Of all the skills you can learn in life, especially amongst young kids, driving is one of the most important and valued. It’s a skill that you don’t forget easily. Driving can be a form of residual income with uber drivers, truck drivers and many more.
Unfortunately driving can be a challenge for those impaired. In situations where disability exists, a drive medical may be required to determine if a candidate is suitable and safe to drive independently on the roads. We have listed a few useful tips below to help all drivers.
Tips to become a better driver
- Take a defensive course – many of the accidents we see on the road are common. Knowing the mistakes and proper preventative measures will help you avoid the same situations
- Never drive when you are sleepy – being at the wheel when you are tired is the same as doing so drunk. Your reaction time slows, and you are less responsive to hazards.
- Don’t speed – especially when you are on a learners or provisional permit with less demerit points, the risks simply aren’t worth the reward.
- Practice driving in different conditions – there’s a reason why learners now have to do a minimum number of hours in different environmental conditions.
- Don’t touch your mobile phone, or anything else that will distract your attention from the road.
- Properly holding the steering wheel –instructors recommend two different types of driving
Hand over hand or push and pull.
In short, be a defensive driver. This requires you to be alert and attentive. The road rules are there for our protection, follow them. Continual scanning and noticing hazards will be your best strategy.
Ask locals where the best place to learn to drive might be. If you are extremely new to learning how to drive, then make sure they understand all the road rules, including the traffic signs. Some of these suggestions may sound so easy you don’t need to review them, but its always better to be safe than sorry. A drive medical assessment will evaluate all areas of your driving anyway.
For those unfamiliar, the OT in OT driving assessment stands for occupational therapy. This suggests any sort of situation in which you are recovering from an injury or may be impaired but are actively seeking treatment. The reasoning behind this treatment is to help them adjust back to work so they can maintain independence.
Like any test you might take, adequately prepare. A drive medical assessment will be very similar to the licensed tests you would normally take, only instructors are aware of the limitations you have. You still need to be perceptive of hazards and respond accordingly.
As mentioned above, constant scanning and noticing hazards is the major preventative solution to passing a drive medical assessment. Maintaining a safe following distance between vehicles will give you adequate time to respond should you need to brake or conduct any other evasive manoeuvre.
Some of the best drivers regularly practice, and they do so in a variety of conditions. Ensuring you vehicle is up to scratch will afford the best circumstances for you to pass with flying colours. Not everyone is perfect, but we can certainly do as much as we can to increase our response time and pre-empty possible vulnerabilities. Studying common collision instances, especially in relation to a drive medical assessment may also be helpful.
Overall, do not stress. The drive medical assessment is designed to help our roads be safer and to protect citizens. Depending on your circumstances, you are protected from wrongful termination or other alternative transportation options such as public transport are readily available.