Positivity is good

I had BBC Radio 2 on in the car yesterday (other stations and networks are available) and I heard Steve Wright talking about a survey that said that most 5 to 16 year olds would rather have Mum driving the car than Dad. Apparently our offspring consider that Dad drives too fast, is less patient, more aggressive and more likely to get angry than Mum.
Leaving aside the whole Dad versus Mum debate (that's a can of worms we don't need to open) Steve went on to say that, in his opinion, maybe it was ok to drive aggressively in some circumstances, for example when comparing city driving to country driving.
This prompted a conversation between Steve and his fellow presenter Tim, the result of which was that they agreed that perhaps 'aggressive' wasn't quite the right word and they settled on 'confident' as an alternative.
Confidence can certainly be a good thing but I think the word they were really looking for was 'positive'. On our advanced driving courses we make a real learning point of getting drivers to understand and embrace the difference between being 'positive' and 'aggressive'.
We can all easily understand the negative side of aggression behind the wheel but it works the other way too. A classic example of a lack of positivity is the good old 'Mexican stand-off' which I've regularly seen occur when three motorists arrive at a mini roundabout at the same time from different directions and then sit looking at each other. Done properly, the driver who approaches this situation positively will actually be doing all three a service by instigating proper use of the junction.
A positive approach to the drive enables a driver to engage decisively and yet politely with other road users, maintaining progress safely and efficiently in all situations. Developing a good positive style can often assist an over-confident driver to find the right balance for their skills and it can also assist a driver who is lacking confidence to build up their ability to deal with challenging road situations.
Positive good, aggressive bad - that's the rule.

Eco-Driving

I found the recent Government information film entreating us all to use our cars for 5 miles less per week amusing. With unleaded petrol coasting past the £1.20 per litre price level it might appear that we needed little encouragement to cut unnecessary mileage from our motoring activities. That said, it's reassuring that the Government have found time in their busy schedule (and spare cash in their budgets to pay for the film) which they could devote to encouraging us to save the planet.
Quite how you and I are to cut 5 miles from our weekly mileage is unclear to me. Do I park half a mile short of work for five days, or do I park two and a half miles short of the out of town supermarket once a week? These both assume that there is an unlimited amount of on-street parking available for us all to use... Maybe if I choose not to go out tonight I can count that as mileage saved? It's a dilemma.
There is another way of approaching this problem where we can help to save the planet at the same time as cutting travel costs for ourselves. Eco-driving courses from Simon Hall advanced driver training are designed to show you and your company's drivers how to drive efficiently, maximising fuel economy as well as minimising general wear and tear on the vehicle.
Contact me to talk about how we can tailor a course to your requirements and to see how you can start to make an immediate difference to your fleet budget.