The Dangers of Driving

Driving is an inherently dangerous activity, but one that we rely on each day.

It’s also easy to forget how unnatural it is. We have evolved to interpret what we see whilst moving at around 10mph, not 70mph.

When we drive a car, our brain makes us feel more in control and engaged with our driving than we actually are. Our visual system sees detail in just a tiny percentage of the total world around us at any given instant. Through a visual in-filling process, we are tricked into seeing a seamless and complete world around us.

On top of this, we manage the flood of sensory data thrown at us when driving by developing habitual actions within the car and on the road. We learn scripts for changing gear, turning left and right, overtaking – pretty much every common action.

On a familiar route like the drive to work, we also learn the script for the sequence of turns and changes in speed, allowing us to dip into semi-conscious control (often called autopilot). This is particularly dangerous because when something unexpected (or unscripted) happens on that journey, like someone pulling out from a driveway, our response time is slowed down. This means a collision often happens, when under normal conditions a driver would have been able to react fast enough to avoid it.

At MyDrive, we understand this, and work closely with universities and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to develop an expert understanding of driver psychology.