You’ve seen that driver. They make the turn a little too wide. The green arrow is not green enough. They just backed right out of that parking space! And my favorite, the Friday Night Dragster…the one that lines up at the stop light, in the lane that ends and merges into the one you occupy. Oh yes, the green light is the drop of the flag. The race is on! They will edge you out, hoping you’ll back off to avoid the collision as their lane merges into yours. Oh yes, what we have here is a small sample of H.U.A.S.

Head   Up   Arse   Syndrome

H.U.A.S. It’s everywhere. It doesn’t matter whether the act was reckless, as in our drag racer, or careless as the absent minded wide turn driver. The H.U.A.S. driver wreaks havoc on our roadways. If you allow it, the H.U.A.S. driver will affect you. At worst, you’ll have a collision. At least, you’ll burn as bright red as the traffic signal they ignored.

But it doesn’t have too. A defense to the H.U.A.S driver is to be aware. Be aware of your surroundings and the actions of drivers around you. Know the limitations of your driving and the vehicle you drive. Here are some things to help:

• Consider escape routes – where can you change lanes safely and fast?
• Where is their focus – is the driver looking at you, or elsewhere?
• Can they see you – large vehicles and those backing have limited sight
• Is the driver moving – they could be looking to change lanes
• Scan ahead – lanes ending, cars exiting, stopped vehicles create hazards
• Patience – sometimes is best just to wait, hesitate a bit. Use the brake pedal. I admit, its frustrating to deal with the H.U.A.S. driver and nothing feels better than to leave that Friday Night Dragster stuck trying to merge into traffic. But at what cost?

Ask yourself, who is waiting for you to arrive? Look in the rearview mirror, who’s expecting you to transport them safely?