I never saw him. He came out of nowhere.
The sad part about these statements is that in a way they are true. But the fact that they may be true doesn’t make them valid excuses for an accident happening. What it does mean is that the driver either didn’t know what to look for in the traffic stream or he was inattentive to what was going on -- or, what is usually more common, he looked right at the source of danger but didn’t SEE it.
How can you look right at something and not see it? Simple! The next time you SEE someone look at his watch, ask him a few seconds later what time it is. Almost without fail he’ll look at his watch again. The first time he looked, he got only a vague impression of time in reference to some event. For example, he may have been thinking “It isn’t time for lunch yet” or “I have plenty of time before I catch the train”
The good driver knows he’s got to keep his eyes moving that he can’t afford to stare at any one fixed point for more than a second or tow. He knows that the faster he drives, the farther down the road he must look. He knows it’s important to check his inside and outside rear view mirrors. His eyes are constantly moving -- staying on one scene for only a second or two and then moving to another.
Good driving begins with good seeing habits. Seeing habits have to be developed through training and experience if you, as a driver, want to stay accident-free. The good driver knows what to look for and how to use his eyes properly so nothing important is missed. Then, his brain receives the information it needs to direct him safely in traffic. It works like a computer. If you put in the right information in the right way, you’ll get back the right answers.