Drivers
Documents that the Driver must carry
Personal identification document
Personal driving licence
Insurance certificate
Vehicle identification document or equivalent document (ALD or leasing contract)
Vehicle's periodic inspection form, if required by law
Municipal Vehicle Tax label
Drivers are prohibited from
Using any type of headphones or radio telephone equipment while driving, with the exception of equipment with an earpiece or microphone with a loudspeaker system, the use of which does not involve continuous handling.
Installing and using any apparatus, devices or products likely to reveal the presence or disrupt the operation of apparatus for detecting or recording offences
Carrying children under the age of 12 and under 150cm without an approved restraint system.
Throwing objects onto the public highway
Drivers of motorbikes, mopeds and cycles may not
Drive with their hands off the handlebars, except to signal a manoeuvre
Drive with their feet off the pedals or supports
Be towed
Raise the front or rear wheel when starting or travelling
Following in pairs, unless they are travelling in a special lane and are not causing danger or embarrassment to traffic
Carry children under the age of 7
Drivers must not
Smoking, getting distracted or arguing
Eating too much, because it makes you sleepy. If you feel sleepy, you should stop and rest or even sleep.
Drinking alcoholic beverages, as it doesn't eliminate your thirst, causes drowsiness and disturbs your vision and senses.
Gathering Information in the Environment
If the driver's eyes are fixed on a particular object in the distance, his eyes can see, even if less clearly, a wide area to the side and around him, known as the ‘VISUAL FIELD’.
A practical method for drivers to ‘widen’ their field of vision is to keep a restless look in order to visually explore as many of the surrounding details as possible in a short space of time, while also making frequent use of the rear-view mirrors.
This systematic collection of visual information makes a vital contribution to improving road safety conditions, especially when driving in urban centres where heavy traffic is very common.
Prediction, Anticipation and Decision
When a pedestrian unintentionally steps off the kerb into the carriageway, and the driver is travelling at a reasonable speed, the instinctive decision to turn sharply before braking can lead to a crash.
In fact, the most experienced drivers agree that in these situations one should act rationally, starting by braking the vehicle and only then diverting the direction (if necessary), which should be done at a more moderate speed.
The unexpected movements of distracted pedestrians on the road, as is often the case with children and elderly people (and animals), almost always represent a danger that the driver must be aware of.
It is very important to acquire habits of foresight for less expected dangerous situations, so that you can act well in advance.
Being foresighted means not letting yourself be surprised by the most unexpected situations, so that you can act correctly and early enough.
Vehicle action and control
During their training period, drivers acquire a wide range of theoretical, technical and practical knowledge about perfect control of the vehicle, as well as real-life ideas about the unavoidable dangers of traffic and how to minimise their consequences.
As we all know, when someone is very experienced in carrying out certain tasks, they have a strong tendency to get distracted while doing them.
Being distracted while driving, no matter how experienced the driver, is a dangerous and inexcusable behaviour that can lead them to make extremely serious mistakes, especially in emergency situations that require immediate decisions and perfect control of the vehicle.
When the driver's physical or mental state of health is not in the best condition or when they are weakened by medication, drowsiness or lack of rest, their intellectual and motor driving skills can be seriously affected.
As long as these conditions continue, it is essential that the driver stops driving so as not to compromise their safety, as well as that of other vehicles and road users.
Importance of Perceptual Elements
Constant alertness is one of the best habits for drivers to acquire in order to avoid any failure in their perception of the surrounding elements most likely to influence driving safety.
It is extremely dangerous, and can lead to an accident, to drive the vehicle while at the same time carrying out other actions that force you to divert your attention, even for a few seconds, from the rapidly changing visual reality outside.
The actions that most often divert drivers' attention are:
Lighting a cigarette.
Playing with children or animals in the vehicle.
Using a mobile phone.
Staring in the rear-view mirror for too long.
Tuning the radio or adjusting the ventilation system.
Manually cleaning the windows or windscreen.
Trying to kill an insect that has entered the vehicle.
The IPDE system
The IPDE system and defensive driving work as follows:
1. Identify: look at the road and check that there is no person, vehicle, animal or situation that could force the driver to reduce speed, accelerate or turn.
2. Predict: after identifying a potentially dangerous situation, the driver must anticipate what might happen.
3. Decide: the driver's decisions must be based on what can be done to avoid an accident.
4. Execute: the driver must execute what he has decided calmly and cautiously, with sufficient warning to avoid an accident.
The Driver and the Accident
Accidents are the result of the growing number of vehicles on the roads and the lack of personal training for drivers in safety issues.
Individual behaviour is of the greatest importance, as any efforts to improve safety will be useless without the active collaboration of drivers and pedestrians in the use of public roads.
Drivers' main concern should always be safety and smooth traffic flow. By smooth traffic flow, we mean better flow of traffic and therefore greater convenience and economy for drivers.
Most road accidents always have several causes, including the fault of the driver who, through carelessness or lack of concentration, fails to act correctly to minimise the consequences of the inevitable dangers of traffic.
The driver's behaviour is crucial and, while driving, they should avoid any actions that could compromise safe driving.
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