Are you open-minded enough to change your opinion?
Ever since I started to promote road safety more than 30 years ago, I’ve come across some very interesting opinions and some very opinionated people. It does lead to some very interesting discussions, which can be interesting to say the least. One of the things I’ve learned early on is I can’t always change someone’s opinion if they don’t want to change.
For some people, they get their opinion when they’re young and stay in that frame of mind throughout their adult life. Nothing – including statistics and updated research – can allow them to change their mind. And for some people, the advice they provide does not work for all vehicles in all conditions, but it’s something they believe because they were taught that many years before. But times have changed.
I have a page from the December 1958 edition of Better Homes & Gardens that shows us how to drive in winter weather. The first tip was to pump the brakes. If we stayed with that knowledge that our parents or grandparents taught us, it would take forever to stop. Learning new techniques allows us to transform into better drivers, provided you’re open-minded enough to accept new information.
I hear a people commenting about winter tires versus all-season tires. Yes, the debate still goes on if they are needed or not. Do the research. The rubber compound is much softer with winter tires than all-season tires which allows it to grip the road better. The grooves are wider to let snow and slush through. When people say they’ve never had trouble with their all-seasons, I’m reluctant to believe them. It’s like wearing a hoodie under a spring coat and saying you’re warm enough in the winter until you wear a proper winter coat. The comparison is like night and day.
When we feel we’re pretty good at our driving skills, we often compare ourselves to those around us. It’s like a player on a team. The best player on a specific team may be the weakest player on a better team. There’s no way of knowing that unless you play against or with the better players on the better team. Just because you’re handling things okay, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a better way to handle the same thing. That’s when you need to open your eyes – and mind – and decide you should change your ways to get better. But learn from those who are experts; people who do this for a living and have already done the research.
I’ve heard drivers comment on seatbelts, airbags, when to use high beams and what the proper following distance is. They’re stuck on their opinion and won’t even listen to other ideas even though there’s proof the new way can be better or safer. It’s okay to change your opinion. Really, it is. Whatever led them to these conclusions was most likely poor advice and most likely not from someone knowledgeable enough in the subject. I’ve heard people say they drive a certain way because friends or family at work suggested it.
Narrow-mindedness stops many from advancing into new ideas. As I’ve said many times, I can only teach you if you want to learn. Are you open-minded enough to change your opinion? Maybe there was information you never knew about? Once you weigh your current opinion with the new information, it’s really okay to change your beliefs. Regardless of how many years you’ve been driving, there really are things you may not realize.
Have a quick listen to this short podcast how so many drivers belong to the “It won’t happen to me club”.