Driving School: Unit 5, Lessons 1 and 2

Risk factors

anything that can increase the possibility of a collision involved in driving

Identify

The first stop of the IPDE Process: you must know when to look, where to look, how to look, and what to look for

Zone

one of six areas of space around a vehicle that is the width of a lane and extends as far as the driver can see

Open zone

space where you can drive without a restriction to your line of sight or to your intended path of travel

Line of sight

the distance you can see ahead in the direction you are looking

Intended path of travel

the space your vehicle will occupy

Target area

the section of the roadway where the target is located in the center of your intended path and the area to its right and left

Closed zone

space not open to you because of a restriction in your line of sight or intended path of travel, such as a red traffic light

Target-area range

space from your vehicle to the target area

12-15-second range

space you will travel in during the next 12-15 seconds

4-6-second range

the space you will travel in during the next 4-6 seconds

Orderly visual search pattern

process of searching critical areas in a regular sequence/systematic manner

Aspects of vision

field of vision, depth perception, and scanning

Primary aspects of vision necessary for driving

central vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception

Field of vision

the area you can see around while looking straight ahead

Central vision

the area you can see clearly and sharply, a narrow cone of only up to 10 degrees

Peripheral vision

vision outside of the central vision, gets worse as distance from central vision increases

Depth percetion

the ability to judge the relative distance of objects correctly

Scanning

glancing continually and quickly with very brief fixations through your orderly visual search pattern

Why should one not stare?

blocks out side vision, causes lack of attention, and tends to create high-risk driving habits

Selective seeing

identifying and selecting only clues and events that restrict your line of sight or can change your intended path of travel

Ground viewing

making quick glances to the roadway in front of your vehicle, used to see where other vehicles are headed by checking the direction of their front wheels

Problem drivers

drivers who speed and/or pass without enough room or in a no-passing zone

Roadside hazards

bicyclists, pedestrians, parked vehicles, narrow roadways, etc.

What to do when you have identified a hazard

second step of the IPDE Process; once you identify a hazard, you predict how this hazard might affect your intended path of travel

Predict

taking the information you have identified and image what might happen

How to predict

Evaluate the situation and make a judgment about the possible consequences; scanning target areas can hep predict as well as knowledge and experience

What to predict - three major elements

actions of other roadway users, your control of your vehicle, and the consequences of your actions

Prediction actions of others - what to predict

Path, action, space, and point of conflict

What to predict about the control of your vehicle

traction, roadway, and weather conditions

Three things that hep with predicting

Knowledge, judgment, and experience