safety should continue after the test has been passed and it should be planned in such a way that the driver experiences a variety of traffic conditions and so develops his road sense by experience.
By reading the road far enough ahead he will see situations developing in good time and thus be able to take avoiding action and warn others. Reading the road, considered by some drivers to be an innovation in driver training, is as old as driving and is a basic requirement in the development of road sense.
Of course, road sense can only be developed if the driver is a willing pupil and is prepared to learn from his mistakes and possibly his near misses. Drivers who have gained their hgv licences by exemption may be unwilling to admit to mistakes and often resent any suggestion that they require training to develop their road sense.
They can claim many years of accident-free driving and in so far that they have not themselves been involved in an accident their claim is justified. However, road sense is not developed solely to ensure that one is not involved in an accident, it is just as important that one should not create a situation which will involve others in an accident.
For example, the experienced and highly skilled hgv driver may feel confident he can pass through a traffic gap with inches to spare on each side without danger to the other road users. But he cannot be sure that another road user will not panic, swerve from his path and become involved in an accident with a third party.
The driver with the highly developed road sense would not create such a situation. The development of road sense is a continuing process which only starts in the training school, and finishes when the driver no longer holds a licence.