How often do you mess-up?
Discussion
I'm not sure how often, but it's certainly more than once every week or two weeks (500-1000 miles) that I make a mistake. The important thing is:
1) To learn from every mistake - i.e. make them once!
2) To create 'layers' of safety, such that if you make a mistake, you have a fallback. For example, if you do a mirror and shoulder check before a lane change and can't see anyone to signal to, signal anyway in case you've made a mistake in your observation; that way the risk is reduced. This is just the same as not leaving your braking to the very last minute or cornering really quickly - if you mess up there's a fallback.
1) To learn from every mistake - i.e. make them once!
2) To create 'layers' of safety, such that if you make a mistake, you have a fallback. For example, if you do a mirror and shoulder check before a lane change and can't see anyone to signal to, signal anyway in case you've made a mistake in your observation; that way the risk is reduced. This is just the same as not leaving your braking to the very last minute or cornering really quickly - if you mess up there's a fallback.
Edited by RobM77 on Monday 28th January 14:33
Had an epic failure on the M1 one evening last week. Was in L1 at about 60, going in to L2 to pass the lorries. L2 clear in front for miles and miles, but L3 full of cars and moving at about 70.
What did I do... I didn't clock the car making some serious progress in L2 as I pulled out. Not expecting the unexpected (although obviously should be expected) and not looking as well as I could of. Not even close to an accident, but I impeded the guy But then it gets worse. I complete the overtake with the guy who by now has been upgraded to a twonk in my view (can you see where this is going) sat right on my tail flashing and honking. I pull in, he goes past and pulls right across me into L1 in a most beautiful aggressive fashion. So.... (oh no) I flashed my lights.
Twonk instantly upgrades himself to see you next tuesday and hits the brakes in front of me. As I flashed I thought that was stupid! So I'm full on braking, ABS on, lorry blasting its horn right behind me. Lorry goes right into L2 and I go left on the hard shoulder, I just overlap Mr braker, he comes off the brakes and continues. Drives like a loony in and out of the traffic, weaving from lane to lane.
As I said, epic fail. Poor observation, predictable situation, lost my cool, fortunately no accident. Won't be doing that again in a while I hope.
Bert
What did I do... I didn't clock the car making some serious progress in L2 as I pulled out. Not expecting the unexpected (although obviously should be expected) and not looking as well as I could of. Not even close to an accident, but I impeded the guy But then it gets worse. I complete the overtake with the guy who by now has been upgraded to a twonk in my view (can you see where this is going) sat right on my tail flashing and honking. I pull in, he goes past and pulls right across me into L1 in a most beautiful aggressive fashion. So.... (oh no) I flashed my lights.
Twonk instantly upgrades himself to see you next tuesday and hits the brakes in front of me. As I flashed I thought that was stupid! So I'm full on braking, ABS on, lorry blasting its horn right behind me. Lorry goes right into L2 and I go left on the hard shoulder, I just overlap Mr braker, he comes off the brakes and continues. Drives like a loony in and out of the traffic, weaving from lane to lane.
As I said, epic fail. Poor observation, predictable situation, lost my cool, fortunately no accident. Won't be doing that again in a while I hope.
Bert
BertBert said:
Had an epic failure on the M1 one evening last week. Was in L1 at about 60, going in to L2 to pass the lorries. L2 clear in front for miles and miles, but L3 full of cars and moving at about 70.
What did I do... I didn't clock the car making some serious progress in L2 as I pulled out. Not expecting the unexpected (although obviously should be expected) and not looking as well as I could of. Not even close to an accident, but I impeded the guy But then it gets worse. I complete the overtake with the guy who by now has been upgraded to a twonk in my view (can you see where this is going) sat right on my tail flashing and honking. I pull in, he goes past and pulls right across me into L1 in a most beautiful aggressive fashion. So.... (oh no) I flashed my lights.
Twonk instantly upgrades himself to see you next tuesday and hits the brakes in front of me. As I flashed I thought that was stupid! So I'm full on braking, ABS on, lorry blasting its horn right behind me. Lorry goes right into L2 and I go left on the hard shoulder, I just overlap Mr braker, he comes off the brakes and continues. Drives like a loony in and out of the traffic, weaving from lane to lane.
As I said, epic fail. Poor observation, predictable situation, lost my cool, fortunately no accident. Won't be doing that again in a while I hope.
Bert
If you are posting this / your first post etc. - these are not really simple mistakes - they are quite major mistakes if you are not noticing a lorry moving / someone coming up in the lane into which you are moving...What did I do... I didn't clock the car making some serious progress in L2 as I pulled out. Not expecting the unexpected (although obviously should be expected) and not looking as well as I could of. Not even close to an accident, but I impeded the guy But then it gets worse. I complete the overtake with the guy who by now has been upgraded to a twonk in my view (can you see where this is going) sat right on my tail flashing and honking. I pull in, he goes past and pulls right across me into L1 in a most beautiful aggressive fashion. So.... (oh no) I flashed my lights.
Twonk instantly upgrades himself to see you next tuesday and hits the brakes in front of me. As I flashed I thought that was stupid! So I'm full on braking, ABS on, lorry blasting its horn right behind me. Lorry goes right into L2 and I go left on the hard shoulder, I just overlap Mr braker, he comes off the brakes and continues. Drives like a loony in and out of the traffic, weaving from lane to lane.
As I said, epic fail. Poor observation, predictable situation, lost my cool, fortunately no accident. Won't be doing that again in a while I hope.
Bert
You say here that you didn't look as well as you could have done - any form of looking would see a car in the lane next to you
In your first post you didn't see a lorry moving out in front of you - yet to move out in front of you it was probably already moving before you started to move as lorries move a little slower than cars...
both of those are pretty fundamental fails in driving and you are very lucky not to have been in an accident...
when you start to talk Advanced Driving - then it is about taking it a level above - so on a motorway I would expect and advanced driver to continually have a picture of everything in front and behind - way before making decisions to move - so the look before switching lanes becomes a confirmation - not the first point at which they check for traffic - based on that the Advanced Driver would have already noticed the car in the middle lane some distance away - would have noticed that the lorry was catching the vehicle in front and would need to move soon - so the advanced driver would be looking to add a layer on top in terms of observation and anticipation...
so, I would suggest that it may be worth going out for a spin with someone who can look at what you are doing - IAM / RoSPA could be really good at this - as mentioned above - AD is about adding contingency so that when you make a mistake you still have fall back and safety - if you are making these mistakes though you perhaps have no contingency and that is a risky place to be...
akirk said:
If you are posting this / your first post etc. - these are not really simple mistakes - they are quite major mistakes if you are not noticing a lorry moving / someone coming up in the lane into which you are moving...
You say here that you didn't look as well as you could have done - any form of looking would see a car in the lane next to you
In your first post you didn't see a lorry moving out in front of you - yet to move out in front of you it was probably already moving before you started to move as lorries move a little slower than cars...
both of those are pretty fundamental fails in driving and you are very lucky not to have been in an accident...
when you start to talk Advanced Driving - then it is about taking it a level above - so on a motorway I would expect and advanced driver to continually have a picture of everything in front and behind - way before making decisions to move - so the look before switching lanes becomes a confirmation - not the first point at which they check for traffic - based on that the Advanced Driver would have already noticed the car in the middle lane some distance away - would have noticed that the lorry was catching the vehicle in front and would need to move soon - so the advanced driver would be looking to add a layer on top in terms of observation and anticipation...
so, I would suggest that it may be worth going out for a spin with someone who can look at what you are doing - IAM / RoSPA could be really good at this - as mentioned above - AD is about adding contingency so that when you make a mistake you still have fall back and safety - if you are making these mistakes though you perhaps have no contingency and that is a risky place to be...
Summary to be clearer..You say here that you didn't look as well as you could have done - any form of looking would see a car in the lane next to you
In your first post you didn't see a lorry moving out in front of you - yet to move out in front of you it was probably already moving before you started to move as lorries move a little slower than cars...
both of those are pretty fundamental fails in driving and you are very lucky not to have been in an accident...
when you start to talk Advanced Driving - then it is about taking it a level above - so on a motorway I would expect and advanced driver to continually have a picture of everything in front and behind - way before making decisions to move - so the look before switching lanes becomes a confirmation - not the first point at which they check for traffic - based on that the Advanced Driver would have already noticed the car in the middle lane some distance away - would have noticed that the lorry was catching the vehicle in front and would need to move soon - so the advanced driver would be looking to add a layer on top in terms of observation and anticipation...
so, I would suggest that it may be worth going out for a spin with someone who can look at what you are doing - IAM / RoSPA could be really good at this - as mentioned above - AD is about adding contingency so that when you make a mistake you still have fall back and safety - if you are making these mistakes though you perhaps have no contingency and that is a risky place to be...
TL;DR
Inconvenienced loony overtaking in middle lane at high speed who proceeded to try and cause an accident by emergency stopping in front.
Edited by BertBert on Monday 28th January 19:51
BertBert said:
Summary to be clearer..
TL;DR
Inconvenienced loony overtaking in middle lane at high speed who proceeded to try and cause an accident by emergency stopping in front.
true, it sounds as though his driving was appalling, but... not seeing someone in the lane next to you is not a good start... and ultimately we can only fix our own driving, not that of others...TL;DR
Inconvenienced loony overtaking in middle lane at high speed who proceeded to try and cause an accident by emergency stopping in front.
Edited by BertBert on Monday 28th January 19:51
Every time I drive. There's always a moment that makes me think "could have dealt with that better". Usually it's a minor thing, like messing up my following position and not having an ideal view around a corner, and sometimes it's one that needs an immediate large corrective action like a much firmer step on the pedals than I was planning on. The former ones I'm trying to improve incrementally, the latter are ones that get a bit more focussed "how do I not do that ever again?" thought.
wst said:
Every time I drive. There's always a moment that makes me think "could have dealt with that better". Usually it's a minor thing, like messing up my following position and not having an ideal view around a corner, and sometimes it's one that needs an immediate large corrective action like a much firmer step on the pedals than I was planning on. The former ones I'm trying to improve incrementally, the latter are ones that get a bit more focussed "how do I not do that ever again?" thought.
This is pretty much me as well. I cannot recall a drive anywhere during which I haven't chastised myself about something.I am a long distance sameday courier doing 90K a year with 30 years experience
My main fault is swapping lanes on roundabouts and being in the wrong lane !
Everybody screws up even the ADIs and police instructors and if they tell you otherwise they are lying . If you believe them then you are a mug !
The main thing is to try to manage things and only make the stupid little mistakes that dont do damage or put anybody at risk !
For me in am mostly in a Sprinter I go really slow in built up areas because you never know when a child will run out in front of you and that is something that is always on my mind . I think this approach makes you more aware in general anyway and alway be on the lookout
When the wheels are turning fast I like to be aware of everything that is going on around me checking the mirrors and trying to read the road ahead . I dont hammer it as the it only cost me more in Fuel
This is a very good thread because the main attitude on this site is it is everybody elses fault and I know best ! but just ask yourself how can I make things safer . For me my life and my living depends on an incident free day everyday
My main fault is swapping lanes on roundabouts and being in the wrong lane !
Everybody screws up even the ADIs and police instructors and if they tell you otherwise they are lying . If you believe them then you are a mug !
The main thing is to try to manage things and only make the stupid little mistakes that dont do damage or put anybody at risk !
For me in am mostly in a Sprinter I go really slow in built up areas because you never know when a child will run out in front of you and that is something that is always on my mind . I think this approach makes you more aware in general anyway and alway be on the lookout
When the wheels are turning fast I like to be aware of everything that is going on around me checking the mirrors and trying to read the road ahead . I dont hammer it as the it only cost me more in Fuel
This is a very good thread because the main attitude on this site is it is everybody elses fault and I know best ! but just ask yourself how can I make things safer . For me my life and my living depends on an incident free day everyday
Edited by jeremyh1 on Saturday 16th February 08:53
"Happy" to admit I have made some bad mistakes, too many perfect sorts on PH trotting out stuff like "don't need to use my indicators 100% of the time as I have perfect situational awareness blah blah blah".
My potentially most serious mistake was entering a large signalised roundabout at about 25-30mph on red without even realising it until I was on the r'bout. Luckily I just slotted in amongst all the cars going around it perfectly so inconvenienced no one (albeit no doubt shocked many) but it could have been VERY different. It was dark and a r'bout with lights on the approach and the r'bout itself and I glanced at the wrong ones. The root cause ....
I was talking on my hands free phone.
I learnt I cannot multitask and driving needs my 100% attention. Obvious really but sometimes I have to learn the hard way.
PS - When I make a mistake of any sort I always make a big show of putting my arm out the window and waving in a "sorry" manner to (1) apologise and (2) defuse/prevent any warranted honking etc.
My potentially most serious mistake was entering a large signalised roundabout at about 25-30mph on red without even realising it until I was on the r'bout. Luckily I just slotted in amongst all the cars going around it perfectly so inconvenienced no one (albeit no doubt shocked many) but it could have been VERY different. It was dark and a r'bout with lights on the approach and the r'bout itself and I glanced at the wrong ones. The root cause ....
I was talking on my hands free phone.
I learnt I cannot multitask and driving needs my 100% attention. Obvious really but sometimes I have to learn the hard way.
PS - When I make a mistake of any sort I always make a big show of putting my arm out the window and waving in a "sorry" manner to (1) apologise and (2) defuse/prevent any warranted honking etc.
Gassing Station | Advanced Driving | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff