What I've been taught and learnt about safe driving practices

Learning all I can about how to keep myself and others safe on the road whether I'm riding my bike or driving is really important to me. I don't want to hurt or kill myself or someone else including my passengers or others on the road. I want to enjoy the driving experience for as long as I am functionally able to drive safely.

Unfortunately due to preconceptions, it has taken years of practice and research to show that people with vision impairment can indeed drive and do so to a high enough standard as not to be any more unsafe than someone without vision impairment. The Bioptic Drivers Australia website contains blogs and research and FAQs about the legal, policy and research areas for low vision and bioptic driving from at least the 1940s. Yet despite this research and evidence, it seems some eye care professionals have persuaded policy and law makers that it is in society's interest of safety to prevent people with vision impairment from driving altogether. From my review of the policy papers, it seems much of the 'evidence' is based on the 'what if' fear if something is not seen rather than empirical evidence, even where this evidence is freely available. The question is 'how much research and practice and evidence is needed to give the green light to people with vision impairment'? The team at BDA are working on policy matters in this area so you can check out the website if you want to read up on it: https://www.biopticdriversaus.com/research

With this backdrop in mind and knowing I will be questioned everywhere I go when learning to drive using a bioptic. In some places experiencing micro-aggression or even outright aggression because of that person's ignorance and fear about low vision driving. I knew it would be a contentious path and one I needed to be fully informed about so I could talk with people to address their fear by demonstrating the wealth of research and practice. This is something I encourage all low vision drivers to do. To familiarise themselves with what safe driving practices mean and to talk with those who make fun of you. An example of micro-aggression is where a friend knowing about your vision impairment and that you now drive makes a comment such as 'well we better tell everyone to get off the road now you're driving!'. Whilst such a comment is put forward in jest, there is an element of perceived truth from the speakers perspective, one of fear. Letting someone go on in these terms and if these digs carry on for some time can lead others also thinking and speaking negatively about fear around your driving. And this is based on their view of low vision driving. Thus it is really helpful the low vision driver is able to come back with a witty quip to address the fears and be prepared to have a conversation on evidence if necessary.

Here are some of the things I've learnt over the years that I put into practice as driving activities that I believe contribute to driving safety:

Car adaptations

See my blog 'Choosing a car and adaptions' for how I have modified my car and why and how I believe that contributes to safe driving practice.

The 5-second (not 3-second) rule

Learning to drive you are taught to maintain a distance of three (3) seconds from the vehicle in front of you. Research and practice shows the most common accidents for all drivers, including bioptic drivers, are rear end collisions - why then do they keep happening? If I could only give one tip, it'd be this one. Keep a 5 second gap from the car in front. Don't worry about cars jumping into the gap, just ease off and make the gap again. I'm not perfect myself and sometimes sway from this rule, but then pull myself up now and again. Overtime this becomes an embedded practice without thinking. So if you are going to learn an embedded practice, start out with good practices and pull yourself up now and again.

Also, this doesn't mean you are not doing the speed limit, because you are maintaining speed. You might back off a bit to increase the gap but then you are back to the speed limit again.

" The rule states: If you reach the same fixed point before you can count to three, then you are driving too close to the car in front of you and you need to fall back a bit. The 3-second rule allows for a safe following distance when the road is dry and straight."

Here is a video that helps explain:

To accompany this rule, is maintaining a good stopping distance at an intersection from the car in front. You should be able to see the bottom of the back wheel's tyres on the road when stopped. This gap gives room if the car rolls back or for you to roll forward and they don't when the lights turn green (another rear end collision).

Also related to intersections but particularly those with traffic lights, my driving instructor in Canberra taught me. When you have poll position at the traffic lights and they turn green, always look to your right and left and right again before taking off. Don't hold up the traffic, the practice gets quicker overtime. Doing this allows you to notice break lights and movement from the cross traffic that is suppose to have already stopped or preparing to stop. There is always a chance a car may speed up on the amber light that the driver misjudges the distance and goes through the red light at speed or a driver is distracted and misses the red light. You are looking for the break lights of those poll cars to stop. You can do this by taking off with slow progression of speed.

As a cyclist a mindset I have taken with me to driving is not to trust anyone on the road. Always pretend I am not seen, be obvious and predictable with my behaviour. Stay mindful in the moment when on the road. Yes accidents are rare and yes accidents can happen to you. It only takes a split second of inattention and you can rear end another vehicle or hit that cyclist crossing in front of the intersection. It may only take one incident, driving is not easy, is serious and there is a lot in your control to prevent things from happening. As a person with disability I consider myself lucky to be given extra techniques and more training than the usual driver but wish these techniques were taught to all drivers.

Only drive in familiar areas or use justifiable supports for unfamiliar areas

This one is so important that many low vision and bioptic drivers have restrictions on their licence to ensure they only drive within a certain radius i.e. the intent only familiar areas. These areas can become unfamiliar suddenly and without notice, hence the need to maintain observation skills as many accidents occur close to home. Examples can include, a traffic accident, road works or bad weather. Personally I stick to familiar routes even if I know it will take me longer. There may be various ways to get to a destination but, if I am feeling tired or there is bad weather, I will choose a route to suit e.g. slower speed with more stopping. It also helps that I tell myself if with this change I will be getting home quicker than I would have on the bicycle or in the bus (and there are days I would rather be riding my bike or taking the bus).

When you start driving the roads you are familiar with are very few if any at all! Fortunately for me I live in a city that is not large and well planned so its easy to get around and I have spent the previous 15 years riding a push bike on the road so was already familiar with many roads. Riding a push bike is an excellent way to teach yourself the traffic rules and judging distances. It also gives you the perspective of a vulnerable road user so may help you notice cyclists whilst driving. As you take driving lessons your instructor will take you through familiar roads and you can learn various routes. Further, whilst a learner, that is the best opportunity to get someone to drive you places and then you practice driving to that place. I'd really recommended lots of hours of practice as a learner and from as many different people as you can and lots of hours of instruction. The foundation will always sit with you.

Justifiable supports can be per the above, have someone drive the area with you as a passenger, or that you drive with them as a passenger or you drive by yourself using the GPS voice to tell you where to go. For me this is a progression that I determine depending on my familiarity with the road and my relative confidence level at the time I need to drive (can be impacted on things such as lack of sleep). For example, I can drive to the next town being 2.5 hrs away at 110km/hr just using the GPS. But I can only do this because for the past 15 years I have travelled that road several times a year and driven it as a learner. Further, I have mapped the route on my GPS, looked at google maps street view the whole way and researched traffic conditions and stopped every 40mins to recheck my route and take a rest. But when I get to that city, I will not drive in that city because I am not familiar with the roads. This is a personal decision I have made that I consider justifiable support based on how familiar and comfortable I am with the driving task.

This is something each person needs to self monitor. It is clear the more unfamiliar the territory the more complex the driving task and more taxing on mental brain power to keep it all going and safely.

Compensate for blind spots 

We all know about the blind spots on our car and a simple way to help address these is to get someone to walk around the back of your car and you see if you can see the person the whole time, where you cannot see that person, that is your blind spot. As I note above, you can get blind spot mirrors to help fill those blind spots and by ensuring you do a head check when merging etc that is better.

But there is also a blind spot in our eyes that is a natural structure of the eye. Information at the below link explains and an extract here:

"We normally do not notice the blind spot because we are using both eyes.  What lies in the blind spot of one eye is visible by the other eye, so we are not aware of its presence.  

However, when driving it is important to see all the traffic around us, right?  If we simply glance around using eye movement instead of moving our head carefully to scan around, we may fall prey to the blind spot.  Often we see objects with only one eye at a time because vision is blocked to the other eye.  The bridge of our nose, windshield posts, and other obstructions could block the vision of one eye, but not the other.  If an important object, say the car on the left in the photo below, is seen with only one eye due to a glance, it may enter the blind spot of the eye and totally disappear from sight."

From: https://memicsafety.typepad.com/memic_safety_blog/2009/06/whats-in-your-blind-spot.html

Its important to keep moving your head, not just your eyes. Especially when turning left or right. Make this a standard practice. By moving I mean up and down and side to side. You will be surprised when one day that practice means you suddenly see a car passing you at a T intersection and did not notice it at first glance. Luckily you took a good look to compensate for your blind spot to prevent that side on collision.

This technique if also important to use when turning because it will help you detect movement of any kind. So it might not be a car, it might be a motorbike in the lane or a bicycle also coming up the lane about to cross your path as you turn. Its really important to be cognisant of vulnerable road users as they can be just as unpredictable as the traffic and in some cases more manoeuvrable. Hence it helps to try to anticipate once you have seen the road user.

Protect yourself and protect others by being aware of your blind spots and seek to compensate.

Always use scan and observation skills

One disability driving instructor taught me the action of 'bouncing your eyes'. This is great for a person with vision impairment and something I had already been doing for years on my push bike, both road and mountain bike. You need to see at a distance as far as possible and what is in front of you at the same time. Bouncing your eyes means you point your eyes in the distance then drag them forward to just in front of your car and then repeat. And/or, point your eyes in front of your car and drag them to the distance. The speed depends on your comfort at that time. I work this routine into my scanning routine to include rear and side mirrors, bioptic and bouncing.

Other scanning includes to ensure you are not just looking at the car in front of you but move your gaze to several cars in front. That way you may spy a sudden brake light that will cascade down the line. Also be sure to be scanning (but not turning your head) horizontally on the sides of the road so as to notice movement. You don't need to be sure what that object may be, just notice the movement. Once movement is seen you can then gaze again to determine if that object is in your lane, coming towards your lane, going straight etc i.e. if it is a potential threat. When I say gaze, for me this means 1-2 secs looking to the side and may slightly tilt my head on occasion but already maintaining forward gazing.

It is worth noting that where you look is where the direction of your body and anything attached to it will go. If you are a cyclist you learn this pretty quickly, especially a mountain biker - don't look at that tree in front of you, look at the path you want to take between the trees or on the track. On a road bike at speed you might suddenly be upon a dead kangaroo or other debris. As a cyclist you would already be scanning, even travelling along a freeway breakdown lane at 70km/hr. When debris suddenly appears you are already aware whether cars are travelling behind you and where your bunch might be. Thus the action you take in that split second will accommodate for those surroundings. You might have to bunny hop the object or know you can swerve. The same is true when driving for observation but you should never swerve (as this is one of the main causes of single vehicle accidents, especially for new drivers) always break and prepare to the hit the object. As a cyclist I have been hit by a car that swerved into the bike lane when trying to avoid the car in front (this was slow moving traffic and I am sure the driver was looking at their mobile phone while creeping forward) - do not swerve. Where you look is where your car will go. Do not fixate on the object of danger, look for the escape route, which with constant practice and vigilance should become a natural part of your driving.

These skills can be more difficult to perform if you have the radio going or passengers distracting you. Just be aware of such when these events are happening. If I know I am tired from a long day at work I will not turn on my radio on the way home and instead force myself to scan. Safety first.

Here are a couple of other tips

• Always keep your windscreen exceptionally clean - I keep in my car a bottle of half/half white vinegar/water solution along with a roll of paper towels. I clean every few days and can do so at home or work or elsewhere if I've driven on a dirt road.
• Use your time as a learner driver to work through how your disability impacts on the driving task. You are the expert of your condition. Read about other disability drivers and try different techniques and tools as we are all different so you may find modifying slightly something someone else uses is better for you. Be curious. Don't let others give you a blanket no but be reasonable. Professionals can give you information from their view but the decision is yours to make and there are always options.
• Do a defensive driving course - these are excellent to be done once you move from learner to provisional. They will teach you lots of safe driving practices and you may get to have a bit of fun on the skid pan if they have one!
• Do a car maintenance course - great to learn to do easy stuff if you get stuck, like change a wheel, or a light, measure your tyre pressure and know wear to go/how to pump it up and add oil/water when needed. Simple things keep your car running and you safe.

Here is a video of me driving on a parkway from 60km/hr to 80km/hr to 100km/hr and passing vehicles. You will see the distance I maintain from the front vehicles and notice how the white ute is tail gating the P platter little car - very common in Canberra - they love tail gating and you can choose not to do this! Drive your own journey, not what others do.

After reading this, if you feel exhausted, then good! Because driving is not easy and takes a lot of mental energy. Hence practice your skill one at a time, add another, practice that, then combine the two and so on. It'll become second nature.

Do you have suggestions for safe driving practices? Comments very welcome!