'Controlling' Other Drivers

One area that is not immediately obvious is that of vehicle positioning. We are so conditioned to what is regarded as the "normal" driving position that we seldom consider any other. On your next excursion out in your vehicle, look for police cars and watch the difference between a trained police driver in a traffic or area car and one from your local cop-shop who is driving a typical patrol car. The difference will be­ come apparent when you see that the trained driver is more fluid in his positioning. He will adapt his road position to account for worn road surfaces, often driving in a "staggered" position to other drivers.

This is part of the handling section that we shall cover later, but as a means of controlling traffic, it is   very potent. By positioning your vehicle slightly off-centre , you will attract more attention as far as fol­lowing drivers are concerned, while allowing you greater vision, grip and therefore more options than the average driver. If you wish to take control of a queue of vehicles, try slowing and simultaneously moving slightly nearer the crown of the road. This will alert them to a potential change of speed or direction. Not only will drivers take heed, but they will also do so without any bad reactions  or Road Rage. What   drivers react badly to is lack of information, not a surplus.

For surveillance or security purposes, you will often need to look at your driving in a different way, in­ stead of conforming you may need to control other drivers, without them becoming aware. The main aim may well be to hold back so as to avoid being spotted by your target. Or it could be to maintain space in order to protect a passenger from a risk of hijacking or assault. Whatever the specific reason, you need to practice safely and carefully in order to be comfortable with the use of these techniques before you need to use them in anger.

The principal aid to all of this is the inability of other drivers to calculate what it is you are doing. Most drivers can happily travel from A to B and never even realise that there was another vehicle sharing the road with them. Many have no recollection of anything along the way - except for situations which cause them to react suddenly. It is critical, therefore, that while we need to control drivers to attain our own goals, we do not wish to do so in an antagonistic way.

We have mentioned positioning, now we must consider speed. The use of speed is very much a disci­pline, which relies on you understanding the level of hazard in a particular situation. Sometimes your de­cision does not fit in with the general use of speed in the area, which means that you need to need to  have the courage of  your convictions and influence the speed decisions of other drivers.

For the traffic following you, this can be an easy matter, simply making early decisions and gently ad­justing your speed to suit will be accepted by other drivers quite readily. Sudden changes in speed, how­ ever, will be met with some unexpected responses and possibly cause an accident. Even sudden acceleration can cause a problem as you "tow" other drivers with you into situations which they are unpre­pared for.

Think about a string of drivers having the qualities of a length of elastic. As the elastic stretches, the ten­sion increases and if suddenly  one end of the elastic is released, there is a violent and sometimes painful reaction. Your acceleration to catch your target may result in a string of vehicles doing likewise without any expecting you to suddenly stop or turn. The consequences of this are obvious and avoid­able.

Similarly you have choices when confronted with vehicles wishing to enter the same narrow space. Imagine confronting  a  fellow pedestrian on the street. You both stop, apologise, then more often than  not step the same way, then apologise again, and so on. It can take forever to avoid each other and continue your journey. Alternatively you could spot the other pedestrian sooner and take the initiative. Similarly  in driving, if you can take the initiative, positioning yourself early to take the space, you will control the other driver's speed. He sees the change in position not as a threat , but as an indicator of potentially greater speed. You can take advantage of this without actually increasing your speed at all.

The same technique applies to the area of controlling  emerging drivers or assisting other drivers to choose not to do something stupid in front of you . Adopting a more central and dominant position in the road will  give the impression that you must be traveling faster. Rather than take the chance, other  drivers will generally avoid conflict. With skill you can make your passage through congested roads con­siderably  smoother, easier  and less stressful than you could currently imagine.

Another control technique - which is something that needs to be considered for all driving - is the use of the horn. Once you overcome the typical "British" reaction of embarrassment, the horn becomes a use­ful control device for the stealth driver. Use it as the Highway Code prescribes, which means for warning other drivers of your presence. It should not then cause any problems with drivers feeling that you are being aggressive or deliberately trying to upset them.

In a surveillance role, t he horn can prevent drivers pulling out and causing you problems, or pedestrians stepping out and causing you to stop. In faster traffic, the horn protects you when overtaking, when ap­proaching blind corners, crests etc. What it does not do, however, is give you any form of automatic pri­ority or other "rights". You need to understand the risks fully and always be prepared to give in to the un­ expected or extreme situations.

The horn is supposed to have the same protective quality as the flashing headlight but unfortunately lights are now abused too much - although there is still benefit to be found in using long-flashes of the headlight or driving with the headlights on, if the circumstances dictate additional  high-profile visibility.  In urban areas, horns and flashing headlights are so commonplace that your use of them is unlikely to be noticed by the target vehicle - so once again you have a tool at your disposal which can give you an edge over the "average"  driver.

Airbags

Designed originally as an alternative to the seat-belt in American states where making drivers wear belts was considered to be an infringement of their liberty, it has now become accepted as a "must-have" ac­cessory

So why doesn't the "average" driver worry about anything going wrong? Well, he "knows" the safety fea­tures of the car that will save him, he believes that everyone else on the road knows that he is there, and worst .of all  he thinks that he will be able to cope with their next move. This perception is not helped by the fact that advertising of cars often involves demonstrations of accidents and how easy it is to avoid them. The promotion of Airbags, ABS and Traction Control in these adverts all help to give the perception of safety without actually having to cloud the issue with  the  facts.

ABS

Let's look at one example of how this came about. ABS - now commonly known as Anti-lock Braking Systems - was originally devised for use in aircraft. It  basically reduces braking pressure when lock-up of wheels is detected and then re-applies the brake when rotation is restored. What it means is that con­trol of steering is maintained.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz produced the first modern systems for cars in the eighties, although I remem­ber a mechanical Dunlop system on the Jensen FF in the late sixties. When the nineties arrived, so did safety as a means of selling cars. Suddenly the car to have was the one with the best seat-belts, or the best crash-protection, and then of course, the one with ABS. The fact is that despite the widespread use fitting of ABS and the acceptance of  it as a safety device , the average driver knows little about it or what it can do. There are numerous comments about  ABS which I have heard over and over again.

Traction Control

A derivative of the same ABS technology which uses the same sensors to prevent wheel-spin or loss of traction.

"My new car has ABS, I can definitely feel the difference compared with the last  one."

Not true, unless maximum braking has been applied and a skid is caused, the ABS system remains passive.

"Now that I've got ABS, I definitely feel that I stop more   quickly."

Not true, in fact ABS - when used - can actually increase stopping distances rather than reducing them, depending on the sensitivity of the system. It's principal aim is to retain steering and control - not improve braking.

"My ABS has a switch on the dash, I always make sure that I switch it on and that the light comes on before I drive off."

Well, for a start the switch is there to de-select the ABS, and the light comes on when the ABS is switched off.

What this all means is that the addition of a safety device has actually caused a misconception of per­ceived safety and so the true benefit of the device itself is not realised. What it means to us as .drivers  is the possibility of them becoming less aware of the risks and so the risk to us increases. In the USA, where this risk was first identified, drivers of ABS equipped vehicles in some states have to carry huge stickers advertising the fact so that other drivers give them more room. In others they are actively en­couraging the disconnection of airbags or the fitment of a disabling switch to control their   operation.