Factors that Affect Your Driving Ability

1
Factors that Affect Your Driving Ability
2
How EmotionsAffect Your Driving

• Inattention speeding or taking other risks
  without even knowing it
• Lack of Concentration feeling anxious or
  excited about something else
• Ability to Process Information decreases
  ability to use good judgment and manage risk

3
How to ControlYour Emotions

• Maintain a Responsible Attitude show respect
  for order and safety and take responsibility for
  your actions
• Identify Troublesome Situations identify
  situations that may upset or annoy you, and deal
  with them in a responsible way

4
How to ControlYour Emotionscontinued.

• Avoid Triggering Aggressive Driving
• - Keep a safe distance from vehicles ahead
• - Apologize with an appropriate gesture
• - Always signal when changing lanes
• - Keep your cool

5
How to ControlYour Emotionscontinued.

• Plan Ahead always allow enough time to get
  where you are going or try to find an alternate
  route
• Expect Mistakes from Others never assume that
  other drivers will drive safely or obey all the
  rules
• Dont Drive When Upset or Depressed wait until
  your feelings subside

6
How to ControlYour Emotionscontinued.

• Dont Give in to Negative Peer Pressure dont
  let the influence of friends cause you to take
  unnecessary risks
• Train Yourself Always to Use Correct Procedures
  make sure safe driving procedures are automatic,
  no matter what your emotional state may be

7
Fatigue

• Senses are impaired
• You may not see objects clearly
• You may miss critical information (signs, lights,
  sounds)
• You may misjudge your speed
• You may take needless risks
• Highway Hypnosis
• Fall asleep at the wheel

8
How Vision Affects Your Ability to Drive

• Visual Acuity clear vision
• Field of Vision
• Central Vision the narrow cone-shaped area
  directly in front of you
• Peripheral Vision angles to your right and left
• Vertical Field of Vision up and down
• Depth Perception gives a 3-dimensional
  perspective to objects (distance judgment)

9
How Vision Affects Your Ability to Drive

• Contrast Sensitivity allows you to see details
  in the driving environment
• Color Blindness unable to tell the difference
  between red and green or blue and yellow
• The most commonly used colors in traffic are red,
  green, and yellow.
• Night Blindness when seeing at night is a major
  problem
• If you look at the headlights of an oncoming car,
  your eyes may take a moment to readjust to the
  darkness at which time you may be temporarily
  blinded.