Defensive Driving
| by Howard Keeg
Chalk and Cheese
Some five years ago I attended a defensive driving course, and the experience gave me a seriously jaundiced
view of such courses, and an even more toxic jaundiced view of driving academies and the supposedly qualified
people who evaluate you. So when I, as part of my duties as a motoring journalist, was required to once again
attend one of these courses on 30 July 2104, I arrived with an extremely cynical mind set.
B
y the end of the day,
all my reservations
had been swept aside,
and I realised that you get
courses and courses, you get
academies and academies,
and you get qualified people
and qualified people.
The two courses and the two
approaches were like chalk
and cheese. With the first lot,
all I got was some jumped
up lunatic who spent 80% of
the theoretical side telling us
what a great racing driver he
was, and that when the racing
authorities had had enough
of him, he had given them the
middle finger, albeit a short
middle finger.
He clearly wanted us to believe
that he was a man amongst
men, but in my case he failed
miserably. And when it came
to the practical part of the course,
his sidekick took the farce even further
and subjected me to a most ridiculous
experience.
It was so bad that I started to suspect
that I was part of a candid camera TV
show, and I was half expecting the
clown to rip off his mask to reveal Leon
Schuster.
But alas, this was not the case, and when
I realised the sad truth that this particular
driving academy was a Micky Mouse
outfit I started to play the role of Goofy,
which upset the idiot no end. It is a great
story, which I will tell in more detail one
day.
But that was the chalk, so now let us
look at the cheese.
The cheese is represented by
MasterDrive, an establishment based
➲ MasterDrive’s J ohan Beukes (instructor) and Eugene Herbert (managing director) flank fellow course
attendee Anzet du Plessis
in Meyersdal, Alberton, which offers a
standardised Defensive Driving Course
that meets the requirements for most
driving skill outcomes.
across that the key to defensive driving
is information, observation, and the
reduction of loss control. And that driving
is 15% physical and 85% mental.
As per the chalk “course”, the cheese
course is divided into a group lecture,
followed by a one hour one-on-one
in car practical, but with the key
difference that the course is presented
by professional instructors, and not ex
racing drivers.
The mental aspect is emphasised over
and over, predicated on the acronym
IPDE: Identify the Hazard; Predict what
will Happen; Decide on your Action; and
Execute your Decision Immediately.
Thus the focus is on improving the skills
of the attendees, and not on boosting
the egos of some seriously disturbed
individuals who yearn for the glory days
and groupie adulation.
The group lecture was presented by
instructor Johan Beukes, who with the
assistance of some spot on videos, and
interactive discussion, gets the message
| words in action
68
The physical elements covered in
the MasterDrive defensive driving
course cover Steering, Brakes, Clutch,
Handbrake, Vehicle Sympathy, Seat
Belts, and Gearing.
The Mental Elements cover the
aforementioned IPDE, Alcohol
Awareness, Cross and Side Road
Junctions, Mobile Phones, 12 Second
Forward Vision, Use of Speed, Sixth
Sense, Blind Spots, Systems of Car
SEPTEMBER 2014