…effective action requires a balance of skills and readiness, not just a focus on defence…
Defensive driving is essential, but so is a great offense—moving forward and actively avoiding danger. Considering that rear-end collisions lead to the highest insurance payouts – developing offensive skills might be wise. I’ve spent much of my career in fleet training, learning and teaching these theories. Most driver education is stuck in a 70-year-old mindset, ignoring how much we’ve learned about brain function and learning. This experience brought me face-to-face with a major issue: HABIT.
Our habits are incredibly powerful. They guide our actions well into old age. But here’s the kicker—we can change them. With focused effort, we can develop new habits and skills.
This is where offensive driving comes in. Many post-crash drivers have told me they didn’t react because of their habits. When I asked why they didn’t MOVE AWAY FROM ONCOMING COLLISIONS, most said, “It happened so fast,” admitting they saw it coming but didn’t respond. And their passengers saw it too! Sounds like a habit of being too close to other cars.
So, why didn’t they lay on the horn, reduce speed aggressively, or accelerate into an open space like a ditch or shoulder? Most hadn’t thought about nor practiced these proactive maneuvers and positionings in decades, if ever.
“Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?”
I’d ask post-crash drivers if they saw the collision coming and if anyone was yelling inside of the car, as the space got tighter. Too often, they’d say yes, they were yelling. But why didn’t the driver hit the horn early when everyone saw things developing?
ANSWER – It wasn’t a well-ingrained habit to toot the horn. Offensive driving is about protecting your space early, knowing your car’s capabilities, and understanding road conditions well before you need to react.
My client toots my horn in my car every lesson. WHY? Because if I don’t do this, most will never toot in their entire lifetime! Yelling inside of the car instead of yelling at the dude who should be stopping on their red! TOOT! TOOT! TOOT! WHY NOT? BECAUSE IT IS NOT A HABIT! Did your training school teach you this habit not to toot every class?
Offensive driving means moving away from potential hazards long before they become imminent. It’s about keeping and developing the habits needed to keep the space around you responsive to being safe always, balancing defensive and offensive strategies.
The goal? Taking the maximum actions to always drive with the lowest possible risk.
Cooper
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