Seminar Workbook 2020 · • Not leaving enough space between the vehicle and other road users • Using a mobile phone whilst driving In all of these cases, you have the ability

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2020

DAS Web Based Seminar Workbook

www.dorset.police.uk

Introduction

You have been registered to complete the Dorset Driver Awareness Scheme (DAS) Course by

webinar.

Before you take part in the DAS webinar you must complete all sections and exercises in this

workbook to prepare you for the webinar.

This workbook will take you through some background learning for the three modules that you

will cover during the DAS webinar. The workbook gives you some information about the many

human factors that affect your driving abilities.

The DAS webinar is not a ‘Speed Awareness Course’. It is offered for a range of offences

including driving through a red traffic light or careless and inconsiderate driving. It may also be

offered to individuals as refresher training for those that drive for work.

Aim of the course

To create safer, more responsible and considerate road users that will contribute to reducing

risks.

By the end of the course you should be able to:

1. Identify where you are most at risk on the road and why.

2. Give examples of what influences driver attitude.

3. Explain the consequences of your actions on the road.

4. Use strategies for coping with issues related to the above and how to manage

distractions.

5. Have an understanding of the correct use of space for a variety of hazards.

6. Recognise absolute personal responsibility for road safety.


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Risk Perception

1.0

03

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1.1 What’s the risk?

Most road traffic incidents are due to risk-taking behaviour such as:-

• Poor decision making

• Driving when tired

• Not leaving enough space between the vehicle and other road users

• Using a mobile phone whilst driving

In all of these cases, you have the ability to influence how much demand you place on yourself

as a driver.

For example the faster you drive, the less time you have to;

• Process information,

• Make decisions,

• Take action and

• Correct errors.

So the easiest way to enable you to deal with all of this is to drive slower. Multi-tasking and other

distractions such as talking on the mobile phone or using a music system will make things

harder.

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1.2 Assess your Driving Skills

Drivers often believe that they are skilled and experienced enough to take risks. Have a look

at the table below and estimate how skilled you are in each aspect of driving compared with

other drivers like you.

Tick the box that best represents your judgement of your skills using the following scale: -

1 = Well below average

2 = Below average

3 = About average

4 = Above average

5 = Well above average

1 Tolerating other drivers’ blunders calmly

2 Spotting hazards in traffic

3 Driving in an area you don’t know

4 Sticking to the traffic rules

5 Knowing how to act in different traffic situations

6 Smooth lane-changing in heavy traffic

7 Obeying the traffic lights

8 Paying attention to other road users

9 Controlling the vehicle

10 Driving in the dark

11 Keeping correct space following vehicles

12 Adjusting your speed to the conditions

13 Overtaking

14 Driving within speed limits

15 Avoiding unnecessary risks

1 2 3 4 5

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1.3 How did you score?

Look carefully at those areas where you have scored yourself as above average.

Are you sure your skills are above average all of the time?

Think about times that you are below average and why?

Perhaps you would rate yourself differently when you are in a hurry or in a bad mood?

There is often a difference between what you think about your driving and your actual driving

skills. Even the best drivers make mistakes, do foolish things, or bend the rules at some time

or another. Some of these behaviours seem trivial, but some are potentially dangerous. Your

self-rating should be similar to how you would rate other drivers. If there is a big difference

between your rating for yourself and your rating for others, ask yourself whether this difference is

realistic. Is your driving really that much better than others?

1.4 Errors, Lapses and Violations

Fill in the box below with what you believe to be an error, lapse or violation.

Error - when you have a plan about how you intend to make a manoeuvre but execute it wrong.

Lapse - usually a failure in your concentration.

Violation - a deliberate action which breaks the traffic law


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1 Try to overtake someone that you hadn’t noticed to be signalling a right turn

2 Get into the wrong lane when approaching a roundabout or a junction

3 Miss ‘Stop’ or ‘Give Way’ signs and narrowly avoid colliding with traffic that has priority

4 Misread the signs and exit from the roundabout on the wrong road

5 Fail to notice that pedestrians are crossing when turning into a side street from

a main road

6 Drive especially close to the car in front as a signal to its driver to go faster or

get out of the way

7 Hit something when reversing that you had not previously seen

8 Cross a junction knowing that the traffic lights have already turned red

9 On turning left nearly hit a cyclist who has come up on your inside

10 Disregard the speed limits late at night or very early in the morning

11 Attempt to drive away from the traffic lights in third gear

12 Fail to check your rear-view mirror before pulling out or changing lanes

13 Underestimate the speed of an oncoming vehicle when overtaking

14 Switch on indicator, when you meant to switch on the wipers

15 Brake too quickly on a slippery road, or steer the wrong way in a skid

16 Driving to a place that you usually drive, not intending to do so (autopilot)

17 Drive even though you realise you may be over the legal blood-alcohol limit

18 Get involved in unofficial ‘races’ with other drivers

19 Can’t remember all or part of your journey

20 Getting angry with other drivers chasing them so you can give him/her a piece

of your mind

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1.5 How did you do?

Think about when you are most likely to commit violations and reduce these to zero on your

future journeys. By doing so there is no chance you will receive penalties and you will also

dramatically reduce your risk of having a crash.

Look carefully at those areas in the table above. Think about the ones that apply to you most

often and make a commitment to changing your approach in the future.

If you assessed yourself honestly you’ll know that thinking about why you have made a mistake

or committed a violation is the first step to finding out how you can avoid this in the future.

1.6 Reduce your risk

If you ask people to rate their own driving in relation to drivers in general, then most people give

themselves 7, 8 or 9 out of 10. That’s because just about everyone thinks they are better than

average. But think about it… this makes no sense. We can’t all be better than average!

The fact is that a lot of us overestimate our driving ability. And we underestimate the risks we

face on the road.

Because we’re human beings, we tend to make basic mistakes in our thinking. We can’t stop

ourselves from making these mistakes. But if we’re aware of them, then we can make sure they

don’t put us at risk on the road.

Here are three biases in the way we think that it’s worth being aware of on the road;

First, the optimism bias

As humans we generally believe that bad things don’t happen to us. For example, we think

we’re less likely than other people to get ill.

The same applies to things like being stopped by the police if we break a traffic law or crashing

if we take a risk. We think we’re more likely than others to get away with it.

We don’t want to believe something bad will happen to us. It’s a kind of defence mechanism.

In life as a whole, optimism bias is quite a good thing. It helps us get through the day!

But when we’re driving, it can cause problems, if it leads us to take unnecessary risks.


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Now add to this a second bias: this is known as what’s worked bias.

It’s all about the rules of thumb we use to make decisions.

For example; you’re following a slow car on a twisty road and looking for an opportunity to

overtake.

If you’ve overtaken there before, and nothing bad happened, you do it again.

Subconscious rules of thumb like these can be really useful to master complex tasks. But they

can also go badly wrong.

A third bias: the self-enhancement bias.

When we compare ourselves to other people, we naturally pay more attention to things that

show us in a positive light. At the same time, we tend to dismiss the things that show us in a

negative light – we say they are “bad luck” or “someone else’s fault”. A lot of the time, we just

blank them out altogether.

As a result, when we think about our own driving, we naturally tend to forgive and forget the

things we’ve done badly: things such as getting in the wrong lane at a roundabout or junction,

running a red light, crossing a solid white line and getting too close to the car in front. And we

tend to remember all the good decisions we’ve made as a driver.

The complete opposite applies when we think about other people’s driving. We pay a lot more

attention to their mistakes. Maybe we even shout at them from behind the wheel! And we

remember all these examples of bad driving in others.

Generally, we think we’re good drivers, and that everyone else is worse than us. We tend to

believe we’re better than average. It’s because we’re human beings, and that’s how humans

are programmed to think. Put these three biases together and we generally underestimate the

risk and overestimate our own ability

Biases in your beliefs about your driving skills are a common human tendency that we are

mostly unaware of.

SELF-REFLECTION POINT: How biased is your view of your driving skills?

Next time another driver is aggressive towards you for making a mistake, instead of

automatically defending your actions and retaliating in a way that increases your risk,

consider what element of your driving needs to be improved.

Ask yourself;

o Were you driving too close?

o Did you force another driver to brake quite harshly?

o Were you driving too fast for the conditions?

o Did you fail to look in the mirror and see this road user in good time?

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1.7 Test yourself

As a driver, how likely do you think you are of being involved in a crash over the next 12 months?

Where did you place yourself?

Typically, drivers believe they have a low chance of being involved in a crash if you score below

50 on the above scale. Whether your self-rating is realistic or unrealistic is difficult to determine

but most people judge themselves to have a low probability of being involved in a crash. The

fact is that by committing violations, your risk of being involved in a crash is much higher.

1.8 Summary

Look again at the ratings you gave yourself in this section. Consider whether your probability of

being involved in a crash is overly optimistic. Have you underestimated your risk in certain

situations? How can you reduce your risk of being involved in a crash?

Think about what the errors, lapses and violations you are likely to commit.

Perhaps you have a tendency to;

• Drive too fast for the circumstances and may lose control of your vehicle.

• Use your mobile phone whilst driving and become distracted.

• Drive too close to other vehicles in a traffic queue and increase the risk of going into the

• back of another vehicle.

• Emerge from junctions without looking out for long enough for fast moving vehicles in the

• far distance.

SELF-REFLECTION POINT:

When you’ve thought about these different situations it is easy to find out how to reduce your

risk. Make a note of things you can do to reduce your risk in the future. To be a better and

safer driver, recognise your mistakes and think about how to make safer decisions every time

you drive.


0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

NOT AT ALL VERY MUCH

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Stress, Mood,Emotions and

other Influences

2.0

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2.1 Stress, Mood, Emotions and other Influences

The link between stress and crash involvement is well established. Studies have found that

people who have had recent traumatic life events have a greater risk of crashing.

There are two main reasons for this link:

• Drivers who are stressed may be distracted by thoughts about their personal problems.

• Stress may cause drivers to lack the necessary motivation to avoid hazardous driving

• situations.

2.2 Time pressure

People that drive for work, with a busy schedule are often under time pressure. Time pressure

often leads to high risk driving including speeding and dangerous overtaking. This is because

drivers may be thinking about what might happen if they are late instead of thinking about the

risks they take to be on time.

Consider whether the few minutes you might save by driving fast is really worth the risks when

you’re running late.

SELF REFLECTION POINT:

Think about how you drive when you are under time pressure compared to when you are not.

Do you often find yourself running late and wishing you had organised things better?

Are you more likely to take risks when you are running late? Make a note of what you think the

consequences of lateness really are. Will being a little bit late really affect you that much?

Would others want you to increase the risk of a crash so that you are on time?

Think about how you can organise your time and journeys better so there is no need to take

risks.


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2.3 Coping Strategies Quiz

Answer the following questions by ticking the response that most applies to you.

1. Which coping strategy leads to safer driving when you’re feeling under stress?

a. Get annoyed and let off steam in a controlled manner

b. Reflect on how stressed you feel and reframe your way of thinking about it so that you

feel more in control

c. Believe that other road users are deliberately trying to provoke you and teach them a

lesson

d. Distract yourself from the stress of driving by thinking about what you will do when you

get home

2. Which coping strategy leads to safer driving if you’re in heavy traffic?

a. Concentrate more

b. Worry a lot about what might happen

c. Ignore the hold up and pretend it’s not happening

d. Overtake as much as you can so you’re not late

3. Someone deliberately cuts you up – which coping strategy leads to safer driving?

a. Show them what you think of them by speeding up and driving too close to them

b. Show them what you think of them by gesturing, shouting or honking your horn

c. Show them what you think of them by overtaking them at the earliest opportunity

d. Don’t let it bother you and continue to drive normally

Reflect on your answers and then check on page 23 to see which coping strategies are safest.

Be aware of how you react to other road users when you drive because your reactions can

really increase your risk of a crash.


Do you use mostly safe or unsafe coping strategies?


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2.4 Angry Driving

Another emotion that can often lead to crashes is driver anger. Angry drivers frequently express

their irritation by behaving aggressively towards other road users. This can include:-

• verbal abuse

• gestures

• flashing lights

• tail-gating

• horn-blowing

• lane hogging

This sort of behaviour is dangerous and can lead to traffic offences and crashes. This is because

strong emotions such as anger uses a lot of your brain’s processing capacity, leaving less for you

to concentrate on your driving. Angry drivers also spend less time planning and are quicker to

blame others.

Imagine yourself in this scenario…

You’re driving in town at rush hour when someone pulls right out in front of you and you have to

brake sharply. You are very annoyed and use your horn and shout at the driver. You then

accelerate sharply around the driver and continue on your way. You can feel your blood

pressure has gone up.


What was going through your mind? Did you think that the driver deliberately pulled out in

front of you?

What if the driver was distracted and made a mistake? Would that change how you reacted?

Does getting annoyed help the situation or change anything for the better?

How has your reaction increased your risk?

Think about developing safer coping strategies to reduce your risk.


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2.5 Test yourself

Think about how angry each of the following traffic situations would typically make you feel and

tick the box that most often applies to you. Look back over your answers and make a mental

note to reduce how angry you feel in each situation.


1 Someone in front of you doesn’t move off straight away when the traffic lights turn green

2 Someone is driving too fast for the road conditions

3 A pedestrian walks slowly across the middle of the street, slowing you down

4 Someone is driving too slowly in the outside lane, and holding up traffic

5 Someone is driving very close to your rear bumper

6 Someone is weaving in and out of the traffic

7 Someone cuts in right in front of you on the motorway

8 Someone fails to indicate before turning

9 Someone is driving more slowly than is reasonable for the traffic flow

10 A slow vehicle on a winding road will not pull over and let people pass

11 Someone backs out right in front of you without looking

12 Someone runs a red light or ‘Stop’ sign

13 Someone beeps their horn at you about your driving

14 Someone coming towards you doesn’t dim their headlights at night

15 At night someone is driving right behind you with bright lights on

16 Someone speeds up as you try to pass them

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2.6 Summary

Think about the risks you take when you’re driving under time pressure and reflect on the

circumstances that make you angry behind the wheel. Think about what you can do to reduce

your levels of stress and frustration on your future journeys.


17 You are stuck in a traffic jam

18 Someone is driving well above the speed limit

19 Someone shouts at you about your driving

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Strategies forSafer Driving

3.0

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3.1 Keep control of the vehicle

The modern vehicle is designed for the European market and adapted for driving in Great

Britain. Engine Management Systems are programmed to European Speed Limits, in particular

50 kph (32mph) and 60 kph (37 mph). This is why the modern car tends to creep over 30mph

without you realising it, if you select 4th gear or higher.

More crashes occur in 30mph limits than in any other roads. That’s why it’s important to limit

them to 30mph – because people die or are injured in these roads.


Make a mental list of things that you can do to make sure you don’t exceed the speed limit.

3.2 Keep your eyes moving

Drivers who rapidly scan the whole road environment looking for different kinds of hazards have

a much lower risk of a crash than drivers who concentrate on one area. Eye scanning helps you

to spot more hazards, process information and stay aware of the traffic situation as it changes.

Scanning is a continuous process and requires high levels of concentration. On every drive, a

new view opens out in front of you constantly. You need to quickly scan the new scene

including the far distance, the middle distance, the near view, the sides and rear. This means

that you will know where the areas of risk are all around you. Check and re-check these risk

areas as the scene changes. Try not to focus too long on particular risk areas because this

means that you might miss other areas that are also risky.


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3.3 Say it out loud

As a driver, you have to process a lot of information from several different sources through

different senses at the same time as well as controlling the vehicle. Keeping your eyes moving

is essential for situational awareness but in order to keep your concentration on driving there is

something else that you can do.

When your brain is processing a lot of information, it can discard or forget new information from

the road scene before it can be stored. If important information is filtered out, you might miss an

unfolding hazard that can turn into a dangerous situation very quickly. Processing complex

information can slow down your reaction times and you may fail to notice hazards. Your

attention is often easily diverted to non-driving related matters.

One of the best ways to keep up your concentration is to say out loud what you can see as

you’re driving along e.g. junction ahead, pedestrian, and road signs. Saying it out loud will help

you to stay focused and help you to re-adjust your priorities as a situation develops. With

practice you can learn to concentrate on the priorities.


If you’re having trouble concentrating, try saying out loud the hazards that you can see

emerging as you’re driving along. It will help you stay alert to potential dangers and stop you

from being distracted by other things.

3.4 Speed Limits

Because we often miss road traffic signs, something like a speed limit sign may not be

registered. This may possibly be because of its position or possibly because we think we know

the speed limit, or make up our own speed limits. So how do we find out what the speed limit is

on a particular road?

There are two ‘blanket’ speed limits, 30 mph and the National Speed Limit (NSL), referred to as

‘blanket’ because they cover a large area. You will see where a speed-limit starts as there is

usually a sign on both sides of the road (sometimes only 1) which is referred to as a ‘gateway’.

When a blanket limit is declared you won’t see any other signs.

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30 60 70 70

30 50 60 60

30 50 60 70

30 50 60 70

Cars and Motorcycles(including car derived vans up to2 tonnes maximum laden weight)

All vehicles towing(including car derived vans, motorcyclesand goods vehicles)

Buses and Coaches(not exceeding 12 metres in overall length)

Goods Vehicles(not exceeding 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight)

Goods Vehicles(exceeding 7.5 tonnes maximum laden weight)

30 6050+ 60+

Built-upAreas

SingleCarriageways

DualCarriageways Motorways

Type of Vehicle MPH MPH MPH MPH

You MUST NOT exceed the maximum speed limits for the road and for your vehicle (see the

speed limits table below). The presence of street lights generally means that there is a 30 mph

(48 km/h) speed limit unless otherwise specified.

Highway Code: Rule 124

+ The National Speed Limits for Goods Vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes apply to all roads in England & Wales

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Do you sometimes go over the speed limit?

In what circumstances is this likely to happen?

What can you do to make sure that you keep to the speed limits?

Remember it’s a limit, not a target!

And finally a new start

By taking on board the information covered in this workbook, you can meet the challenge of

changing your driving behaviour and improving your driving abilities. Imagine how good you

will feel when you are driving safer with the confidence of knowing that you are driving within

the law. All you have to do is become more aware of your errors, lapses and violations and the

circumstances under which you are taking risks due to stress and/or frustration.

Make a commitment to change the way you think and feel about your driving so that you can

manage the risks you’ve identified.

• Start with a personal goal:

• I am most at risk when;

• I’m at risk because;

• To reduce this risk I will;

• My plan might fail because;

• So to help me succeed I will;

You will have a much greater chance of succeeding by sharing this with someone that you

know.

Remember only you can meet the challenge of changing your driving behaviour and

improving your driving abilities if you believe you can. Once you understand how your beliefs

about risk and confidence in your driving skills might influence your driving behaviour - then take

steps to recognise this tendency when you’re behind the wheel. It’s at this point that you have

the opportunity to make safer decisions.

Good luck and safe driving!

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Answers to Self-Completion Questions

1.4 Errors, Lapses and Violations

1 Try to overtake someone that you hadn’t noticed to be signalling a right turn

2 Get into the wrong lane when approaching a roundabout or a junction

3 Miss ‘Stop’ or ‘Give Way’ signs and narrowly avoid colliding with traffic that has priority

4 Misread the signs and exit from the roundabout on the wrong road

5 Fail to notice that pedestrians are crossing when turning into a side street from

a main road

6 Drive especially close to the car in front as a signal to its driver to go faster or

get out of the way

7 Hit something when reversing that you had not previously seen

8 Cross a junction knowing that the traffic lights have already turned red

9 On turning left nearly hit a cyclist who has come up on your inside

10 Disregard the speed limits late at night or very early in the morning

11 Attempt to drive away from the traffic lights in third gear

12 Fail to check your rear-view mirror before pulling out or changing lanes

13 Underestimate the speed of an oncoming vehicle when overtaking

14 Switch on indicator, when you meant to switch on the wipers

15 Brake too quickly on a slippery road, or steer the wrong way in a skid

16 Driving to a place that you usually drive, not intending to do so (autopilot)

Error

Lapse

Error

Lapse

Error

Violation

Lapse

Violation

Lapse

Violation

Lapse

Error

Error

Lapse

Error

Lapse

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2.3 Coping Strategies Quiz

1. Which coping strategy leads to safer driving when you’re feeling under stress?

b. Reflect on how stressed you feel and reframe your way of thinking about it so that you

feel more in control

2. Which coping strategy leads to safer driving if you’re in heavy traffic?

a. Concentrate more

3. Someone deliberately cuts you up – which coping strategy leads to safer driving?

d. Don’t let it bother you and continue to drive normally

17 Drive even though you realise you may be over the legal blood-alcohol limit

18 Get involved in unofficial ‘races’ with other drivers

19 Can’t remember all or part of your journey

20 Getting angry with other drivers chasing them so you can give him/her a piece

of your mind

Violation

Violation

Lapse

Violation


All Dorset courses are delivered by highly qualified Road Safety Professionals with many years’ experience in the delivery of

theory and on-road coaching or have a background in Roads Policing. Qualifications include Driving & Vehicle Standards

Agency Approved Driving Instructor (DVSA, ADI), Award in Education & Training (AET) to Degree level.

© Dorset Police 2020

For further details on this course please contact:

Mel Vincent - Road Safety Education

E-mail: [email protected]

Documents

Seminar Workbook 2020 · • Not leaving enough space between the vehicle and other road users • Using a mobile phone whilst driving In all of these cases, you have the ability