While driving, drive

Habitual driving, or driving on “autopilot,” is another form of driver distraction. I was reminded of this the other day as I followed a driver into the Lincoln Heights shopping area on 29th Avenue. As we approached the retail zone, the driver, who had be traveling at around 33 mph, suddenly stabbed the brakes and dropped his speed to 21mph.

Well, back when this stretch was a 20-mph zone, this driver would have been doing the correct thing. But now, since the city upped the limit there to 30 mph, he was performing an unexpected and potentially hazardous act by habit. I was watching his car, and following with plenty of room — if I had been sightseeing or driving on “autopilot,” we might have collided.

The point is that driving situations are dynamic, not static. In other words, subject to continuous change. In order to drive safely, we must be alert to these changes.

We’ve all heard that most automobile accidents occur close to our homes. This phenomenon is borne of our habitual driving, or performing certain driving maneuvers so frequently that they become automatic. After passing through an intersection in our neighborhood umpteen times without seeing a vehicle, it can be difficult for our minds to “see” the one that appears some day.

We may have all seen, or ourselves been, the wayward vehicle that pulls out and travels in the wrong direction on Division or Sprague. This occurs due to driver habit.

Both of those streets were two-ways for years, but since the formation of the Ruby and Appleway couplets, they are now one-way streets. Quite a bit of time has passed since those revisions took place, but old habits die hard. At times, I still have to consciously resist the urge to turn north on Division when I leave the General Store.

With the growth happening in our region, road revisions will become the norm. We already have two new roundabouts, at SR206 & Bruce, and Wellesley and A Street. By observing driver behavior at these spots, it’s evident that old habits are at play. Many drivers still stop at the entrance to the roundabouts, but stop signs there no longer exist!

In fact, because our familiarity with the recurring ritual of driving, we are at ease engaging in other distracting activities while driving. If we weren’t so comfortable in the driver’s seat, we probably wouldn’t rubberneck, groom, eat, talk on the phone, or practice the other common dangerous driver distractions discussed in this column last summer.

So many are so comfortable in the driver’s seat, that the latest (December 2005) findings reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show 2005 cell phone use among drivers to be up by another 1 percent over 2004. That translates to 974,000 phone-talking drivers on the road at any given moment — a whole bunch of distraction!

Comfort breeds contentment, and many of us are quite comfortable in our vehicles. Driver comfort should be a good thing, as long as we still afford due attention to the tasks of interacting with traffic. Too much contentment can lead to indifference and driving errors.

In many ways, driving may be getting too easy and comfortable. Automatic transmissions, cruise control, power mirrors, power seats, recliners, and heated seats — all super innovations — make driving easier and more comfortable. In spite of this lavish vehicle environment, we must strive to avoid complacency and indifference in that comfy driver’s seat.

I must again concur with reader H.I., who informed me of his opinion about slow drivers on the Pullman Highway. He believes that they are the cause of risky or aggressive driving behaviors on the roadway by other drivers. I will add that their pokiness, combined with other drivers’ complacency, creates another problem — the highway parade.

On a recent trip to the college town, I encountered traffic strings of 15 vehicles, followed by lineups of seven, five, and six vehicles. Fortunately, these parades were taking place in the opposite direction of my travel. That way, I didn’t have to try to perform one of the risky tasks of which H.I. spoke — trying to pass the group.

A selfishly slow driver who won’t use the shoulder to let others go by generally leads those parades. However, the next driver in line is to blame, too — because of his or her complacency and unwillingness to pass, it’s difficult for the third driver to pass, and even more difficult for the fourth, fifth, and so on.

As I often request, please be comfortable in your vehicle, but not too content — stay alert, and be prepared for the unexpected.