C - Control

CONTROL means two things - the ability to control your vehicle and the ability to control yourself.  To a lesser extent, it also refers to controlling the situation (although that’s a topic in itself).

Who has primary control during a lesson?  Yes, that’s correct - you, the parent.  The student eventually evolves into the position of the one who has control (at least, that’s part of the goal).  But it is the parent (the instructor) who is ultimately responsible for how well the lesson goes.  Why is that?  Because it is the parent who chooses the area of instruction, who plans out the route, who introduces the lesson, who guides the practice, who prompts the student’s eye movements, who directs the student’s mind with questions, who praises the student to build the student’s confidence, who is responsible for establishing rapport and trust, and who observes the miscues and adjusts the lesson to insure that the student is challenged, corrected and also succeeds.

That’s why there’s no napping when you’re teaching.

Yet, there are times when the student is allowed to fail.  Why?  Because, as we all know, we often learn more from our failures than we do from our successes.  So, to a certain extent, trial and error is acceptable. Trial and error is a common learning tool - but it’s not always the best way to learn how to become a collision-free driver.  With some errors in driving, you won’t get a second chance.  The question is, when and how often should the student be permitted to fail in this process?

The obvious answer is that the student is never permitted to fail when that failure in judgment or control can lead to any type of collision, a near miss or a serious interference with traffic.

O - ONENESS

“Oneness” describes the feeling that collision-free drivers have with the vehicle.  It’s more than just a comfort level - a sense of familiarity with the vehicle.  It’s a sense of feeling that the vehicle goes where you want it to, when you want it to and how you want it to.

It combines the sense of projecting the path the pivot point needs to track with picturing in your mind where you want to go and how it feels to through the process of getting there.

Once a driver has a sense of “oneness” with the vehicle, he/she attains a higher level of confidence and competence and is one step closer to acquiring the habits of collision-free driving.

D - DESIRE

Have you had a burning desire to accomplish something, obtain an object or get a specific result?  Chances are you have.  And chances are you succeeded.  Collision-free drivers have a “burning desire” to get where they are going safely and without incident.

Yes, it is that simple.  If you have a burning desire to attain a goal and are willing to do whatever it takes to reach that goal, you have a very, very good chance of accomplishing that goal.

Notice that I said “willing to do whatever it takes”.  This requires planning, preparation, practice, serious effort and focus.  Of course, you can enjoy the process.  Make it a game, challenge yourself.  Every time you get behind the wheel you take a deep breath and in that breath renew your commitment to make that trip collision-free.

That deep breath serves as a reminder to trigger what you have learned and directs those parts of you needed to target well ahead, visually clear intersections, pick the path of least resistance, leave extra space in front, identify the point of no return, stabilize traffic to the rear, anticipate the actions of other drivers, and create and re-create your safe space as needed.  Some of this you will do consciously, some of this will be done by the other than conscious parts of you that are building on the habits you have created through your practice of collision-free driving techniques that you learned from Driver Ed in a Box®.

Take a moment now.  Close your eyes as you take a deep breath, relax and commit with a burning desire to become a collision-free driver.

E - Expectation

An individual who has a certain expectation of an outcome actually influences the outcome.  Some call this faith - the notion that a specific, positive outcome will occur because you believe that it will.  With regard to collision-free driving and getting from point A to point B safely, it is a belief that whatever situation occurs during the course of the trip, you will be able to adjust and make any reasonable compromises necessary to avoid conflicts.

Expectation is the belief that you have acquired the process of reading the traffic scene well ahead, that you can anticipate the actions of others, that you can control both the vehicle and your own emotions regardless of the actions of other drivers and that you and your passengers will arrive at your destination collision-free.

Remember, Desire means that you “want” to achieve the goal.  Expectation is the “belief (faith)” that you will achieve the goal.  Coupled together, Desire and Expectation can lead to amazing results.

S - SPACE MASTERY

It is probably the most important belief and requires daily practice to become integrated into your driving pattern.

“Space Mastery” simply means that you control and protect your safe driving space, that you anticipate changes in the available space, that you are constantly looking for the open space to the front and the sides of your vehicle. You are never surprised by vehicles from the rear because you are checking that space frequently enough to know if you are being tailgated.

Also, it means that you are aware of what is happening far ahead so that you can easily predict and choose the path of least resistance.

Remember, a collision is simply two or more objects that try to occupy the same space at the same time. So it follows that the most fundamental and basic thing you can do to drive collision-free is to keep space around your vehicle - always. Most every judgment you make to assist you in driving revolves around where the open space is, what is happening to that space and predicting what is likely to happen to that space.

Predicting the open space is a constant and ever-changing event. The fluid, dynamic nature of this process demands persistent discipline to acquire the awareness needed to ingrain this habit. It should come as no surprise that learning to ignore or dismiss distractions is critical if you intend to develop the habit of “Space Mastery”.

A significant amount of time and effort working at the conscious level using directed commentary goes a long way to helping ingrain this habit.

There’s no shortcut here, folks.  Slowing gradually and early, maintaining a minimum 3 second following distance (4 or 5 seconds is better), doing your 1-2-3 count after the vehicle ahead begins to pull away from you, visually clearing every intersection and turning your head (not just moving your eyes) slightly to expand your peripheral vision, avoiding other drivers’ blind spots, being physically uncomfortable when you have less than a 3 second following distance or no escape route - these are some the things that must be done over and over and over again until they become MUST rules for you, not SHOULD rules.