DmitryBrant.com

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Too often do we encounter drivers on the road who are utterly incompetent, unfocused, and altogether dangerous. This brief guide will attempt to shed light on the realities of modern-day driving practices, as well as quantify the style of individual drivers using a comprehensive scoring system. This guide is not for beginners or even intermediates. It is for drivers who already have considerable experience on the road, and want to expand their understanding of the intricacies of driving with precision. It is for those who want to become black-belt drivers.

The Road

...is a microcosm of our society. It is not merely a means for vehicles to travel between two points. It is a mechanism that is boiling with life and social interactions. While the interactions in our society are between people, the interactions on the road are between cars, which are operated by people. Not surprisingly, much of what goes on during a drive has to do with human psychology and how it applies to dealing with tense situations like the road. Cars move through streets and intersections like red blood cells through capillaries. It is a constant and unending flow of energy.

The Vehicle

...is an extension of yourself. Driving a car is essentially nothing more than running at a very fast pace. Treat the car as if it were a body part. In order to be able to do that, one must become intimately familiar with the car and all of its functions. Ideally, the driver should be able to control all extra features of the car (radio, air conditioning, locks, windows, ceiling lights), without taking eyes off the road. Since this is not always practical, the driver must develop a good visual buffer system, where he or she looks at the road for a short time, buffering all surroundings into short-term memory, and then looking away to complete the task at hand (e.g. tuning the radio, taking a bite of a meatball sub, searching for a ringing cell phone, etc.).

The Speed Limit

...is a misnomer. Signs that say "Speed Limit" should be changed to say "Suggested Speed." Every driver realizes that it is socially unacceptable to go below the speed limit, so why call it a limit? In most real-life situations, the speed limit is in fact the minimum speed at which most cars move. When someone moves below the limit, it creates a tense and often dangerous situation, where more aggressive drivers may pass the slow-moving vehicle on the wrong side of the road.

The Three Pillars of Precision Driving

Safety

...is the first priority for the Precision Driver. In fact, Precision Drivers are some of the safest drivers one can hope to encounter on the road. Some might characterize a "safe" driver as someone who clenches the steering wheel with both hands, stares stiffly at the road ahead, remains tense throughout the whole trip, and shifts between the gas and brake pedals every second. But this is by no means "safe" driving. If anything, this kind of behavior indicates a severe lack of experience. Or, even worse, it may indicate a decifiency in the driver's ability to concentrate and focus on operating the vehicle. If a person is dangerously tense while driving, then any unexpected situation on the road may cause the person to lose control completely. The key to truly safe driving is to remain calm and relaxed while behind the wheel. When the mind is relaxed and composed, it can devote much more attention to the elements of driving that actually matter.

Awareness

It is obviously important to look at the road in front of you while driving. However, this is by no means enough. A Precision Driver must be aware of the whole local environment surrounding the current position of the vehicle. Excellent peripheral vision is a must in order maximize awareness during driving. Referring again to the visual buffer system mentioned above, the driver must

Confidence

...is perhaps as important in Precision Driving as is Safety. In fact, it is through Confidence that Safety and Awareness can be achieved.

Cooperation and Teamwork

When the Light Turns Green...

...for God's sake, start moving.

Phantom Traffic Jams

Phantom traffic jams are traffic jams that occur for no apparent reason. Everyone has been in this situation at some point: You're driving on the highway, and suddenly encounter a taffic jam. But after several minutes it just clears up totally spontaneously and you're on your way again. So why do such things occur?

Old People

...should not be allowed to operate motor vehicles. Okay, I'll rephrase that. People over 60 years of age should be required to take a driving test every year, if not every six months.
Picture the scene: I'm driving back to work from my lunch break, and stop at a red light. Suddenly, I find myself thrust against the back of the seat at about 10 Gs, with a deafening crash noise from behind. It took a few seconds for me to realize what's happened and regain composure. Air bags didn't deploy, so I knew it wasn't too bad. I stepped out of the car to check out the damage. Thankfully, it was pretty minimal; in fact, the other car sustained a lot more damage than mine. And then, of course, guess who steps out of the other car: an ancient fossil of a man who is barely able to walk, much less use his foot to press on the brake pedal. He started to explain to me why he didn't stop, but I wouldn't hear any of it. I summoned a police cruiser, and promptly filed a report. The more points we can rack up onto this gentleman's license, the less chance he'll have of endangering any more lives, including his own.

Turn Signals

...are quite useful, and should be used as often as possible. Failure to use turn signals is one of the biggest sources of miscommunications and accidents on the road.

Keeping Score

Passing:

• Passing a regular car: +1 point
• Passing a significantly more expensive car than yours: +2 points
• Passing a semi truck: 0 points (goes without saying)

• Being passed by a car: -1 point
• Being passed by a significantly cheaper car than yours: -2 points
• Being passed by a semi truck: -4 points (that's just not right)

Running a yellow light:

• Two seconds before red: +1 point
• Less than one second before red: +2 points
• Exactly when it turns red: 0 points (pushing it)
• Less than one second after red: -2 points
• More than one second after red: -10 points (that's just running a red light, duh!)

Keeping straight:

• Drifting into an adjacent lane unintentionally: -1 point per second of drift
• Drifting over a double-yellow line unintentionally: -2 points per second of drift
• Accidentally scraping a tire on the curb (e.g. when making a turn): -5 points

Inaccuracies:

• Stopping at a red light a little too far and having to reverse a bit: -10 points
• Pulling out of a driveway too soon (when cars are oncoming), and having to back up: -15 points

Failing to move when it's green:

• After 1 second of idleness: -1 point per additional second of inactivity (Note: points can be reinstated if the car is genuinely malfunctioning)

Turn Signals

• Failing to use the turn signal:
• on a right turn: -10 points
• on a left turn: -15 points
• when changing lanes: -5 points
• Leaving the turn signal on after turning: -1 point per second of unnecessary turn signal.
• Using the wrong turn signal (e.g. left signal on a right turn): -15 points

Roadkill

• Squirrel: +5 points
• Bunny-rabbit: -10 points
• Cat:
• Black: +10 points
• Any other color: +5 points
• Dog: -5 points
• Deer: -25 points (probable damage to vehicle)
• Other small animal (raccoon, armadillo, lizard, etc.): +10 points
• Other large animal (horse, moose, bear, etc.): -20 points
• Human being: -inf. points (probable jail time and little likelihood of ever driving again)
• Birds:
• Pigeon: +10 points
• Crow/Raven: +15 points
• Other small bird (sparrow, mourning dove, etc.): +5 points ea.
• Other large bird (goose, duck, chicken, etc.): -5 points ea.
• Any bird slamming into windshield while in flight: +20 points

Collision with Other Vehicles

• Bumping another vehicle (no damage): -25 points
• Hitting another vehicle (minor damage) ("fender bender"): -50 points
• Crashing into another vehicle (considerable structural damage):
• Air bags did not deploy: -75 points
• Air bags deployed: -100 points
• Crash causing considerable injury / hospitalization (of either party): -200 points
• Crash causing fatality:
• of the other party: -inf. points (probable jail time and little likelihood of ever driving again)
• of the driver: undefined (you're dead)

Collision with Other Objects

• Scraping against your garage wall/door: -25 points (come on, now)
• Hitting an orange cone: -10 points
• Hitting an orange barrel: -15 points
• Hitting a mail box: -20 points
• Hitting a tree or telephone pole: -50 points
• Driving into a body of water: -100 points
• Driving off a cliff: undefined (certain death)

The Police:

• Passing a police cruiser on the road:
• on a city street: +2 points
• on the freeway: +5 points
• Getting pulled over: -100 points
• getting a ticket: subtract amount of points equal to number of
  dollars fined.
• weaseling out of getting a ticket: +100 points
• Running from police: -10 points per second of chase duration

Miscellaneous

• Not wearing a seat belt: -2 points per second of driving without seat belt
• Turning onto a one-way street the wrong way: -2 points per second of going the wrong way
• Driving while intoxicated: -5 points per second of driving
• Getting stuck in snow / dirt: -1 point per second of being stuck
• Spinning out on an icy road:
• Unintentionally: -1 point per degree of total rotation until car stabilizes or crashes
• Intentionally (i.e. doing Donuts): +10 points per radian of total rotation (1 radian = 57.3 degrees)
• Overturning: -1 point per degree of rotation
• Ending up back on wheels: +100 points
• Car is still drivable: +100 points

[Disclaimer: this guide does not replace any state or local laws and regulations concerning the operation of motor vehicles. It should be used only for educational and entertainment purposes]