[SS-Traveller]

Most drivers on Indian roads are not afraid to drive. However, I believe fear is a healthy psychological response when one drives, largely because it helps keep us safe. So what are the reasons that should generate fear in our minds while driving? Which of these is your biggest fear while driving? Or are there any other reasons?



However, there are various ways to overcome our fear of driving.



Which of these means do you employ to overcome your fear of driving?

Or are you completely fearless, and feel absolutely invincible while driving?

Let us hear your views.

[NPV]

Nice thread @SS-T da

I’m definitely not a fearless driver and I think most of the “fearsome” items on the list apply to me when driving

1. Fear of accidents
   One can never be overconfident on our roads with reckless driving, overspeeding, wrong side driving, oversized/overloaded vehicles, road rage being all too common.
   The fear of accidents helps me stay focused and drive defensively (don’t have a certification though) using common sense and my experience of driving in the USA 2 decades ago
   
2. Breakdown
   I bought the Harrier few months ago and had apprehensions after reading some of the experiences and it was at the back of my mind initially. However, after 2000+Km of driving (call them familiarisation outings mostly solo or with one or two good friends) on highways around Bangalore, I’d developed more trust and confidence on the vehicle. But one never knows when Murthy’s law will kick in - on the very first highway trip outside Bangalore with the family, this (Unusual / funny / heartwarming experiences on the road) happened! Touchwood, nothing after this incident though.
   
3. Damage to vehicle
   With way too many idiots on our roads, one can never be careless, all the more reason to anticipate sudden, unexpected things to happen on our roads. Body shop visits are painful and expensive, better to avoid as best we can.
   
4. Breaking the law
   I’m a stickler for following traffic rules and I avoid overspeeding, jumping red lights and can never imagine driving on the wrong side!
   However, sometimes because of the height of vehicles in front, lack of lane discipline and positioning of traffic lights in our cities, it is quite easy to miss an amber light and end up “signal jumping” (stopping just ahead of the stop/limit line). This fear makes me stay very alert and cautious when nearing traffic lights.
   
5. Unknown
   This one generally keeps me alert to look for any signs around that could indicate a potential danger up ahead. I also make it a point to let the faster vehicles who tail too closely, pass me as soon as possible. Another fear is that of getting rear-ended, so I try not to brake too suddenly in normal circumstances.

[MinivanDriver]

Excellent thread!

I personally tend to be very fear driven while driving. For example, is that cow grazing on the median going to jump out in front of me when I am at 100KPH on the fast lane and innumerable other perils we encounter on our roads.

However I am trying to consciously move away from fear driven vigiliance while driving to being in zen mode due to the following reasons.

1. Fear driven hyper vigilance is very tiring and stressful. I believe it can even cause hyptertension and heart disease.

2. When an emergency happens in a fear driven mental state, the response is very adrenaline driven. That may not be the safest response. One may tend to overreact, exceed the limits of the vehicle with drastic steering inputs or braking and make the outcome worse.

Hence I am trying to consciously breathe slowly and deeply, keep my heart rate down and drive well with in the safety margins. I may be driving at a slower speed, I will be slowing down further at corners rather than trying to maintain the highway speed. However here are the advantages

1. Avoid stress, hypertension and heart disease - invaluable!

2. Increased safety / consequences of an accident may be reduced. I slow down much more for that blind corner so that I am able to see that wrong way driver and steer clear instead of panic braking and getting rear ended - again invaluable!

3. Eventhough my speeds are slower, the total journey time is not affected as I am less tired and hence need fewer shorter breaks.

4. I reach my destination with enough energy reserves to meet and greet my friends and family.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

fear is a healthy psychological response when one drives, largely because it helps keep us safe

Good start to an invaluable thread, Dada. The phrase in Hindi - jo dar gaya, samjho mar gaya (those who fear are as good as dead) is my guiding mantra. My fears on the road and how I overcome these are as follows

1. near misses, and potential encounters with ruffians

- anticipate potential situations, drive slow. I've rarely touched 3 digit speeds so far. My target is to hit an average speed of 65kmph and I do that with extremely superior judgement of the road ahead, relative speed of my vehicle vs the ones I need to overtake etc.
- observe for the impatient drivers and let them pass
- drive in the center or left lane and avoid the right lane as far as possible

2. potential breakdowns (trust me, the deeper you know a car, the more you know what can go wrong, and that is an element of fear) - overcome this by a very close watch on the car. I check the engine bay, fluid levels, underside and wheels for potential troubles once a week at least

To sum up, I use all the five elements that @SS-Traveller has outlined in overcoming "fear".

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

1. Fear driven hyper vigilance is very tiring and stressful. I believe it can even cause hyptertension and heart disease.

Here's an excellent article from a renowned driving instructor from Canada, about not letting your fears dominate you: https://thesafedriver.ca/2010/02/22/...s-control-you/

[rajeevsulu]

Fear is Important

Fear can be a very important factor when it comes to survival on the road. Fear comes from previous experiences which has stayed back in our head and memory as "Past Experience".

This " Past Experience "slowly gets processed into awareness and knowledge which filters down into our driving and riding methods.

At the end of the day, we all want to get to where we want to go without breaking the law, maiming ourselves or someone else, destroying or damaging our vehicles.

Cheers

[Samba]

Great thread ss da.

Fear is good. Whille driving fear is the thin line between insanity and skill. A totally fearless driver, or a driver who is more afraid than required, both are risky.

Accident and crashes - Yes, I do fear both. Am not afraid of my own driving, but I have trust issues with others driving on the road. Defensive driving is the key, though it is not full proof.

Causing death or injury - Yes, am scared of both.
e.g, People driving on the wrong side of a one-way road, or people jumping the signal to save time, two wheeler riders zipping through the gaps even without judging the gaps, etc., are few cases which can cause nasty accidents. These scare me while driving.

Breakdowns - Yes, am afraid of breakdowns. I maintain my car in top shape, and I know what the weak points are. Every car comes with its own set of problems. While owning the Duster Awd, I was finicky about refuelling. That car was famous for injector failures from bad fuel. I even carry few spare parts, while on a road trip.

Damage to the car - It hurts & even a little damage to the car makes me upset and hampers my mental peace. I try my best to keep my car protected as much as possible!

Unknown - Fear of unknown can be a big list! It can start with a petty thief to a ghost! Though I do not believe in ghosts!

Breaking the law - Am not afraid of me breaking the law, I hardly do so. But I do fear others breaking the law and causing damage to me.

Criticism - Am not afraid of criticism. This helps me to improve. But I am not ready to hear criticism from everyone. There are many subpar drivers who pose themselves to be some big shot and judge others. One must identify the right person from whom he can improve his driving. Constructive criticism from a knowledgeable person is most welcome.

Near misses - This is a sigh of relief! This means an accident has been averted. But too many near-misses are fearful. That means one has a serious problem with his driving and luck is in his favour!

[BlackPearl]

Excellent thread! I had once attended a safe driver's course and the instructor told that driving is one of the scariest things she does on a daily basis and that means a lot when her day job was a jailor in a high security prison. Many years back I would not have agreed to that because we usually tend to be aggressive and somewhat reckless when we are young, I mean the ones who have the love for speed, but I have reached an age where causing injury to others is the highest on my list of fear. Rest everything can more or less be fixed.
The second on my list would be fear of breakdown in high risk/desolate areas and third would be damage to car, but that has reduced over the years. I don't think I have any other fear.

[DogNDamsel12]

Mentoring by different kinds of good drivers is a necessity.

Fear is sometimes from the ecosystem. I will unapologetically bring in gender here. In my initial days, I have experienced parched throat sitting next to extremely critical navigators trying to put me down as a driver, and telling me that it is not my cup of tea - something I have had enough redemption for later. But speaking about my gender, especially maybe until a decade back, this was quite a common factor.

Further on that point, I know a female friend from school, who recently learnt driving, and was constantly being told off by one of those driving school trainers - a young fellow in his twenties. She called me up one day, and she had the same fear in her voice like I had perhaps 15 years back. The summary of my monologue with her was "look, you hold a masters in Chemistry. This is a vehicle - a machine at the command of humans (until something goes wrong). If you understand science, chances are that mechanics is not rocket science to you. Before you go to your morning classes, allow yourself to absorb the basics of driving in your head, the machine will play along." She got her license and is driving fine now.

Now coming to the points mentioned by you, all are very valid sources of fear. For me, fear of breakdown perhaps tops the list. And then fear of accidents and fear of the unknown.

The reason breakdown intimidates me is also partially my fault. For various other things in life, I de-prioritise immersing myself more in learning about mechanics. Plus, I think the more I know the more I feel I don't know. That also gets me jittery.

I also feel vulnerable with self-criticism - How do I know that I am a good driver? And how does that ensure that I make the right judgement every time? This makes me really cautious. I think I was much less cautious when I knew less.

Fear of accidents - certainly! This is also akin to fear of the unknown. I don't know which fear precedes which. I don't know if a cow is going to jump from the divider right onto my way. I remember that unfortunate incident with Gaurav Gill - he was on his track, and people simply ambled along on that track. Imagine his trauma. To me, by far he is the best that I have had the opportunity to witness first-hand, and if something like that accident could not be averted on an FMSCI track, then God help a regular joe on the road.

Fear of causing death or injury is like fear of being eaten by the tiger - a distant danger that I have not thankfully experienced and therefore I know that the possibility exists, but at least I am not manifesting it with my thoughts. I keep my ego at bay. At what speed I whizzed past who or how many cars I beat on my way to work is the kind of conversation I detest, primarily because it reeks of a driver's ego. I know that people brag of their insurmountable achievements, concealing their failures alright. And therefore, these futile discussions really bother me and seem immature at best. I don't want self-styled driving gurus in my way - people may just be merely accelerator-happy, callous citizens. Some things better be for the tracks!

Fear of damaging the vehicle for me gets real on offroad tracks. This, as I have admitted before, is a lot of unlearning highway habits and relearning new rules of OTR. I enjoy this, at the same time, I have my butterflies.

I think it is practice and anticipation that are my constant buddies.

Btw, needless to say, excellent thread!

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Most drivers on Indian roads are not afraid to drive.

...are you completely fearless, and feel absolutely invincible while driving?

Here's a video on X, to highlight how fearless and invincible Indian drivers and riders imagine themselves to be:
https://twitter.com/ReduceRoadRisks/...4XPLFJtKg&s=19.
Just looking at the video makes me cringe & shiver.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Here's a video on X, to highlight how fearless and invincible Indian drivers and riders imagine themselves to be:

Evolution at play but I really hope it does not involve others on the road.

Regarding the thread, it does not matter if you are a pedestrian or in a 5star rated car, one must always have a healthy fear of one's own safety and others as well.

But with horrible license systems, and lack of following/implementing rules fear often takes a back seat and false bravado and dangerous driving comes to the front.

[Mystic]

My confidence levels are not same if I am driving in India or USA.

It is more relaxed driving on USA roads as it can be safely assumed that we will not be seeing any kind of surprises and people will mostly follow all traffic rules. There are always exceptions and become very dangerous sometimes. There are always situations to be cautious especially during some road rage incidents as many drivers carry guns in their vehicles.

In India, I am extra cautious of surprises which are very frequent like random vehicles coming in opposite direction, random people crossing the highways, animals crossing, 2 wheelers, 3 wheelers, over load trucks, slow moving vehicles in fast lanes, unscientific speed breakers in the most unexpected places etc.

[commonman]

Fear gives you power to anticipate accidents. But do not fear while you drive. Be confident.
Only a fool will think everything is alright on the roads.

[tharian]

Fear of causing death or injury is a fear for me, but not something that is constant and always in my mind.
Driving or riding is like second nature and I don't think of anything before doing it.

Practice is what I would think is makes me avoid any incidents. Add to that the experience of few accidents on both car and two wheeler when I was younger, instiled in me the thought of complications if something has to happen.

[GTO]

1. I most definitely feel fear & that's the main, sole & only reason I don't own a motorcycle. As much as I l-o-v-e to ride bikes. No motorcycles for me and I have accepted that.

2. With cars, I'm cautious, but no real fear when driving in the city. On the highway though, I do have a little bit of fear and a whole lot of caution due to the speeds and all those big trucks / buses around us.

3. I drive with a heavy right foot sporadically when I'm in a safe / big / high-end car. But if I am test-driving a Maruti or Hyundai hatchback on the expressway, I drive very, very conservatively.