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DEFENSIVE
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DECISIVE
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VISIBLE
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Leave my righteous indignation at home: Yield to other vehicles at stop signs IF THERE’S ANY DOUBT OF RIGHT-OF-WAY. Yield to hell-bent merging vehicles if there’s no room to move over.
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Pass trucks on the left only when I can get past them smoothly and quickly. If a car is loitering as it tries to pass, stay back until the car clears the truck and has pulled back over to the right lane. Let the “cage” absorb the impact of a blown truck tire before I get there.
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Stay out of trucker’s blind spots, including not passing on their right, especially if I anticipate they’re trying to move over to the right lane (my personal pet peeve about too many other drivers).
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Watch car drivers in their side-view mirrors to see if they’re doing mirror checks. If they’re not, they’re bozos, so stay out of their way.
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Use my turn signals and turn my head and look where I want to go, so that cars and trucks know my intentions. Send unambiguous body language to other drivers. Weaving within the lane and inexplicable slow-downs just confuse and worry other drivers.
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Change lane or position in my lane for better visibility, both of me and of the traffic ahead. It’s easy to get lost within a caravan of 18-Wheelers and giant SUV’s. Staying to the far left or right of the lane puts me in their side mirrors and lets me see around these behemoths to the road conditions ahead.
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Do a shoulder-check before I change lanes. Someone in a hopped up Camaro may have zig-zagged through traffic and is now on my left quarter going 100 mph.
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Hold my lane and position myself within my lane to prevent encroachment whenever possible. That woman in the Cadillac Escalante may decide she needs that space in the exit lane more than I do if I don’t hug that painted line on the left side of my lane.
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Wear light or bright-colored helmet. Not only are light colors more visible, they’re cooler in the heat of Texas.
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Leave more than 2 seconds’ following space and more than an 18-wheeler truck space before pulling in front of a passed vehicle. Objects in rearview mirror are closer than they appear
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Know when I’m not up to the ride or am not on my game and quit for the day. It might be a day better spent cleaning out the closets.
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Creep forward when departing a gas pump, so that in-coming cars can see me before pulling away from the gas island. Emergency stops with the front wheel turned full-lock to execute a U-turn around the gas pump island never have a happy ending.
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What mental “safety conditioning” do you go through before heading out for a ride or a trip? Share your personal “mantras” or philosophies and we’ll publish them in upcoming issues of the newsletter. ta@mctourer.com