I’ve had the experience of accumulating so many violations that I was down to just one point left on my license.
I’m a poster child for quietly piling up infractions.
Don’t you sometimes get caught in an enforcement operation just by chance at an inopportune moment, or get ticketed by a speed trap or highway patrol for driving at some absurd speed limit you didn’t know about?
Tokyo has tons of spots where you can accidentally become a target for enforcement if you don’t know about them.
But if you check carefully, the number of times you get caught definitely drops dramatically.
Lately, I feel like most people are only looking at their phones and nothing else.
I wonder if they really have to respond to LINE messages that urgently… it’s kind of sad.
Professional drivers who carry passengers really do look carefully.
They check front, back, left, and right meticulously, constantly gathering information about the situation around their vehicle through their own sensory awareness and using it to operate.
In other words, it’s about checking carefully.
Looking ahead is obvious, but constantly glancing at what’s behind you in split-second intervals ☆
You might not know what’s back there, but you’ll instantly notice any change in the rear view or if you’re being followed.
You’ll quickly spot speed enforcement operations, aggressive driving, or other suspicious activity.
Of course, there are blind spots that don’t show up in mirrors, so you have to check those visually.
By repeating this check-one-two process, you might just find yourself living a life that’s kinder to both your license and your wallet.
Not many people get their license points pushed to the brink like that, but
if you consciously think “one more violation and I lose my license!”
and drive that way for a year, there’s a real possibility your safety level will improve dramatically.
Give it a try if you like (*’ω’*) Let’s aim for zero accidents, zero violations, and zero citations!
