How Teen Drivers See the World!
One of the things that all drivers receive at the DPS is an eye test; all states know that all safe drivers have good vision.
The key to having good vision is to look with your eyes but see with your mind.
It is particularly important for parents of teens or novice drivers to implement all reasonable ways to practice good driving habits to reduce collisions.
Having been in driver's education for several years one of the most over looked facts is that speed reduces your field of vision.
The question I get from frustrated parents all the time is why can't my teen see the world like I do? The exact answer is their teen still needs time to learn how to see the world at higher speeds.
One of the best ways to I have to explain the relationship between vision and speed is the following story I use in every class.
Before you can talk about speed and the effect it has on vision we need to understand how our eyes work.
Take a Hawk, from 500 ft.
in the sky it can spot a field mouse swoop down and have dinner.
A rhinoceros on the other hand is nearly blind, you walk to him whack him really hard and stand still and he would not see you.
Our human eyes are designed to see the world at the top speed of 2mph.
When do we ever go that slowly in a car? Let me show you what the world looks like at 60 mph without getting in a car.
If you place your hands on both sides of your face and try to use your peripheral vision you now get a really clear picture of how new drivers see the world! We see like the rhinoceros! To compensate for what we lose at higher speeds there are three simple techniques to regain what is lost.
The first is aim down your path of travel by looking up for two traffic lights.
The second is to look in a zig zag pattern as your travel up the road looking for speed limit signs, warning signs or cars that may turn in front of you.
The last technique is to check your rearview mirror every 8-10 seconds two cars back.
When you begin to do this you compensate for what we lose by lengthening your line of sight.
The key to having good vision is to look with your eyes but see with your mind.
It is particularly important for parents of teens or novice drivers to implement all reasonable ways to practice good driving habits to reduce collisions.
Having been in driver's education for several years one of the most over looked facts is that speed reduces your field of vision.
The question I get from frustrated parents all the time is why can't my teen see the world like I do? The exact answer is their teen still needs time to learn how to see the world at higher speeds.
One of the best ways to I have to explain the relationship between vision and speed is the following story I use in every class.
Before you can talk about speed and the effect it has on vision we need to understand how our eyes work.
Take a Hawk, from 500 ft.
in the sky it can spot a field mouse swoop down and have dinner.
A rhinoceros on the other hand is nearly blind, you walk to him whack him really hard and stand still and he would not see you.
Our human eyes are designed to see the world at the top speed of 2mph.
When do we ever go that slowly in a car? Let me show you what the world looks like at 60 mph without getting in a car.
If you place your hands on both sides of your face and try to use your peripheral vision you now get a really clear picture of how new drivers see the world! We see like the rhinoceros! To compensate for what we lose at higher speeds there are three simple techniques to regain what is lost.
The first is aim down your path of travel by looking up for two traffic lights.
The second is to look in a zig zag pattern as your travel up the road looking for speed limit signs, warning signs or cars that may turn in front of you.
The last technique is to check your rearview mirror every 8-10 seconds two cars back.
When you begin to do this you compensate for what we lose by lengthening your line of sight.
