Concentration and the driving plan.
Discussion
Now I'm prepared to be shot down in flames.
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
WhoseGeneration said:
Now I'm prepared to be shot down in flames.
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
Yes, but then I make it easier by avoiding the strict IAM style - and probably some of their less strict ones.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
TripleS said:
WhoseGeneration said:
Now I'm prepared to be shot down in flames.
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
Yes, but then I make it easier by avoiding the strict IAM style - and probably some of their less strict ones.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
By which you mean?
I do the same but my take on IAM is Observation and Anticipation.
With regard to operation of the vehicle, I'm not fussed, so long as the driver is in control at all times.
WhoseGeneration said:
TripleS said:
WhoseGeneration said:
Now I'm prepared to be shot down in flames.
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
Yes, but then I make it easier by avoiding the strict IAM style - and probably some of their less strict ones.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
By which you mean?
I do the same but my take on IAM is Observation and Anticipation.
With regard to operation of the vehicle, I'm not fussed, so long as the driver is in control at all times.
I may have misunderstood you, but by 'up the ante' a bit, I took that to mean that you allowed yourself a bit of leeway with the NSL* and drove at what you feel to be your natural pace, whereas best (alias official) IAM style will place some restraint on that.
Being confined to the NSL at times when I would prefer to travel more quickly tends to reduce my level of concentration as I feel I'm not fully occupied. I know this shouldn't happen, but I find it does, and it's not helpful.
Maybe you were not talking about the speed factor anyhow, in which case I've grabbed the wrong end of the stick. Sorry. Shall I go out and come in again?
* I expect we behave ourselves fairly well in the built-up areas in any case.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
TripleS said:
WhoseGeneration said:
TripleS said:
WhoseGeneration said:
Now I'm prepared to be shot down in flames.
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
Yes, but then I make it easier by avoiding the strict IAM style - and probably some of their less strict ones.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
By which you mean?
I do the same but my take on IAM is Observation and Anticipation.
With regard to operation of the vehicle, I'm not fussed, so long as the driver is in control at all times.
I may have misunderstood you, but by 'up the ante' a bit, I took that to mean that you allowed yourself a bit of leeway with the NSL* and drove at what you feel to be your natural pace, whereas best (alias official) IAM style will place some restraint on that.
Being confined to the NSL at times when I would prefer to travel more quickly tends to reduce my level of concentration as I feel I'm not fully occupied. I know this shouldn't happen, but I find it does, and it's not helpful.
Maybe you were not talking about the speed factor anyhow, in which case I've grabbed the wrong end of the stick. Sorry. Shall I go out and come in again?
* I expect we behave ourselves fairly well in the built-up areas in any case.
Best wishes all,
Dave.
Yup, you are on my wavelength.
30s, 40s, mostly logical.
50s, well some debateable, but ok, accept.
NSL, you take your chance.
You see, when I took my IAM test, the examiner, a local Class One Police Driver, said "You can go up to 70 for an overtake".
Then, when I was an Observer in my local IAM group and regularly checked by an assigned Class One Police Driver he wanted to see my ability at, as he put it, "stretched limits".
Some years ago now though.
When "Saving the Planet" was not the current fad.
My experience is slightly different. I find that by concentrating, reading the road, the traffic, the environment then I actually tend to go slower as I can't assimilate it fast enough. When I speed up I don't so much lose concentration but lose a lot of the information available; miss the clues and so on.
That's when my attitude is key'd correctly*
*patronisation copyright Mr Vonhosen 2007
(only joking Von')
That's when my attitude is key'd correctly*
*patronisation copyright Mr Vonhosen 2007
(only joking Von'
) WhoseGeneration said:
Now I'm prepared to be shot down in flames.
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
I understand where you're coming from with this. I find that the additional stress of a pursuit or a blue-light run actually helps me to concentrate. I also find it easier to drive smoothly when I'm pressing on, than when I'm driving at low speeds.
There sre some little tricks I use to help me concentrate when the going is a little boring. I like to look for observation links - looking for the vehicle thats going to turn off, spotting the car thats going to pull out in front of me and generally looking for little visual clues as to whats coming up. It may not end up affecting my drive at all, but it keeps me focussed, and I'm always learning new ones.
WhoseGeneration said:
Now I'm prepared to be shot down in flames.
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
It's just that, as I travel this country's highways and byways in best IAM style, I find that I have to concentrate to concentrate.
However, if I "up the ante" a bit, it's easier, my mind is totally focussed and somehow more engaged on the task.
Anyone else find this applies to them?
Yup.
TripleS said:
bertbert said:
do we know that Mr Vonhosen is actually a "he", could be a "she"?
Bert
Bert
Respectively: Yes and no. I'm pretty sure that's right.
It's got to be really, as women tend not to know much about driving.
Best wishes all,
Dave - exits whistling innocently.
Not biting.
Just thought i'd chip in here with an aspect of Race Driver coaching (my line of work) that is just as relevant to road driving.
Concentration is generally detrimental to smooth/safe driving as concentration "blocks" awareness. Concentration is a conscious process whereas awareness is sub-concious. Assuming you have the safe & smooth driving skills in the first place you can let your sub-conscious take care of the mechanics of driving AND allow it to fully take in all around you (awareness) and to anticipate multiple eventualities. It can take in and process information millions of times quicker than the conscious mind. Of course, if you don't have the driving and observation skills in the first palce, you do need to concentrate in order to learn them.
Another related aspect which Reg alluded to "I find that the additional stress of a pursuit or a blue-light run actually helps me to concentrate" is that additional stress (such as race car driving) increases the awareness substantially. It's related to the "flight or fight" response which effectively gives you "extra power" when you need it, it's why in very stressful situations it feels like you almost slow down time. In these situations people report that 100s of throughts pass through their mind in just a split second (i.e. seeing your life pass before you/seeing accidents in slow motion etc.)
The only thing I disagree with in Regs' statement is the word "concentrate", I'm sure it's more of an "intense awareness".
M.
Maxx said:
Just thought i'd chip in here with an aspect of Race Driver coaching (my line of work) that is just as relevant to road driving.
Concentration is generally detrimental to smooth/safe driving as concentration "blocks" awareness. Concentration is a conscious process whereas awareness is sub-concious. Assuming you have the safe & smooth driving skills in the first place you can let your sub-conscious take care of the mechanics of driving AND allow it to fully take in all around you (awareness) and to anticipate multiple eventualities. It can take in and process information millions of times quicker than the conscious mind. Of course, if you don't have the driving and observation skills in the first palce, you do need to concentrate in order to learn them.
Another related aspect which Reg alluded to "I find that the additional stress of a pursuit or a blue-light run actually helps me to concentrate" is that additional stress (such as race car driving) increases the awareness substantially. It's related to the "flight or fight" response which effectively gives you "extra power" when you need it, it's why in very stressful situations it feels like you almost slow down time. In these situations people report that 100s of throughts pass through their mind in just a split second (i.e. seeing your life pass before you/seeing accidents in slow motion etc.)
The only thing I disagree with in Regs' statement is the word "concentrate", I'm sure it's more of an "intense awareness".
M.
We are getting into semantics here again though aren't we ?
Concentration is the application of the mind to a particular task, whilst excluding that which is not relevant to that endeavour.
If you are not concentrating on the task of driving, it will affect your awareness in relation to that task.
i.e. If I try to compile a text message, whilst driving at a speed that would be approaching the limits of safety (when not texting) through a crowded shopping area, it will affect my awareness & consequently safety to perform the task in those circumstances.
I accept what you say about psychomotor skills & how it is desireable to be, as much as possible, unconsciously competent in their application. But for successful driving I'm of the opinion that you must be concentrating on that task whilst aware of your surroundings & what you are doing in relation to it. Whether we need to actually apply 100% concentration to remain safe, will depend how much spare we have in the tank in relation to the performance envelope within which we are operating. In short disproportional concentration on one aspect of driving such as steering, could be detrimental to other aspects of driving such as observational/situational awareness. It's sufficient concentration in relation to all facets of driving (as a whole) that's required in order ensure we remain safe.
Edited by vonhosen on Saturday 21st April 10:46
[quote=vonhosen
We are getting into semantics here again though aren't we ?[/quote]
A little perhaps but the point is that concentration (IMO at least) is generally to the detriment of awareness. That is ANY sort of concentration, so concentrating on txt'ing, talking on the phone, fiddling with the radio/sat-nav and perhaps more controversially, listening to self help tapes, or technical tapes or looking out for speed cameras, continously monitoring your speed through average speed cam areas etc.
Concentration is not focus and certainly, when driving you should be focusing on the task in hand. The "application of the mind" is way too general to explain concentration so I will come back to this later with hopefully a better explanation of what I mean.
M.
We are getting into semantics here again though aren't we ?[/quote]
A little perhaps but the point is that concentration (IMO at least) is generally to the detriment of awareness. That is ANY sort of concentration, so concentrating on txt'ing, talking on the phone, fiddling with the radio/sat-nav and perhaps more controversially, listening to self help tapes, or technical tapes or looking out for speed cameras, continously monitoring your speed through average speed cam areas etc.
Concentration is not focus and certainly, when driving you should be focusing on the task in hand. The "application of the mind" is way too general to explain concentration so I will come back to this later with hopefully a better explanation of what I mean.
M.
The definition of "concentration" could be argued all day and we'd never get a satisfactory answer. That's OK though, because there are countless different levels of concentration - I'd go as far as to say that there's a different level of concentration for every driver on the road, and they're constantly changing.
Take a new learner on their first ever driving lesson for instance. They have to think hard about every single gearchange or start from stationary. Every aspect of their driving has to be considered and co-ordinated and it's not easy. As drivers get more experience, the physical aspects of driving - actually moving and stopping the car - take up less and less of their thought process. They become "fine motor skills" which are by definition, skills which a person learns, and then doesn't have to physically think about. We learn loads of motor skills through our lives, and it's difficult to remember a time when we couldn't walk, for instance, or ride a bike, or use a tin-opener. Watch someone who knits - they give virtually no thought to the knitting process whatsoever and their fingers are almost a blur. But try knitting yourself - you'll be all fingers and thumbs and you're likely to produce something akin to an unidentifiable odd shape of cloth.
So, as drivers gain experience, they develop what I like to call "spare capacity". If you're giving less thought to how you operate the cars controls, you've got more spare capacity to think about what's happening outside the car. The very best driver always have plenty of spare capacity - they're able to formulate driving plans well in advance, and even form a secondary back-up plan in reserve. They can use their imagination to work out what's going to happen whilst they're subconsciously dealing with what is happening.
It's not just relevant to road driving either. I remember reading an interview with one of Schumacher's race engineers once, and he said that Michael gave almost no thought whatsoever to driving the car, which left him a vast amount of spare capacity to think about his race strategy.
Take a new learner on their first ever driving lesson for instance. They have to think hard about every single gearchange or start from stationary. Every aspect of their driving has to be considered and co-ordinated and it's not easy. As drivers get more experience, the physical aspects of driving - actually moving and stopping the car - take up less and less of their thought process. They become "fine motor skills" which are by definition, skills which a person learns, and then doesn't have to physically think about. We learn loads of motor skills through our lives, and it's difficult to remember a time when we couldn't walk, for instance, or ride a bike, or use a tin-opener. Watch someone who knits - they give virtually no thought to the knitting process whatsoever and their fingers are almost a blur. But try knitting yourself - you'll be all fingers and thumbs and you're likely to produce something akin to an unidentifiable odd shape of cloth.
So, as drivers gain experience, they develop what I like to call "spare capacity". If you're giving less thought to how you operate the cars controls, you've got more spare capacity to think about what's happening outside the car. The very best driver always have plenty of spare capacity - they're able to formulate driving plans well in advance, and even form a secondary back-up plan in reserve. They can use their imagination to work out what's going to happen whilst they're subconsciously dealing with what is happening.
It's not just relevant to road driving either. I remember reading an interview with one of Schumacher's race engineers once, and he said that Michael gave almost no thought whatsoever to driving the car, which left him a vast amount of spare capacity to think about his race strategy.
when driving long distance, tend to stick on the cruise control and then stretch the legs out a bit, but keep right near the brake pedal. put on a decent cd and chill out, makes the miles seem less... bad point is sometimes missing the junction from being too chilled out, has happened now and then, but guess a result of sticking to the speed limit, so often take off and go cross country
find that sleeping some place helps a bit, as does caffein pills, but find that a self made mixture of cocoa powder and gurana powder ground together helps a bit as well
find that sleeping some place helps a bit, as does caffein pills, but find that a self made mixture of cocoa powder and gurana powder ground together helps a bit as well
Maxx said:
the point is that concentration (IMO at least) is generally to the detriment of awareness.
This seems a bit too Zen to me. To me if seems more that the focus of attention is applied where and when it's needed. If I'm lobbing the car into a high speed corner at optimistic speeds then I'll be concentrating on assessing exactly where the road goes and how much grip will be available, course and speed work themselves out subconsciously from that and the mechanics of steering, gear changes etc happen by magic. If I'm driving through an urban area then the focus is on spotting potential hazards around me, prioritising and mitigating them is largely subconscious and automatic, again the car follows the road and changes gear etc for itself as far as my conscious mind is concerned. Concentration might harm awareness if the focus of attention in one area leads to insufficient attention to other areas, I'd say this sort of tunnel vision fails the 'when and where needed' test rather than that concentration itself is harmful.
Your life does pass before your eyes before you die - some people call this 'living' 
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