Does having an accident make you a better driver?

RiderOnTheStorm

If you have an accident are you more likely to be a better (more careful) driver? Or does it mean you were a bad driver anyway?

KTRIC

Tell you what , you go out have have one and then post afterwards to let us know how you got on.

prospect

K-TRIC wrote:

Tell you what , you go out have have one and then post afterwards to let us know how you got on.

lol

Morlar

I have been in a few (none driving unless you count fishtailing both ways off the m50 once) I think the effects are shortlived. Having said that I hit a dog about 2 weeks ago (it literally ran along the path then did a 90 degree turn into the road) and it still makes me more wary going down that road.

mik_da_man

I've never had a crash (well one little tip:cool: ) but I have had a couple of spins at speed on back roads and have been in 2 bad crashes and i have to say they slowed me down and taught me to be a more careful driver.
Made me realise what COULD happen
The bad accidents I was in were about 3 to 4 years ago and If i find myself flying on country roads they tend to pop into my head and slow me down!!

Saruman

I can only assume the way i voted. I would assume that yes having an accident will make you a better driver.. though i doubt it will last forever. If you tailgate a lot and some day hit someone.. you will not do it for a while but eventually old habbits will come back.

Having never had an accident that was my fault i cant say for certain. I have had idiots run into the back of me as they were not paying attention.

RiderOnTheStorm

well, actually, I have had 2 accidents (both in early years of my driving-life). 1 of which was not my fault and not avoidable (was rear-ended while stopped at lights) and the other was not my fault, but could have been prevented if i left more space between me and car in front. I was not tail-gating but I had large load in car (entire family and stuff going to beach for the day) and i didnt make allowances for extra stopping distances (no large mother-in-law jokes please!) It took me a while to figure out why i did not stop in my usual distance (which i left between me and 'him')..... but i did figure it out. Anyway, they car in front of him braked for no reason on a straight road with no oncomming traffic .... i know i should expect the un-expected, but i didnt and my larger mass on the day meant i hit the car in front (not too hard, noone hurt). The breaker drove off......... neither of us got his reg.

so, my eventual point is, it made me a more carefull driver (for a while). But I still think about it. It was a pain in the a getting car fixed, insurance, hassle, cant change insurance co's for 5 years, etc..... Its not worth it for the sake of going 10mph faster or getting closer!

prospect

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

the other was not my fault, but could have been prevented if i left more space between me and car in front. I was not tail-gating but I had large load in car and i didnt make allowances for extra stopping distances. It took me a while to figure out why i did not stop in my usual distance..... but i did figure it out. Anyway, they car in front of him braked for no reason on a straight road with no oncomming traffic .... i know i should expect the un-expected, but i didnt and my larger mass on the day meant i hit the car in front

No offense mate, but this accident was your fault.

ScumLord

I was only in a car crash once in my life as a passenger. I've never crashed or lost control of my own car (had the back step out and locked the breaks but never enough to bring me to a complete stop) I've been driving for 9 years only diesils though but I do drive them hard.

kippy

Interesting poll,
I think the answer depends on the type of person you are and how you react to various situations.
For me-I had a tip a couple of years ago, similiar to a previous post above, I went into the back of someone - It was my fault. I hadnt been driving long and was too close to a line of about four cars. Front one stopped, all managed to stop apart from me and went into a brand new rented car. Nobody was hurt thank God and the damage cost me two grand to repair so I didnt come out of it too bad. Ever since I have been very wary of stopping distances/tailgating-and when I am a passanger I would generally warn the driver if I thought they were too close to the car in front-annoying I know-but its something I amnt comfortable with.
I think what really made this incident stick in my mind was a fatal accident that happened a few months later not too far from where it happened me. This time the driver who was in a similiar position as me ended up trying to avoid the car in front, and cut across the opposite side of the road-not sure for what reason, could have been a skid or could have intentionally done it. Anyway a large truck was coming in the opposite direction. She had no chance.
Anyway-They way I looked at it-it does not take much to change a small tip into a fatal accident.

Now, Had a similiar thing happened to someone with a different outlook on life/driving etc they may not think twice about it again and possibly have a similiar accident again-this time without the easy escape.

seamus

It depends on the person and the circumstances. Plenty of people will make excuses as to why they were found at fault, think they're hard done by and continue to drive as they have always done. Some will accept they've made a mistake and adjust their behaviour accordingly. Others will refuse to accept that they were in the wrong, but may adjust their behaviour for the short-term - e.g. a guy who cuts up a bike is at fault, but may not accept it because "I couldn't see him, it must have been his fault", however it's likely that'll he still be wary of bikers for a few months regardless.

If it's not the person's fault, then they're less likely to adjust their behaviour because they think they had nothing to adjust. A small minority will examine what they could have done to prevent it in the first place.

kdevitt

I voted Yes, but I suppose it depends on the type of accident. If your'e not at fault, you could become overly nervous and hesitant which isn't a great trait. If you were at fault, then I think its a bit of a wakeup call alright.

SonOfPerdition

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

If you have an accident are you more likely to be a better (more careful) driver? Or does it mean you were a bad driver anyway?

I voted no.

A conservative/nervouse driver is not a 'better' driver.

RiderOnTheStorm

prospect wrote:

No offense mate, but this accident was your fault.

sorry, i was unclear there. i meant i did not cause the accident, but it was my fault for being too close for the conditions i was in. i was used to driving on my own, and didnt allow for heavy load. have learned.

dubtom

I had one accident in a car a few years ago. I did learn a couple of lessons from it. It was my fault, although I was only traveling at about 20 mph, I was distracted by a passenger in the back, took my eye off the road and hit a car.Keeping my distance was one lesson which I constantly have to remind myself of, and always have good tyres on the car.They had needed to be changed but I didn't get around to it.It was a drizzly day and even though the car had antilock brakes it skidded a little, my stopping distance was increased because of it.Tyres are one thing I dont scrimp on now, it worth paying the extra for a good ones, even if it's only a tenner extra each.I may be fooling myself but it's a piece of mind thing.

Tobias Greeshman

I was in an accident a while back, I should of been wearing sun glasses and the car in front braked suddenly, and I hit him. I was completely at fault, and it was a real wake up call. I've become a much safer driver since that though.

So Yes I think if the person is in an accident and they were at fault it can lead them to being more careful drivers, but then again it depends on the person. There's plenty of people out there who just don't learn.

Sleepy

I rear-ended someone about 6/7 years ago when I was driving too close to them. I can safely say I've never again tail-gated anyone in my life. So, I voted yes.

RiderOnTheStorm

its early days in the poll, but it seems from posts that an accident will make you better IF you have learned something from it.

CPG

RiderOnTheStorm wrote:

If you have an accident are you more likely to be a better (more careful) driver? Or does it mean you were a bad driver anyway?

Not, really........ Might make you more carefull

BnA

I am a definite Yes

I had an accident about 5 years ago. It was not entirely my fault but I could (and should) have avoided it (if I had not been trying to tune in the radio).

It wasn't a particularly serious accident in that no one was seriously hurt but it did write off two cars and caused 9 more cars to pile up further back the road. (It was a shocking bad wet morning on the Cork-Mallow road)

Since that I am much much more aware of
a) Leaving a good stopping distance between me and the car in front
b) Increasing that distance for bad conditions
b) Not taking my eyes off the road, no matter how slow traffic is.

Supercell

Definate yes here, once nearly rear ended a merc in front that jammed on their brakes when a pedestrian crossing light changed to amber, I was too close behind and swerved around. There was a school kid waiting to cross and thank bejesus they had the presence of mind to look right before stepping out on to the road otherwise I'd probably have flattened them.

Just thinking about it sends shudders down my spine, I will NEVER EVER let my mind wander like that again and always maintain a much bigger gap from the car infront in case they jam on suddenly.

So yep, an accidant or near accidant has definately made me a safer driver.

kippy

A conservative/nervouse driver is not a 'better' driver.

I totally disagree,
I will not get as close to moving vehicles again when behind them. Surely this makes me a "better" driver than the driver I was before the accident?

RiderOnTheStorm

BnA wrote:

b) Not taking my eyes off the road, no matter how slow traffic is.

yeah, I have to be real carefull of this too! You watch the raod real well @ 100kph but when going in stop / start driving in city (moving 5 feet at a time!) its real easy to tune out and look around.....

Hobbes

I forget the program (no it wasn't fight club ), but it went into risk assessment and how it works.

One thing they noted was that if you were to have an accident then statistically you are more likely to have another accident within a year. Regardless if you were at fault or not.

The Muppet

I would say probably yes. I wrote off 2 cars in the 80's when I was in my teens, one into a ditch the other into a juggernaugh, after that I gave up driving for a few years when I started again about 7 years ago I found myself to be a lot more careful and aware of hazards and driving conditions. While ageing would probably account for some of that I still get flashbacks of my accidents which definitly effect the way I drive. I would noyt class myself as a nervous driver ,just careful.

SonOfPerdition

kippy wrote:

I totally disagree,
I will not get as close to moving vehicles again when behind them. Surely this makes me a "better" driver than the driver I was before the accident?

Relative to your previous driving then yes, but that doesn't make you a better driver than others.

I was talking about the whole driving experince not just one aspect of it, and I was keeping in mind all road users. In my view, a nervous driver is a hazard on the road. Conservative drivers are not as good as a confident driver who has mastery of his vehicle and respects other road users. After an accident many people will become nervous behind the wheel or be over cautious and have no confidence.

I know many people who have had accidents and they are poor drivers still. I also know some who learned from their accidents and are excellent drivers now and yes in their case they are better drivers.

But, my point was, having an accident won't automatically make you a better driver. It's all down to the drivers attitude, confidence, and experience.


I was a bit glib with my first post in this thread, hope i'm a little clearer.


SOP

TempestSabre

Depends entirely if you are the kinda person who learns from their mistakes.

ambro25

What I believe the answer must depend upon:

* your age: the younger, the lesser the effect (how long the 'lesson' remains learned, if you will)

* your responsibilities: the more, the bigger the effect (dependants, whether family, wife, kids, etc. or employees or...)

* your driving experience: well, it ain't rocket science but... you know what I mean. (and please no reply posts like I'm 19, been driving 2 years and never an accident-yadda-yadda-yadda)

* last but not least, your self-confidence: post-bender, are you the shaky type, the ice cool type, or somewhere in-between?

I'm in my 30s, been driving 17 years, been in enough really bad and lesser ones, have always been the ice-cool type post-accidents (when personal state allowed :rolleyes:), and am now (with dependants, bills, duties etc.) driving like people I used to despise and shout at in my late teens

My €0.02

TempestSabre

Theres a saying in avation. "There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots"

I wonder about the "better" driver. Is that meant to mean "safer" ? Better could mean anything really. But its just logic really. You practise things so that you've done them lots of times so you know what to do in that situation when it arises again. Obviously if you are more experienced, you are likely to encounter situations before, and will know how best to deal them.

But as has been said already. If you don't learn from your mistakes. Experience and practise, is of no benefit either.