Unit 4 - Minimise conflict

Element
4.1 Adjusts to environment.

Performance Criteria

1. Baseline speed is adjusted to suit the environment.
2. Path is matched to the environment.

1. Eyes are directed to hazards posing an immediate threat.
2. Vehicle is positioned for best visibility.
3. Speed and sight distance is matched to provide time and space for safe response.
4. Vehicle's position is adjusted to provide space from potential threat.
5. Timely responses that compensate for possible unsafe actions by road users are made.
6. The driver's own deviations from safe, legal and reasonable behaviour are immediately corrected.

Performance Criteria

1. Vehicle is stopped until conditions improve.
2. An alternative route is used.

Performance Criteria

1. Speed is reduced and conservative decisions are made in novel or complex driving situations.
2. Familiarisation procedures are followed when driving unfamiliar vehicle.
3. Distractions within the vehicle affecting performance are compensated for.
4. Conservative decisions are made in response to own uncertainty.
5. Appropriate responses are made as a result of pressure from other road users.
6. Safe responses are made in response to traffic frustration's.

Performance Criteria

1. Valuing life and property is reflected in driving.
2. Strategies minimising the adverse effects of emotions on safe driving are employed.
3. An examined rationale that evaluates the benefits and costs of both risky behaviour and cautious behaviour is applied to driving.

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As the driving environment changes drivers should adjust so they are able to deal with the types of hazards that could be expected in that environment. This is often described as driving to the conditions.
This element considers performance over a period rather than at a specific point. The driving environment can change quickly but once changed it generally remains stable for a while. For example, a narrow city street with cars parked either side might become a wide open road on the other side of an intersection and then remain stable for a number of blocks. This element is assessed where the environment is stable.

4.1.1 Baseline speed is adjusted to suit the environment.

Baseline speed is the general speed setting that will
permit the driver to:

• deal with the types of hazards that could be expected in the particular environment; and
  
• integrate with other road users.

In adjusting speed the driver will consider traffic, weather and road surface conditions. Where speed is to be lowered for an environment it must be done before entering it. Where speed is increased for an environment it should be done as it is entered.
Timely responses to changes in the environment will require the driver to look and think ahead of real time.

4.1.2 Path is matched to the environment.

As the environment changes the driver should adopt
a path that suits the conditions. In determining a suitable path the driver will consider legal requirements, space from potential threats, and visibility.

The driver's path positions the vehicle safely for:

• parked vehicles (minimum space to allow for an opening door of a car - 1.5m);
  
• repeating hazards on either side of the road;
  
• opposing traffic.

The path will normally be in the most travelled section of road (usually where lanes are not marked); and on multi-laned roads, in the left lane when possible.

Hazard means:

• Anything which is potentially dangerous. There are three main types:
  
• physical features such as intersections, roundabouts, bends or hill crests;
  
• risks arising from the position or movement of other road users; and
  
• problems arising from variations in the road surface, weather conditions and visibility.

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Within a general driving environment there will be specific situations or hazards that the driver must attend and respond to. These hazards may occur when other road users don't comply with the law or safe and reasonable driving and their path might cross the driver's.

The unsafe actions of other road users can be compensated for by the driver maintaining space between his or her vehicle and the other road user. This is the basic principle of defensive driving.

The criteria in this element have proactive or interactive dimensions. Proactive responses are when the driver starts to avoid a possible conflict before one can even be seen, such as slowing down for a blind intersection or hill crest even though it may be legal to proceed.

Interactive responses are when the driver sees another road user and makes ongoing adjustments to his or her driving as the situation unfolds. In both situations the driver is responding to the situation by applying a 'just in case' approach.

Where one situation after another arises, for example, in busy streets, driving will become very active. However, good performance in this area will not look busy-the driver will be responding very early to hazards and his or her actions will mostly be subtle.

In all cases the driver will keep enough space to avoid a crash even though the action may well prove to be unnecessary.

4.2.1 Eyes are directed to hazards posing an immediate threat.

These are hazards where there is the potential for the driver's path to meet another road user's path. Including:

• locations such as blind intersections and curves;
  
• pedestrians and cyclists;
  
• vehicles:
  
• blocking view,
  
• manoeuvring (opposing turning right,
  
• pulling out from side of road, waiting at give way signs),
  
• closing in from behind;
  
• railway crossings.

Assessors should look to see the driver move his or her head and or direct the eyes to immediate hazards. However, this process does not provide reliable evidence whether the driver has perceived the hazard.

4.2.2 Vehicle is positioned for best visibility.

Where it is both safe and legal the driver will adjust the vehicle's position to see more and improve other's view of the vehicle.
Examples are: dropping back from similar sized vehicles to see more of the road ahead; moving more towards the centre of the road at a blind intersection or the left to increase sight distance.

4.2.3 Speed and sight distance is matched to provide time and space for safe response.

Sight distance is the distance the driver can see ahead and to the sides.

Typically sight distance is restricted at the approach to:

• blind intersections;
  
• blind curves;
  
• hill crests; and
  
• vehicles parked on the side of the road.

An example is braking at the approach to a blind intersection until the driver can see it is safe to continue. It is safe when the view into the side road (sight distance) reveals there are no road users who could enter the intersection at the same time as the driver. The same principle applies to blind curves and hill crests; the driver should be able to stop in the distance he or she can see in the clear space ahead.

4.2.4 Vehicle's position is adjusted to provide space from potential threat.

This response may be proactive or interactive.
Examples of proactive responses would be positioning the vehicle to the left when approaching a hill crest or moving more towards the centre of the road when approaching a row of parked vehicles.
An interactive response would be moving to increase available space from another road user such as a pedestrian on the side of the road or a vehicle approaching hugging the centre line.

4.2.5 Timely responses that compensate for possible unsafe actions by road users are made.

Timely responses mean:

• The driver would be able to brake, accelerate or reposition the vehicle smoothly to avoid a crash.

This criterion requires the driver to operate ahead of real time. This means looking at and monitoring the changing situation, predicting how it might change and adjusting responses accordingly.

Responses could include:

• backing off the accelerator;
  
• tentative or initial braking;
  
• progressively firm braking; and
  
• increasing space from a hazard by steering away from it.

In some situations the appropriate response may even be to accelerate (for example, when a vehicle is closing in quickly from behind). Crash statistics recorded by road user movement (RUM) give a good indication of where road users make mistakes. These situations should be considered during assessment.

4.2.6 The driver's own deviations from safe, legal and reasonable behaviour are immediately corrected.

Competent drivers make mistakes but correct themselves before deviating significantly from correct performance.

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4.3.1 Vehicle is stopped until conditions improve.

This criterion applies to adverse weather, road and traffic conditions.

4.3.2 An alternative route is used.

This criterion applies to:

• adverse weather and road surface conditions;
  
• particular environments that the driver considers difficult or unsafe because of local traffic conditions; and
  
• environments that are beyond the driver's capabilities of dealing.

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4.4.1 Speed is reduced and conservative decisions are made in novel or complex driving situations.

Novel situations are those that differ significantly to those the driver has previously experienced. Speed should be reduced to the point the driver has the capacity to process and respond to information. Drivers unable to do this typically change speed and direction late and abruptly. They also break smooth flow.
Familiarisation procedures are followed when driving unfamiliar vehicle.

Familiarisation procedures can include:

• practising locating and using controls and switches before moving off;
  
• keeping speed down;
  
• making conservative decisions;
  
• exercising greater caution when overtaking;
  
• cornering; and
  
• selecting gaps.

4.4.2 Distractions within the vehicle affecting performance are compensated for.

Compensating actions can include:

• turning the radio/cassette/cd down or off;
  
• asking passengers to be quiet;
  
• ceasing a conversation; or
  
• pulling over to deal with any problems.

4.4.3 Conservative decisions are made in response to own uncertainty.

This can include being uncertain about an overtaking manoeuvre or selecting a gap. Conservative decisions are ones that minimise the risk: generally this will involve responses such as hanging back instead of overtaking, or waiting for the next gap in traffic.

4.4.4 Appropriate responses are made as a result of pressure from other road users. Inappropriate responses to other road users can cause conflict.

Appropriate responses include:

• self talk to guide through appropriate action;
  
• deep breathing;
  
• directing attention to other driving tasks;
  
• adopting neutral phrases to describe other road users' behaviour;
  
• pulling over to let the other driver past; or
  
• selecting an alternative route.

4.4.5 Safe responses are made in response to traffic frustration's.

Responses can include:

• selecting an alternative route;
  
• maintaining safe following distances;
  
• deep breathing;
  
• adopting neutral phrases to describe other road users' behaviour; and
  
• practising self talk that highlights the benefits of cautious behaviour and the costs of risky behaviour.

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Motivation is a 'hidden' element of human behaviour, it can only be implied and cannot be seen. It is an element that contributes to competence but cannot be measured as performance. Thus competency standards rarely contain specific elements dealing with this part of behaviour.
Driving is a self directed activity in a dynamic environment. Drivers choose to behave the way they do. Therefore, motivation is a critical aspect of driving. The element, manages motivations, describes aspects of behaviour that are considered by road safety researchers to be very important.
A valid and reliable method of assessing and measuring this element may not be available at this time. However, the element may be used to guide training and education programs.

4.5.1 Valuing life and property is reflected in driving.

Personal safety values influence motivation and the choices drivers make. Safe drivers value life and property. They have a need to avoid being harmed and causing harm.

4.5.2 Strategies minimising the adverse effects of emotions on safe driving are employed.

Emotions which might adversely affect safe driving could include:

• aggression;
  
• depression;
  
• unhappiness;
  
• happiness;
  
• frustration;
  
• impatience; and
  
• anxiety from worries.

  Strategies could include:
  

• a self-talk technique rationalising the situation;
  
• deep breathing;
  
• pulling over;
  
• stopping and making a phone call; or
  
• selecting an alternative route.

4.5.3 An examined rationale that evaluates the benefits and costs of both risky behaviour and cautious behaviour is applied to driving.

Motivation internally energises and directs an individual's behaviour. Strong safety motivations can make up for gaps in ability better than high levels of ability can make up for gaps in motivation. Motivation theory suggests the perceived costs of behaving one way and the benefits of behaving another way influence how people act.

There are costs and benefits associated with both risk taking and behaving cautiously. Safe driving behaviour results when the driver perceives cautious behaviour as being more worthwhile than risky behaviour. Frequently drivers don't think their behaviour through, they don't have an examined rationale.

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