FURTHER EDUCATION
'KEEP YOUR OPTIONS OPEN'

From the anticipatory driving principles Liikenneturva has developed the training model of 'Keep your options open'.

The basic ideas in safe driving are: 

• ability to identify the risks in time
• ability to compensate risks, i.e. to take them into consideration in one's own actions in a manner that
• the driver's chances for safe actions, keeping his options open remain acceptable and relevant.
   

Anticipatory behaviour as mindset and  driving model

The Finnish further education of drivers is based on the idea of defensive (or anticipatory) driving. Fluid and safe transportation requires anticipation skills from the road users. Seen in a broader context, anticipation skills include readiness to:

• avoid danger situations;
  including identifying risks, correct situational speed, proper safety distance, anticipating other people's actions, transparency of one's own actions and acting according to rules and regulations.
• take proper action in an emergency situation; including controlled emergency braking, avoiding  obstacles and righting slides,
• take proper action in an accident
  to minimise the consequences of the accident
  including the use of safety equipment, selecting the collision location and emergency first aid,
   

Risk factors 

• traffic environment and circumstances:
  the condition of the road, darkness, intense traffic,
• other drivers and their vehicles:
  speeders, slow vehicles, heavy traffic etc.,
• light traffic:
  surprising actions of children, slow elderly, bikers in the dark etc.,
• the objective and destination of driving:
  leisure time travel, social pressure in the car etc.,
• the driver him/herself;
  one's driving condition, experience, skills, attitude towards safety etc and
• one's own vehicle:
  the condition and qualities of the vehicle, carrying load etc. 
  

PRINCIPLES OF ANTICIPATORY DRIVING

 Take anticipatory action - keep your options open
  

As the driver identifies the risks in time, he/she has a chance to adjust his/her own driving in relation to the risks, so that the options remain open, and there is both time and space to take action. Example	Action time 10 seconds. Keep your options open in order to avoid danger
If options diminish
Action time 2-3 seconds If you allow your options to diminish, you have acces only to limited measures and they can be demanding	An anticipatory driver is prepared to take action also in situations where the options are severely limited. An accident looms. There is only two or three seconds to avoid it. What is there to do? Example
If there are no longer options
An accident may be inevitable at times, and one must prepare for that eventuality as well. However, one can act beforehand in order to limit the negative consequences Example	Action time 0 seconds Prepare for the consequences of the accident in advance

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