Driving: The Art of Being Late?

I must approach my car with the same caution one would approach a tiger because both have the same capacity to kill. This was how I used to think when I first started driving. I was so afraid of my own driving; I often drove slower than the speed limit on popular roads. Predictably, this incited the anger of those behind me. But my fear was not unwarranted. I grew up with horror stories of the crashes and fatalities my extended family has been in. On the busy roads of India, it isn’t uncommon for one distraction to end in disaster. My dad himself survived 3 motorcycle crashes, having fallen victim to cars much bigger than his own driving him off the road and into danger. An uncle of mine was killed while crossing the road by a truck that couldn’t see him. These are stories told to me not just to scare me, but to prepare me for the dangers of the road. Admittedly, even though Canada has a more stringent set of road rules than India, statistics still show people are dying every day from recklessness, and the mortality rate is only increasing each year. Transport Canada recorded 22.5% of Canadian car fatalities to be related to distracted driving in 2021, a percentage that has increased since 2011.

I faced my own near-death experience during a driving lesson, when I was practicing lane switching to overcome my fear of speed. With my instructor’s directions repeating in my head – mirror, signal, blind spot – I was getting better, at least I thought so. But the jarring sound of a car horn behind me as I attempted to switch lanes said otherwise. It was thanks to quick reflexes that that lesson wasn’t cut short. I had been careless; I was switching too slow, and I didn’t notice the closing gap or the car’s speed behind me. That day I learned the importance of keeping speeding limits, not just below them. But I also realized that the road was not as full of mindful drivers as I had thought. The car had seen me trying to switch, and it had sped up; their actions could have cost me my life.

The biggest cause of my near accident is the same enemy my family faced in their own car catastrophes: emotional drivers. It is already common knowledge that the leading cause of road fatalities is distracted driving, but delving into this simple explanation reveals a deeper-rooted problem of drivers failing to leave their subjectiveness in the back seat. Drivers who are angry or impatient are more likely to break speeding limits and drive past red lights. They are more likely to miss danger signs on the road, and they are more likely to race past newbie drivers taking too long to lane switch. A study was conducted in Beijing on the effect of emotional states on driving performance in 2020. The study found that drivers stimulated to be angry took longer to break and maintained less space between cars, and drivers stimulated to be happy showed the same level of recklessness as well as a decrease in risk perception on the road. This study reveals that all emotions, including overly positive ones, impact how a driver acts on the road.

Adopting a “driver mindset” as the standard for driving is the best way drivers can be safer. This entails drivers focusing on their actions and reactions, remaining neutral and objective, and forgetting about the fight they had before they got in the car. By putting emotions away, drivers maintain a clearer head in difficult situations and can objectively judge the best course of action. In doing so, drivers can deal with the short-term effects of a slow driver rather than the long-term repercussions of emotions. Driver’s training should include breathing tactics to staying calm and the proper procedure to follow if a driver needs time to collect themself, such as pulling over or asking someone else to drive. Students would benefit by gaining confidence in their ability to handle unknown situations and new drivers would feel more encouraged in their driving when fewer cars are impatient with them. I have already applied this in my driving practices by turning off the radio when I drive and not engaging in backseat conversations. I use breathing and meditation tactics before starting the car to enter a neutral mindset. I have also pushed myself to drive in a variety of places to overcome my fears, as looking back at my near-accident I realized I was letting fear cloud my driving and affect others on the road. In addition, hashtags and trends can be used to encourage neutral driving and dismiss irrational driving behavior. With mental health care and emotional regulation becoming a wider topic for discussion and exploration, this wouldn’t be difficult to promote.

An important factor to consider when launching such a revolutionary approach is the social implications of driving in terms of the immediate road around us: being late. I believe that adopting this kind of driver’s mindset can only become the new normal through the help of social media.  Driving rationally can lead to being stuck behind slow-moving vehicles and in traffic for extended periods. Currently, this is seen as worse than speeding, which is why so many speeders are in a rush to get somewhere. Encouraging lateness in terms of safety will eliminate the number of drivers breaking speed limits to meet social expectations. I believe this is a necessary sacrifice to decreasing Canada’s driving fatalities.