Have you ever got complimented by your girlfriend for your driving skill?
If she did, is it truly a compliment or is it just her being considerate?
In this article, we will point out to you what good and bad drivers do in common and how to fix them.
Difference between a Good Driver and Poor Driver
It is difficult to realize it yourself whether you are a good driver or a bad driver because probably nobody has ever told you before.
So first, let us try to think of what describes good and bad driver.
Characteristics of a Good Driver
People who are good at driving are those who have the following three qualities:
The driver drives smoothly without making any unnecessary movement.
2. Self-control
The driver drives with no hesitation and does not panic easily. Has a room to think.
3. Can predict danger
The driver is always cautious towards anything dangerous that could happen while driving.
Further Example of a Good Driver
Nothing to be Afraid When Riding
You will feel like there is nothing to be afraid of when you are being driven by a good driver.
A good driver does no sudden brakes or acceleration, and if the car is a manual car, no shakiness can be felt when the driver changes the shift smoothly.
And also it has lower chances to feel car sick, and sometimes it feels too comfortable up to the point that you could doze off and sleep in the car.
Always Check the Surroundings
The driver has a room to think, so (s) he sees not only to the front, but (s) he also sees what is happening around.
This allows quick reaction when (s) he needs to, thus reducing the risk level significantly.
Just a Glimpse
Most of cars have side mirrors and a back mirror attached on them, and staring at them for too long is too dangerous since the front side is the most important part to see.
A good driver only takes a short glimpse of the mirrors in order to grasp the situation of the surroundings.
Good Timing on the Winker / Blinker
The car needs to slow down when the driver wants to take a turn, so it is very important for the driver to give his/her surroundings a signal for it.
A good driver turns on the winker earlier when (s) he needs to take a turn in order to signal the people nearby.
Keeping a Good Distance
A good driver keeps a good distance between his/her car and the car at front. This allows the driver to brake during emergencies.
Characteristics of a Bad Driver
Shaky Car
The car gets shaky because the driver does things like sudden acceleration, brakes, and turns.
It is easy to get car sickness when you ride such cars, and not only the riding passenger, other drivers would also get scared when they meet a car driving in such a way.
No Car Sense
A bad driver does not have any sense of the car that (s) he is driving on. As a result, the car would most probably hit some road curbs or even cars while driving.
No Sense of Speed
In big public roads or highways, where you will be running with other cars, there is a minimum speed that all cars need to reach to make a flow.
It is true that driving at low speed on these roads is safe, but this creates a bad flow to the road, thus making it dangerous.
And also during a curve, going too fast is also not an option to do since it is harder to turn the car at high speed, thus making it dangerous as well.
Differentiating a Good and Bad Driver as a Passenger
Rather than driving the car yourself and wondering if you are good or not, it is possible to see the differences between the two by having a passenger sitting in your car. Here are some examples that the passenger would say for both drivers.
Driving in a Straight Line
As I looked onto the driver, (s) he was only watching what is right in front of (her) him.
Even though the car was just going straight forward, it felt like the car was trembling around and it was my first time being so afraid in a car.
Driving straight forward did not look as easy as I expected, but the driver looked very calm handling the car and I felt sleepy since there was nothing to worry about.
Turning Left and Right
It was truly horrific moment for me when we are turning. The driver was very late at turning on the winker light, and sometimes the car behind us had to do a hard brake.
When we do a right turn, (her) his bad timing and high speed made me think that we might crash to some cars or pedestrians.
And when we do a left turn, sometimes the car went up the curb due to his bad timing.
The driver was perfect with (her) his timing and always check for incoming pedestrians or bicycles when doing a right turn.
During a left turn, (s) he closed the gap to the left before the turn in order to avoid any clash with bicycles or motorbikes.
Parking
The driver was very bad at parking, it took more than 3 times for him/her to go back and forth, and it was frustrating to see him/her focusing onto the back camera. (S)He should have watched the mirrors or other in order to get it done fast.
The driver observed every single corner that (s) he needed to see, and he fully understood the size of the car so there was nothing to worry about. Moreover, it took him only one attempt to complete the parking.
Passing Curves
The car was very shaky because the driver did not balance his/her acceleration and brakes. I felt sick when we passed through the curves.
The car did not shake at all, but the speed did not drop. The driver went slowly before we entered the curves, and (s) he kept a good balance of speed throughout them. It was fun to ride the car.
Being good technically at driving takes time, and it is not possible to be good as soon as you read these tips.
However, you can teach yourselves how to drive safely by following these tips.
