Pilots are better drivers

Erice

Erice

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Erice
I just got a newsletter from the local autobody shop with the following blurb:

A recent study of auto accidents for the insurance industry has found that doctors are the most likely category of driver to have an accident--second only to high school students. Rounding out the top five are lawyers, architects, and real estate agents. Cell phone use is the suspected factor. The top five safest drivers? Housewives, politicians, pilots, firemen, and farmers.
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I won't comment on why I'm on the mailing list for an autobody repair shop :)
________
KZ900B
 
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Don't most politicians get driven places rather than drive places? Hard to get in an accident when you aren't driving. Doctors I'll agree are more likely from the doctors I've known, but housewives?! That seems off to me.

Pilots it would make sense to be better drivers, of course. ;)
 
Housewives, politicians, pilots, firemen, and farmers.
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Let's look at this list more closely.

Housewives - Not the ones I know...
Politicians - When do they drive themselves?
Pilots - I could see this what with all the eyes outside the cockpit training
Firemen - I could probably see this too.
Farmers - What are you going to hit?
 
I was driving around Miami with a bunch of work colleagues. One of the guys spoke and said "you can tell you are a pilot". I asked and his response floored me. He said "because I see you reacting to things that are happening way up in front of us an preparing for the worst."
 
smigaldi said:
I was driving around Miami with a bunch of work colleagues. One of the guys spoke and said "you can tell you are a pilot". I asked and his response floored me. He said "because I see you reacting to things that are happening way up in front of us an preparing for the worst."
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This is the biggest thing I noticed changing in the way I drive after becoming a pilot- although I always have tried to anticipate what's ahead, I am a lot more proactive about it now.

+++

So, what about lawyer-pilots? Do the favorable elements offset the negative ones? FWIW, although I have been a lawyer longer than I have been a pilot, I identify myself as a pilot before lawyer, and try to conduct my aviating in a professional kind of way.
 
ive driven with several pilots. i can see that claiming a greater level of situational awareness may justify the seemingly awful driving habits ive observed. i cant really say that im a great driver either, but ive never been in anything worse than a fender bender, and not even that for the last 6 years.
 
I've long since believed my flying has influenced how I drive. I'm constantly "scanning" my rear view and side view mirrors as well as looking out both sides after looking across the front.

But, it may also affect my attempt to improve performance and go faster as well. I've yet to get a good climb rate, however. :)
 
tonycondon said:
the seemingly awful driving habits ive observed.
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I pretty much suck at driving with all my terrible habits I won't admit to...and I have way way too many speeding tickets. Somehow I seem to do OK though. I've never had an accident and I've driven through plenty of awful snow storms without issue.
 
KennyFlys said:
I've long since believed my flying has influenced how I drive. I'm constantly "scanning" my rear view and side view mirrors as well as looking out both sides after looking across the front.
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Am I the only one who did those things anyway before I started flying? :dunno:
 
Most pilots I drive with scare the hell out of me. Kinda spaced out (not you Rob). Funny as I usually fly with them first.
 
That's funny. I've felt way more spacey lately than I used to be, which I would think would make me a worse driver.

The owner of a local FBO drives a very identifiable early 70's Harvest Gold Maverick. I've seen him driving around and it always amazes me that on the road, this old guy is really pokey....almost hesitant. But behind a yoke, he has no compunction in landing an airplane at 70 MPH in a crosswind on a runway not much wider than a side street. I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not the only one who seems to approach flying and driving much differently.
 
smigaldi said:
I was driving around Miami with a bunch of work colleagues. One of the guys spoke and said "you can tell you are a pilot". I asked and his response floored me. He said "because I see you reacting to things that are happening way up in front of us an preparing for the worst."
Click to expand...
I did that long before I became a student pilot, but then again driving fire apparatus and ambulances for a decade will do that for you.

I've long since believed my flying has influenced how I drive. I'm constantly "scanning" my rear view and side view mirrors as well as looking out both sides after looking across the front.
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Good to know I'm not the only one who does this. My fiancee thinks I am nuts. "No honey, nuts would be calling out potential traffic conflicts." :rofl:

This thread reminds me of a thread on another forum about how you know you are addicted to Flight Simulator: http://forums.vatsim.net/viewtopic....addicted&sid=a9a2128f8d17dae0780c28f828c7d9ed
Some of the highlights:
....you enjoy landings where the speed of the crosswinds is higher than your age in years (this also means you maybe borderline psychotic)
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……If you ring in sick and speak to your boss, closing the conversation with 'roger', ‘affirm’, or even 'that’s copied’.
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...you sit in the car, and before turning the ignition on you repeat mentally... "cleared for engine start and pushback".
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When behind a trailer truck on the highway, you wonder if you have adequate separation for wake turbulence...
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When your 3rd grader is failing Math, but can decipher an Enroute chart flawlessly.
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When your wife smacks you for requesting IFR clearance to the Sack.
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While driving in your car, you continually make traffic calls - regardless if someone else (your wife) is in the car with you:
"Liberty Bravo Uniform Uniform One Seven Niner, Traffic at your 10 O'clock and 20 feet. Northbound Ford Explorer changing lanes from your left to right."
"Socal, Liberty One Seven Niner has the Explorer in sight"
"Liberty One Seven Niner, follow that traffic, cleared for the Barlow Trail East Off Ramp Approach"
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jesse said:
I've never had an accident and I've driven through plenty of awful snow storms without issue.
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...tell us again about that transmission, Jesse?... :D
 
A recent study of auto accidents for the insurance industry has found that doctors are the most likely category of driver to have an accident--second only to high school students. Rounding out the top five are lawyers, architects, and real estate agents. Cell phone use is the suspected factor. The top five safest drivers? Housewives, politicians, pilots, firemen, and farmers.
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Here's a study that says that yakking on a cell phone impairs a driver as much as a .08:

http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1
 
Pilawt said:
Here's a study that says that yakking on a cell phone impairs a driver as much as a .08:

http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1
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That's a given. I saw traffic change while on the road as courier for the last twelve years. During that time, cell phones went from practically non-existent to the hands of nearly every driver and then nearly every pedestrian.

I'm convinced traffic congestion would drop by at least 15% if handheld cell phones were outlawed. Watch how those on a phone drives. You'll see them change lanes without looking. They will be dragging along in the left lane, even the HOV lane. When signals drop, they repeatedly take the phone from their ear and look at the display. But, not once will they look in the mirrors or anywhere around their vehicle.

I describe it as "having a cell phone glued to the side of your head" and it mysteriously keeps the driver from turning their head and being at all aware of what is going on around them. In comparing driving to flying, I can reasonably predict what will happen with a gust, where it's coming from and how it may be affected at different points along my approach and landing. I don't have the slightest dang clue how a driver is going to act in that traffic lane immediately to my side, not more than three feet away.

I had a few clients learn I was becoming a flight instructor and respond with, "Isn't that dangerous?" I replied, "No, being a courier is dangerous." :eek:
 
Pilawt said:
Here's a study that says that yakking on a cell phone impairs a driver as much as a .08:

http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1
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There was another study that showed that talking to a passenger IN THE SAME CAR AS YOU was the equivalent to talking on a cell phone performance wise. The only difference was the second set of eyes *might* help with a traffic conflict.

Sorry, but driving while talking does not affect my driving performance, but it does affect my conversational skills.

Driviate, Navigate, Communicate. I'll often have to give a "What did you just say? I was watching the idiots around me," to anyone I am talking to.
 
Ed, I'm sure you would never be like the contractor in a work truck who, with cell phone in one hand and clipboard in the other, blew through a red light at full speed without even knowing it was there; or the grinning soccer mom in a minivan whose jaw never stopped flapping even as she skidded to a stop past the crosswalk against a red, just a couple of days later -- both of whom avoided hitting me on the cross street only because I saw them coming and took evasive action. Now whenever I see that tell-tale hand-to-ear silhouette on the road, I assume that driver will do exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time, and I am seldom disappointed.

Mind you, I'm not complaining ... I'm a personal injury attorney, and drivers with cell phones have been great for business. ;)
 
EdFred said:
There was another study that showed that talking to a passenger IN THE SAME CAR AS YOU was the equivalent to talking on a cell phone performance wise. The only difference was the second set of eyes *might* help with a traffic conflict.

Sorry, but driving while talking does not affect my driving performance, but it does affect my conversational skills.

Driviate, Navigate, Communicate. I'll often have to give a "What did you just say? I was watching the idiots around me," to anyone I am talking to.
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Think another passenger is bad, try screaming, fighting kids in the back seat!

Eddie touched me! Are we there yet?!

LOL!

You can always put the cell phone down if you're in a congested area. Can't say the same for kids!

Let's ban kids from cars!:yes::D
 
Pilawt said:
Mind you, I'm not complaining ... I'm a personal injury attorney, and drivers with cell phones have been great for business. ;)
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A cell phone chaser?
ROFL.gif
 
The cell phone isn't the issue, its the ability to prioritize and multi task. As pilots we've had training in flying & talking while maintaining parallel lines of thought.

And cell phone danger isn't limited to drivers. Supposedly 1 in 10 cell users in London walk into light poles. Instead of letting the texters/chatters learn to prioritize obstacle avoidance a little higher they opted to pad the poles. (really, I'm serious)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,335896,00.html
 
Pilawt said:
Here's a study that says that yakking on a cell phone impairs a driver as much as a .08:

http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1
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Actually there was a similar discussion on the Purple Board. That actual study you cited was called into question by some other psychologists who thought the Utah researchers overstated the degree of impairment with the analogy they drew. Yes, there is impairment but I believe you would have to do far more research than what they did to definitively say one way or the other how drinking and cell phone use compare.
 
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For further profits:
article said:
The survey found that almost two thirds of respondents lost peripheral vision while texting, and more than a quarter wanted lines on the pavement to create routes for texters to walk while using their phones.
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Just look up. :rofl:
 
jesse said:
bleh. You have the memory of a woman. That doesn't count.
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Now THAT sounds like something a woman would say! The conversation seems to go something like this:

Man: "So how many men have you slept with total?"
Woman: "2"
Man: "2? What about-"
Woman: "That doesn't count."
Man: "Ok, but what about-"
Woman: "That DEFINITELY doesn't count."
Man: "So your actual number is...?"
Woman: "37."

Interestingly, insurance companies and STDs don't seem to care whether or not you think it counts... ;)
 
Pi1otguy said:
The cell phone isn't the issue, its the ability to prioritize and multi task.
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Acutally they do have their priorities sorted out very well. Watch anyone at home, in the office, behind the wheel or having an indepth conversation with someone. No matter how preoccupied they are doing something else, the instant a phone rings, they HAVE to answer the phone immediately. I've even had a several people that I was talking to face to face with about something important get seriously torqued off at me because I wouldn't answer the phone that was only starting it's second ring. It wasn't because of the ringing sound, it was because I ignored it and wouldn't answer it. Somewhere along the line, people have been trained that the phone is of utmost importance. That's their #1 priority and most likely the problem. A driver drops the vehicle to drive the all important phone. A pilot drops the radio to fly the plane.

The survey found that almost two thirds of respondents lost peripheral vision while texting, and more than a quarter wanted lines on the pavement to create routes for texters to walk while using their phones.
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Those same people are most likely the ones that I call "latchers." They pull up in your blind spot or tailgate you at 5ft at 60mph and stay there. They put themselves in a position where they can shut their brain off and let YOU drive for them.

I have a way to get people to hang up and look around them. Let me paint about 20% of those lines...right into poles and the side of buildings...
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Interestingly, insurance companies and STDs don't seem to care whether or not you think it counts... ;)
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There was no insurance claim or police report. It wasn't even an accident as much as an avoidance which happened to cause a freak transmission incident.
 
fgcason said:
No matter how preoccupied they are doing something else, the instant a phone rings, they HAVE to answer the phone immediately. ...Somewhere along the line, people have been trained that the phone is of utmost importance. That's their #1 priority and most likely the problem.
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Bingo. Sorry, I am paying for my phone, it is there for MY convenience, not for those who call me. You start paying my phone bill, it becomes for your convenience.
 
EdFred said:
Bingo. Sorry, I am paying for my phone, it is there for MY convenience, not for those who call me. You start paying my phone bill, it becomes for your convenience.
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There are only two people I will take their call immediately. The rest will have to wait if I am doing something
 
jesse said:
There was no insurance claim or police report. It wasn't even an accident as much as an avoidance which happened to cause a freak transmission incident.
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I was just giving you a hard time and making a joke, Jesse, no need for an explanation. :)
 
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