Rob's Blog

I’ve generally been somewhat disappointed with the British government’s Think! campaign, due to its overwhelming emphasis on “Kill[ing] Your Speed”. The idea that simply slowing down a bit will solve all road safety problems is too simplistic. I personally would favour a pay-a-bloody-ttention campaign, pointing out how important good observation is, and warning not to just stare at the car in front and maybe look a bit further ahead than the end of your nose from time to time.

Since returning to the UK, however, I’ve been pleased to see a wider variety of TV adverts, including an excellent one about the two second rule (strangely not listed at the above link), and a hilarious (if only because it’s so cheaply done) one about driving when horses are around. I haven’t seen the Kill Your Speed ad once – this has to be a good sign.

For more on how road safety really can be improved, see the Association of British Drivers’ page on the subject.

A new hazard perception test is to become a part of the UK driving test. This involves watching video clips taken from a driver’s viewpoint, and clicking a mouse when a hazard is spotted. It sounds a good idea, but a there seem to be problems with deciding what counts as a hazard and what doesn’t. In reality, almost anything that moves, and quite a lot of things that don’t are hazards. Parked cars might open their doors, pedestrians might stray into the road, and traffic lights might change colour.

The test does not penalise for perceiving a hazard where there isn’t one, and even though it is supposed to be able to spot random mouse clicking, it’s not hard to see how the test might be cheated by simply clicking at anything.

A real test of drivers’ perception would have to account for what exactly it was that the subject perceived as a hazard. The Institute of Advanced Motorists‘ driving test acheives this by requiring testees to give a running commentary on what hazards they perceive and how they are adjusting their driving accordingly.

Good observation is extremely important when driving, and many people seem to stare blankly ahead at a fixed distance in front of them, seemingly in a trance like state. Any emphasis on observation in the driving test is a good thing, but I’m not convinced this new test goes far enough.