A kinder, safer world?

Can courtesy on the road be a viral meme – infecting other road users?

We've all seen how bad driving behaviour can influence our emotional state. Someone cuts you off and the battle is on...

What's more, like a fight between parents in front of their kids, bad driving is noticed by everyone else as well, and can have some residual impact long after the event.

That's obvious enough, but can you say the reverse applies? Do people respond positively to good behaviour on the road?

There's been no scientific study to show that being patient and virtuous has any sort of effect on others at all. It happens so infrequently and is rarely noticed by other road users; it doesn't even stand up as an anecdote. Not something you would bother to mention at a dinner party, is it?

"You wouldn't believe it... someone dropped back to let me move over, around a parked car."

No, it's much more likely you'll tell your dinner guests something along the lines of: "You should have seen it today, some #%&ing mongrel accelerated alongside me to block me from moving out around a parked car."

The school of hard knocks leaves a lasting impression; being selfless... not so much.

Yet, if someone lets you go first on a narrow road, or waves you through when traffic's banked up, you do feel better about the human race in general. Then the question arises: Do you carry that feeling of goodwill with you for at least a few kilometres further and practise the same courtesy with other road users?

Maybe you don't, but maybe you should.

Most people dismiss courtesy as a concept from a bygone age, but a bit of chivalry out on the roads might reduce the road toll further.

For courtesy to work as a safety measure, however, road users must first put themselves in the place of other drivers. Consider that they may not be as confident behind the wheel as you. More importantly, consider that they may actually be better drivers than you.

I cannot stress this enough: Your ability to break traction in a V8 Commodore doesn't necessarily make you a 'better' driver on the road than the middle-aged lady in a small Toyota. For all you know, she may have three or four times the driving experience, she may keep left as often as possible, and – significantly – she may know her limitations.

Show some consideration for your fellow road user, who could be on foot, driving a truck, or riding a bike. To feel empathy, you also need to understand the global driving environment, not just your own narrow focus... and it really needs to be an intellectual exercise.

If you're alongside another car that is fast approaching a cyclist from behind, leave room for the other car to merge right to leave one metre of separation from the cyclist. This will reduce the stress for the other driver faced with making a decision that has literal life and death ramifications.

The same applies in getting around those parked cars mentioned previously. Drivers will think and behave more sensibly if you remove some of the decision-making stress for them by allowing them room to manoeuvre.

Concerned about getting somewhere as soon as possible? Driving strategically – and courteously – will often get you places faster than driving in a 'tactical' way. Charge up behind another car, brake late, leave no braking distance... and inevitably the driver in front will slip on the right indicator, bringing your rapid progress to a sudden halt.

Meanwhile, the driver behind you, who has left 50 or a hundred metres of margin has flipped the indicator on for a lane change to the left and slotted in neatly without fouling the traffic flow.

He sails by you at barely reduced speed and – most likely – continues through the green light while you sit fuming behind the right-turning vehicle, which completes its manoeuvre after the traffic light has changed to red.

Get to know the roads you use regularly. Find out where the common traffic snarls are and learn how best to avoid them; work out which lane to be in; determine whether the left-turning vehicle in front is going to be baulked by pedestrians on a crossing, or whether there'll be a left-turn arrow to keep the traffic moving.

Some argue that traffic flow is not essential to road safety. Clearly though, poor traffic flow is a breeding ground for aggravation and frustration. That inevitably leads to risky driving and the breakdown of the implied social contract to which all drivers are signatories.

As an example, you've just cleared a traffic jam and in your frustration you've accelerated up to speed well above the limit, only to brake hard for a left turn via a slip lane. Suddenly, a pedestrian steps out on the crossing in front of you. You haven't noticed because you're focused on the on-coming traffic preparing to make a right turn in front of you. If you get to the intersection first, you can get around the corner without having to give way in the slip lane. That makes up for the seconds you've lost previously.

And then you hit a pedestrian with enough force to kill him or her. So much for getting to work on time; you'll spend the rest of the day assisting police with their enquiries.

Still, your day is panning out much better than the pedestrian's.

Do you travel on freeways? Possibly the most annoying thing drivers endure on freeways is hanging around in the right lane. If you're trying to overtake another car at 101km/h indicated on your speedo, accept that your speedo may be reading conservatively if traffic is banking up behind you. Pulling into the left lane is just good etiquette.

Be willing to move over to the right to allow other traffic to enter the freeway. Always leave plenty of room for trucks to brake; and don't accelerate just to block someone who is overtaking you in a merging lane. You may object to their queue-jumping, but the other driver is legally entitled to do so.

When lanes merge or if some poor soul is trying to enter the road in front of you, get in the habit of allowing one for one. And do watch out for 'Keep Clear' signs on the road.

Use your brain, practise being patient, and if you feel your stress levels rising after say half an hour of driving in traffic, pull over where it's safe and take a breather.

Remember the old road safety catchcry: 'Courtesy is catching'.

But it only catches on if people actually witness it.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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A kinder, safer world?

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