Does Your Driving School Teach "The Bubble"

One of the smartest and simplest defensive driving concepts a driver can know is

"The Bubble." It refers to the space all around your car where you have room to maneuver. It is so simple and yet many drivers are unaware of the power of the Bubble. If you or someone you know is shopping for a driving school for their teen, a good question to ask before signing up is, "Does this driving school teach the Bubble?".

A member of a prestigious social club once arrived late for a meeting, distraught because someone had rear-ended her car once again and she couldn't understand why this kept happening to her. Conversation with her sympathetic friends soon revealed to everyone but her that she had been tailgating. When the car ahead of her stopped abruptly she slammed on her brakes and stopped too.

She said that the fact that she did not hit the car she was following was proof that she had not been following too closely. However, what the woman did not realize was that when she applied her brakes and stopped quickly she did not allow the car behind her enough time to avoid hitting her. She did not realize that the space in front of her could have saved her rear.

The best place you could be on a freeway is where there are no cars immediately ahead of you and no cars to either side and no one that you can see in your correctly-adjusted rear and side view mirrors.

Unfortunately your efforts to maintain open space on all sides of yourself will be foiled as cars behind you catch up and pass you, desperate to get as close as they can to the blaze of brake lights up ahead before they stop or are stopped.

However, knowing about the Bubble involves more than just keeping open space around you whenever it's convenient. It also means being aware of whatever space there is. It means checking behind and to the sides frequently and being aware of what other drivers are doing.

When a car approaches rapidly from behind, what do you think the driver's intentions are? Does he have room to go around you? If a car in the lane to your right is hurtling forward at a speed much faster than the truck ahead of it is moving, what will happen next? If you can see that the driver of the car will hit the truck unless he changes lanes and the only place for him to go is in front of you, what do you do? As is so often the answer, the best thing for you to do is slow down and make sure the reckless driver has a space big enough to move into.

Of course you don't want to. You would much rather see the jerk get what's coming to him. But, since that would necessarily involve your safety and that of others you demonstrate what an alert, well-trained driver you are and prevent a collision. You then have the satisfaction of thinking how fortunate the other driver was that he pulled that stunt in front of you and not someone with a death wish. And then you silently ask that other driver, "Why didn't your driving school teach the Bubble?".

Does Your Driving School Teach "The Bubble"

By: Joe Pruskowski

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