Would you notice me?
Have you ever walked past someone that you knew but you didn’t recognize them? I know someone who walked right past his wife while they both walked on the sidewalk, but she didn’t notice him. How observant were they? What if they used this inability to notice things as a driver and missed seeing things they needed to see? Could a crash happen because of it?
While I was recently teaching a class of novice drivers at Young Drivers of Canada, a few of the students were telling me how they were in a vehicle when the driver went completely across the yellow centre line and was driving toward oncoming traffic. Didn’t they notice the yellow lines? Were they distracted or did they even care the lines were there?
When drivers crash into another driver they often say they never saw them before the crash. Why couldn’t they see them? It’s not like the vehicle snuck up on them. If the roads are clear, why couldn’t the driver see the yellow centre line?
The privilege of driving means you need to stay alert and pay attention to what you’re doing. Look ahead of you and see where the road is going. Notice where the other road users are going and what they may be doing. Look for the signs, lane markings and traffic lights that help you make safe decisions as a driver.
Driving a vehicle is similar to a child coloring in a coloring book; they both have to stay between the lines!