The simple 1-to-10 trick that makes you a safer, better driver
Why cultivating an unwavering desire to improve is pivotal to defining your abilities behind the wheel
How important are motivation and inspiration in your quest to improve your own driving standards and skills? Is motivation a skill that we can develop to good effect?
One of the fascinating things about drivers is that we are all different in who we are, what we do and how we accomplish certain things when driving. Our personalities, egos, values, beliefs and emotions are just some of the elements that can have a dramatic effect on our personal motivation; they may also have a detrimental effect on how we drive and how safe we are when driving.
Unfortunately, motivation and inspiration only happen when you’re in the mood, and they can be deeply affected by the ‘I don’t feel like it today’ phenomenon. Some people therefore require a carrot or a stick to entice them to become better drivers. However, if you’re reading this page, it’s likely that you are already motivated to work towards your driving goals through a simple, self-driven desire to be a great driver. And that’s good news, because the best form of motivation comes from within.
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There will be times when your motivation lapses, but with perseverance you can reach your goals, even though the journey, at times, may be difficult. Fortunately, there are ways to help keep that motivation alive.
It can help to continually assess your driving actions and behaviours on the road. This will keep you aware of the progress you are making and enable you to judge how you can improve and fine-tune your mindset and skills still further. It will be this ongoing self-assessment and analysis of your driving that will count in the end.
One beneficial way to assess your progress is to score your overall driving and its constituent parts on a scale of one to ten after each drive. Being ruthlessly honest with yourself here is crucial to its success. Analyse where you were good and what you felt was below your new standards of behaviour. Importantly, establish if safety was compromised at any point through your decisions or actions.
After each drive ask yourself these three questions:
- What stood out on that drive?
- How did it affect other road users?
- Why and how could it have been safer through my decisions and actions?
Use your answers to these questions to set new goals for your next drive, and ensure that on every drive you set an overarching goal for it to be your best drive ever. Always remember that safety is your prime driving goal and all other goals take second place to this. Also remember that the perfect drive has never taken place and the perfect driver has never been born, so there will always be new targets for you to aim for. Applying this mindset ensures improvement, which is yours for the taking.
Ultimately, the journey to becoming a truly exceptional driver hinges on consistent self-assessment and a relentless pursuit of improvement. By continuously evaluating your drives and prioritising safety above all else, you will steadily progress. Maintain this dedicated, self-driven approach and you will soon begin to appreciate that you are heading in the right direction to achieve the evo Standard of driving excellence.
