Teach yourself to judge distance using a stopwatch
Good drivers can accurately judge the distance they will travel
at different speeds and how long it will take them to get
there.
Experienced drivers can do this and they may not even realise
it. By seeing where you are likely to be in the future you can
avoid possible crash situations, traffic hold-ups, and predict when
you may need to slow down or speed up.
Teach yourself to judge where you will be in the future:
- Get a stopwatch and learn to use it. You must be able to record
seconds and zero it without looking
- As a passenger, wait for the car to be travelling at a steady
speed. When it is, look ahead and find a point or object on or near
the side of the road that you think is about three seconds
away
- When you have chosen a point or object, immediately start the
stopwatch
- Stop the stopwatch when the front bumper of your car gets to
the object
- Look at the stopwatch. If you have good judgement you will see
a reading that is extremely close to three seconds
- If the reading is 3.2 seconds or more, repeat the exercise but
start the stopwatch when you are closer to the object. If the
reading is 2.8 seconds or less, repeat the exercise but start the
stopwatch when you are further from the object. You will soon
improve your accuracy
- When you are good at judging three seconds at different
speeds, try judging a point five seconds ahead of you, then
10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 60. Do this at different speeds
- Keep practising until you become accurate
Some people say it is better to judge distance in car lengths.
The problem with imagining car lengths is that imagination can be
very wrong and there is no way of checking it. A stopwatch gives
you accurate feedback. Or you can practise on line:
Later you will do other activities that will prove to you how
useful this skill is.