Wednesday, 5 December 2012

Driving – A Few Thoughts For The Learners On The Road

A feature about driving in the New Zealand press caught my eye today.

Ok - it's not the UK but what the article did was highlight the issues that young drivers all over the world have - namely putting up with other aggressive motorists.

The writer in question is actually a learner driver who was driving in bad weather - heavier rain than usual. In this kind of circumstance it makes sense to reduce your speed as visibility tends to be poorer and the wet weather can lead to skidding.

This is exactly what he did - he reduced his speed from 100kph to around 90kph and consequently he was subjected to a lot of abuse from drivers behind him. In fact some actually overtook him, slammed on their brakes once in front and then took off at speed. A rather childish attitude and certainly not something you would expect from experienced motorists.

Now this is probably an extreme example as I've never personally experienced this in the UK but the underlying message is pretty clear. Everyone has been a learner driver at some stage in their lives and not everyone is a natural behind the wheel (especially not in the first few lessons).

So if you're an experienced driver reading this - put yourself in the shoes of the learner before subjecting them to your angry impatience. If you didn’t give yourself enough time before leaving for work or that all important meeting then surely that’s your own fault… not theirs?

If you're a learner or an inexperienced driver reading this - it's ok to drive safely. In fact it's encouraged - if you're facing bad weather, especially over the winter months; slow down and drive carefully. To find out more about driving in bad weather check out iKube's range of driving guides.