Along with some of the Auto Express team, I was lucky enough to head up to Yorkshire recently to go back to school for the day. Many of us haven’t really thought about how we drive since that joyous moment an examiner told us we’d passed our test, but a day with Paul Ripley’s excellent instructors was a chance to reset and consider bad habits.
The course revolved around on-road hazard awareness, reading the signs and clues all around so you’re in a position to spot danger earlier, and be better placed to deal with it when it occurs. In this job, where we spend a disproportionate amount of time driving unfamiliar cars on unfamiliar roads, it’s important to make sure the Auto Express team is as skilled as possible. But everyone would benefit from stepping back to look at their driving as a skill rather than an activity.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: how ADAS car tech is put to the test
As much as it gets you thinking about your own driving, the course is also about giving you the mentality to side-step the poor decision making of others – even if there’s apparently no such thing as a below-average driver. Statistically, of course, half of those behind the wheel are sub-par, but how many people have you ever met that would admit to being in the bottom half?
