The SAS Survival Driver’s Handbook. John Wiseman
about eye drops or nasal sprays which prevent the pollen getting to sensitive membranes. Wearing sunglasses to protect your eyes from irritating bright sunlight may also help.
Some new cars have filters that stop pollen spores from passing through the vents. If your car is not equipped with these, close all windows, turn off fans and close air vents.
It’s important to be mentally as well as physically fit when you drive. Driving is a stressful task at the best of times, because you have to be constantly alert for hazards posed by road conditions and other road users. Any motorist who feels no anxiety whatsoever when behind the wheel is obviously not awake to the potential dangers. But too high a level of anxiety overloads the brain and prevents you from making calm, rational decisions. If your mind is full of the blazing row you’ve just had with a partner or colleague, or if you let yourself get worked up about being late for an appointment because you’ve been stuck in a traffic jam for the last half-hour, you’re going to get distracted from the job in hand. This often results in late decision-making and violent braking.
Try to find ways of coping with stress and combating aggression (see the section on Attitude below). Research has shown that the risk of being involved in an accident increases when you are under the kind of severe stress that follows a bereavement or the break-up of a relationship. After receiving bad news, it can be very difficult to concentrate on driving. Switch to public transport for a while, or get a friend to chauffeur you until you recover.
Sight is critical to safe driving. If you cannot see properly you cannot assess traffic conditions and hazards. Some countries require drivers to undergo eye tests as part of the licence renewal procedure, but in Britain and elsewhere there is only one compulsory sight check, which forms part of the driving test. Having passed the test and gained a licence, a driver could, if he or she chose, go for 50 years without having their eyes tested again. It is estimated that 50 per cent of drivers on Britain’s roads have some form of sight defect, and as many as 25 per cent fall below the minimum legal requirement.
Eyesight can deteriorate with age or as a result of disorders like glaucoma. Symptoms may develop so gradually that you will not even be aware there is a problem until an eye test reveals it. This is why it is essential to have your eyes checked once a year until you are 60, and every six months after that. Sophisticated machines can detect early warning signs of problems like cataracts and glaucoma, and will also reveal defects such as poor depth perception due to long-sightedness or near-sightedness, colour blindness, tunnel vision, and night blindness:
• Hypermetropia (longsightedness) and myopia (short-sightedness) are common problems which can be rectified by wearing contact lenses or glasses.
• Colour blindness is for the most part a hereditary condition (about 8 per cent of men are affected and less than 1 per cent of women), though some cases do result from eye disease or injury.
• Tunnel vision means that only objects which lie straight ahead can be seen clearly. Peripheral vision (the view to the sides) is gradually lost. The most common cause is glaucoma, but brain tumours and degeneration of the retina can have the same result.
• Night blindness occurs when the cells of the retina (a light-sensitive membrane at the back of the eye) malfunction. There are a number of possible causes for this condition, including vitamin A deficiency. Sufferers will find driving at night difficult because they will have trouble judging and estimating distances, and the speed of other vehicles. Another problem which may be experienced in dark or low light conditions is over-sensitivity to glare. To compensate for poor light conditions, the pupil of the eye dilates to allow more light to enter. Some people are more affected by glare from oncoming headlights than others, and find driving at night difficult for this reason. But the solution is to see an optician — don’t try using tinted glasses, lenses or visors when driving at night or in poor visibility.
For the majority of motorists, the most dangerous time is not night but dusk. As the light decreases, shapes lose their definition and objects seem to blend into their surroundings, making them difficult to see. Switch on your dipped beam headlights as soon as the light begins to fail.
If an optician prescribes glasses or contact lenses, be sure to wear them. Leaving them off out of negligence or vanity puts yourself and others at risk. Keep a spare pair of glasses in the glove compartment, so that you won’t be stranded if you lose your contact lenses or break the glasses you’re wearing.
Falling asleep at the wheel happens all too often on motorways, with terrifying consequences. And even if you don’t go so far as to actually fall asleep, driving when you are tired means that your concentration and risk perception are impaired, so you’re more likely to have an accident.
One of the most common causes of fatigue is lack of stimulation. On a motorway or a road that you travel every day and know like the back of your hand, driving gets to be monotonous. Fog, rain and darkness make matters worse because there’s even less to see. Because you’re not getting any visual or physical stimulation, your senses become dulled, your levels of awareness and alertness decrease. And the longer you drive, the worse it gets. A driver who is tired before getting into the car — after a hard day’s work or a sleepless night — is particularly at risk. Be careful if you have to drive at times when you would normally be asleep — more fatigue-related accidents occur between midnight and 8 a.m. than at any other time.
Try to reduce the risk of fatigue by taking precautions:
• A light meal like a salad, is best when you’re about to set out on a long journey. A heavy meal will make you sluggish and tired, whether it’s a roast lunch or a three-course evening meal.
• Don’t take any medications that may induce drowsiness. Remember that drugs and alcohol can stay in your system for a long time.
• Driving at night is difficult enough, but if you are suffering from any sight defect or disorder it can be very stressful and tiring. Have your eyes tested and wear glasses or contact lenses if prescribed.
• If you know you have a long overnight journey ahead of you, try to sleep during the day. Prepare the car and do all the necessary packing and route planning, then rest. Avoid last-minute running around at all costs.
• Rattles and squeaks can be irritating, so do what you can to reduce noise in the vehicle. Make sure any luggage in the back is packed securely and that you don’t have items rattling round on the floor of the car.
• Make yourself comfortable. Bad posture causes aches and pains which lead to fatigue setting in. It’s particularly important when driving a hire car or a vehicle you’re not familiar with to take time adjusting the seat and steering before you set off.
• Wear comfortable clothing that doesn’t restrict body movement or steering. Layers of light, loose-fitting garments are best, that way you can stop and add or subtract a layer to achieve the right temperature. NEVER try to get dressed or undressed at the wheel — you need both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road.
• Wear lightweight, flat shoes with enclosed or covered heels, and make sure that the soles grip the pedals. Nothing is worse than shoes which slip off the pedals when you’re trying to control the car (check that the pedal rubbers themselves are not worn and slippery).
• Keep a window slightly ajar so that fresh air can circulate.
• Wipers can be very hypnotic. If it’s raining and the wipers are on, don’t stare at them — the effect can be very hypnotic and you’ll slip into a trance-like state.
• When planning your route for a long journey, pick out a few places where you can take a break en