INTRODUCTION TO DEFENSIVE DRIVING

Robyn Hutto Lawrence County High School

THE TWO KEY COMPONENTS OF DEFENSIVE DRIVING FOR OVER 25

YEARS.

SIPDE and “The Smith System”

SIPDE

• Scan and search• Identify• Predict• Decide• Execute

SEARCH & SCAN-THE TRAFFIC SCENE

• As we drive things happen all around us. Many of these potential situations happen, not in our direct path of travel, but rather in areas all around our vehicle. It is important to constantly move our eyes to see the big picture.

IDENTIFY-CLUES IN THE TRAFFIC ENVIRONMENT

• Remember that other highway users don’t always act the way we think they will. We must learn to gather and process the important clues to other people’s driving behavior.

Here are the important things to look for:Sign, signals and road markingsThe highway itselfMotorized vehiclesNon-motorized highway users

PREDICT-WHAT COULD HAPPEN AHEAD OF YOU

• Usually highway users act as expected. But times they may do some unexpected things that could lead to collisions. We must learn to expect the unusual. When you are in a traffic situation that has accident potential, adjust your speed and position in response to (1) the chances/probability and (2) consequences/results of a collision.

DECIDE-WHAT ACTION YOU CAN TAKE TO LESSEN THE DANGER

• what action you can take to lessen the danger.• When you gathered important information that is

available from the road around and interpreted it, predicting what effect it may have on your intended path of travel, quickly consider all of the possible actions and choose the best one. Your goal is to minimize you risks. You can do this by controlling your position. You must communicate your intentions to others.

EXECUTE-THE ACTION OR ACTIONS THAT YOU DECIDED

• the action or actions that you decided.• You must execute your decisions using the

steering wheel, accelerator and the brakes. Be sure to use your turn signals to communicate your intentions to others on the road. Most of the maneuvers you have to make to be routine ones.

THE SMITH SYSTEM

• A five step system loosely related to the SIPDE system. The Smith System requires specific things to reduce or eliminate traffic conflict.

1. Aim high steering2. Keep your eyes moving3. Get the big picture4. Make sure others see you5. Leave yourself a way out or a margin of safety

and your intentions

AIM HIGH IN STEERING-

• develop an effective search pattern and then use it. The pattern should be twenty to thirty seconds ahead of your vehicle. This will be about one to two blocks ahead at 25 to 30 mph in the city and about 1/3 to ½ mile at 55 to 65 mph on the highway.

KEEP YOUR EYES MOVING

• Roadway and off-road conditions are always changing, search the scene constantly. Your overall search pattern should include areas2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20, 30 seconds ahead of you. Because you must leave time for searching, remember to keep at least 2 second following distance. Traffic checks I any direction other than your intended path of travel should be brief. Be sure to include your mirrors in your overall search pattern.

GET THE BIG PICTURE

• Search the whole scene, not just part of it. When we drive our minds do not interpret everything we see. For this reason we must learn to look at things selectively. When driving look for things with crash potential

MAKE SURE OTHERS SEE YOU

• Communicate with drivers and pedestrians. Drive where others can see you. Anticipation is an important component of your search pattern. The best way to anticipate the movement of others is to make eye contact with them. If you can’t see their eyes be, ready for unexpected movements.

LEAVE YOURSELF A WAY OUT OR, A MARGIN OF SAFETY AND YOUR

INTENTIONS • Always leaves yourself a path of escape or a way

to avoid collision. When things with collision potential develop well in front of your vehicle, you may need to respond with only a simple reduction in speed to let the conflict clear. Those that develop in your immediate path of travel will be more difficult to handle. As your judgment of time and space improves and you learn to anticipate dangerous actions by other drivers, you will be able to minimize your risk.

Facts

• Remember these two are ongoing processes. You will be reacting to one situation while at the same time gathering information about a new one. As one potential conflict clears and another one is forming ahead of you. • Teenagers in the age group 16-19 have one out

of 5 chance of a serious accident. • Since the year 1990 until now we have 16 million

more licensed drivers now and .002 new roads. So no wonder there are more accidents.