## in this chapter 

• Fitness to drive 

– seeing and hearing 

– assessing your health 

– staying awake 

– keeping focused 

• Dangerous emotions 

• Impairment 

– facts about alcohol 

– facts about drugs 

• Taking risks 

• Peer pressure 

• Unsafe passengers 

• Unsafe drivers 

• Aggression on the road 

– preventing aggression 

• Organ Donor Registry 

## personal strategies 7 

In the previous chapter, you learned how to share the road safely with other road users. This chapter gives strategies you can use to handle situations that can have a negative influence on you and your driving. 

## Fitness to drive 

## You in the driver’s seat 

You wake up with a cold and feel awful, but you have to go to work. You take some cold medication before getting into your car. As you’re driving, you notice that you feel light-headed and tired. Turning right at the first intersection, you narrowly miss a cyclist. 

What should you do? 

To be in control while driving, you need to be able to rely on the information your eyes and ears pick up. You need to be healthy, rested and focused to be a safe driver. 

## Seeing and hearing 

Experts estimate that about 80 per cent of all driving information comes to drivers through their eyes. You need to take a vision screening test before you can be licensed to drive. 

Your sense of hearing also helps you gather information about the driving scene. Listen for important warning signals such as horns, sirens, train whistles and unusual noises in your engine. 

To see and hear effectively while driving: 

• Use glasses or contact lenses if you need them. 

• Scan systematically as you drive. 

• Repair or replace a noisy engine muffler. 

• Don’t play your stereo too loudly. 

• Don’t use a cellphone or headphones while driving. 

## Strategies: seeing and hearing effectively 

