| | Tibor,
Good article. Unfortunately, government intervention on driving is hampering the development of a business - defensive driving lessons.
I have anecdotal evidence from my own life that good driving does not come from government intervention. When I arrived in Brazil, I started driving. There is only one place on earth I know of where the driving is worse than in São Paulo, and that is in Rio de Janeiro.
After I went through the "really scared" phase and became more comfortable, within a series of a few months, I became involved in three semi-serious accidents. I was at fault in two and not at fault in one.
The reason is that I simply was not driving according to the reality of where I was. So I started paying attention. I figured that everything I had learned about driving in the USA had limited value and I needed a fresh approach. So I started noticing behavior patterns and bad habits of other drivers.
Instead of trying to impose my "rights" on everybody on the road, I adopted the attitude of not trying to run into stuff and avoid stuff running into me. I also left all my anger and attitudes outside the car when I got in.
The result is that in over 30 years of driving in provably one of the most dangerous places in the world, I have had no accidents - just those initial three before I changed my attitude.
This kind of thing is not hard to teach and I can see a huge demand for it - if the government would simply get out of the way.
btw - I am one who cannot use a cell phone while driving. I get the missing hazards part right, but I miss most of my turn-offs and usually end up forgetting about where I am going and why.
Michael
(Edited by Michael Stuart Kelly on 10/19, 8:21am)
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