How To Be More Attentive When Driving

Driving can be stressful, whether you’re driving to somewhere completely new to you or a long-distance trip down the motorway, different types of stress may zap your concentration which can end up leading to a speeding fine, or potentially worse.  Add the complication of noisy children in the back of the car, the bad behaviour of some other drivers and well, it can be challenging  to say the least.

Here are some handy tips you can put into practice when you’re starting to feel your focus and patience wane:

Turn The Air-con On To A Low Temperature

This tip works just as well for when you’re feeling tired – by keeping the temperature cool your body feels more awake and alert. In fact, plenty of brand new cars include this as a safety feature – if you have one of Mercedes’ new models, you can use the voice command to say things like “Hey Mercedes, I’m tired” and it’ll change the ambient lighting, turn the air con on cold and the fan speed up. Alternatively, if you don’t have the luxury of air-con, you could always wind your windows down instead, providing it’s not raining of course! In our house I know that Daddy will do all of these things so even on the hottest day I bring cardigans and/or hoodies for us all as once the car is speeding along with all the windows open we soon need them and recently did on a car journey.  Once covered up (the kids even ask for a blanket) they soon fall asleep and then the journey is even easier especially after full tummies from a stop at services.  Yes, loo breaks are an essential of a pleasant car journey too!

Turn Your Music Down

Plenty of studies show that music has a direct influence on your reaction times, but those studies usually look within the lens of travelling at speeds of 30+ mph. For the times when you’re looking for a particular house number, street name or plan on doing a manoeuvre such as parallel parking or a turn in the road, turning your music down will increase your concentration immediately. This concept is backed up by a recent survey conducted by UK car leasing firm All Car Leasing, which found that nearly three quarters (72%) of the overall survey participants opt to turn their music down when they’re making a manoeuvre – so you’re not crazy if you do this habit already! If you want to read the full survey and supporting infographic, click here.

Keep hydrated

Dehydration in general will make you start to feel drowsy, so when you’re driving this becomes a much more serious issue. Plan ahead by having a glass of water or a cup of tea, you could even go a step further and bring a travel mug with you if you’re going to be stuck in stop/start traffic or on a long motorway trip.

Don’t Get Caught Off-Guard

Things like roadworks or harsh weather conditions usually present hazards on your journey such as road closures, light flooding or large branches that have blown off nearby trees. The last thing you need is to encounter these things when you’re unaware of them potentially happening. This can be avoided by checking the weather forecast the night before if you’re going to be commuting the next morning or even joining a local residents' page for your town, people are usually quite quick to let others know things happening in the local vicinity (though usually they’re mainly moaning about other people’s parking!).

Don’t Look At Your Phone

It’s 2019 so this should be obvious already at this point – looking at your mobile phone while driving is one of the largest contributing factors to road traffic accidents behind the likes of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It can be easy to get distracted if you’re feeling bored, but this is something you should absolutely avoid, if not out of fear of actually having an accident but also getting caught by the police.  The penalty for doing so is now increased. 

Penalties

You can get 6 penalty points and a £200 fine if you use a hand-held phone when driving. You’ll also lose your licence if you passed your driving test in the last 2 years.

You can get 3 penalty points if you don’t have a full view of the road and traffic ahead or proper control of the vehicle.

You can also be taken to court where you can:

• be banned from driving or riding
• get a maximum fine of £1,000 (£2,500 if you’re driving a lorry or bus)

Collaboration

Why Should You Teach Your Child How to Drive Safely From an Early Age

In the United Kingdom we allow our youngsters to start hitting the road at the age of 17 but across the world drivers can begin from as young as 14 in Canada if they have supervision. The importance of making sure your child is ready to take on the very big responsibility of driving is vital and there’s no reason why some of the lessons they need to learn can’t be passed on at a much earlier age. When I was young in Ireland, all of my cousins were driving as soon as their age was in double figures - yes it was sometimes just a tractor or other farm vehicle, but if it was country roads where they were unlikely to pass anyone other than a neighbour they were often allowed to practice in a car. Back then people weren't as precious about cars and we didn't even have M.O.T.s yet (they now years later have NCTs).

Before you start: Make sure that you meet the legal minimum licence requirements yourself. A supervising driver must be over 21 years of age and have held a full Great Britain (GB), Northern Ireland or European Community/European Economic Area (EC/EEA) driving licence (for the type of vehicle you are using) for a minimum of three years. 

There are no limits, of course, to teaching theory or basic road safety and these act as the building blocks for a child’s learning. I learned the whole Highway Code when I was a little girl, (when my Mum was learning and when I was in the Panda competition) but I think I have most of it forgotten now.

Benefits of learning early: By teaching your child to drive at an early age they gain independence - one of the greatest gifts you can give them. It is an essential part of growing up and becoming an adult. You allow your child the opportunity to have the freedom that driving brings but always remember that you are still there to offer guidance and support. Driving will also develop their decision making skills and help them to form their own identity with the added freedom that it allows. There are also practical benefits for them in learning early – after all when they’re growing up they are used to preparing for exams. You can help them prepare for their theory test by going through some free mock tests at TopTests.co.uk and they’re bound to react well while still in ‘study mode’. Once they are ready they can Book a Theory Test here.

Behavioural skills: One of the biggest contributions to your teen's safety and effectiveness behind the wheel will be how you model behaviour and attitude to driving while they are growing up. Before embarking on teaching your child you should reflect on your own driving habits and behaviour when you drive. You need to show your knowledge and encourage your child to be patient and courteous when dealing with other road users. This could have an impact on whether your child will be co-operative or competitive in traffic, whether they will take risks or practice restraint when dealing with unfamiliar scenarios. There’s nothing wrong with explaining what you are doing when changing gears, for example, either. Demonstrating that the road comes first and that it is therefore hazardous to be distracted by a phone or anything else, while driving, is also a valuable priority to imbed in them by role modelling. Accidents are worse at speed, so a healthy respect for speed limits is a good thing to make them aware of, along with the knowledge that there are speed cameras, spot checks and consequences for taking chances.

Young driver lessons: The AA and Admiral are among those now offering young driver lessons for children aged between 11-17. According to research carried out by the RAC Foundation, young people who learn to drive at 17 are almost 50 per cent more likely to be involved in a crash than those who learn at 25. Admiral says about its Young Drivers Academy: “It was set up to arm young people with more knowledge and experience than the average 17-year-old driver would have before they take to public roads.” Children get to learn skills in a real car but on simulated roads in a safe environment with an instructor. It’s the perfect example of why early learning is important – by addressing some issues early you can reduce the traditional risks faced by teen drivers.

Awareness: You can encourage children to become more aware of the road and other road users before they even get behind the wheel. The road safety charity Brake.org runs regular road safety weeks both in the UK and worldwide and works with many schools and colleges to encourage young people how to take steps to become safer. Things like the stopping distance of cars travelling at different speeds is looked at, as well as distractions for drivers and pedestrians that can pose a danger. Learning this information early could help your child to become a better driver when they do get out on the roads. Again, this is all about recognising the fact that driving lessons don’t begin by getting behind the wheel, in fact that’s the end of the process really. By that stage a healthy respect for motoring needs to already be instilled in the new driver.

This post is in association with TopTests.