How do you define/describe a "good driver"?

A good driver is a driver that drives denfensively. always looking ahead to look for any vehicles that might appear to be driving dangerously. example: a drunk driver weaving all over the road. a good driver slows down in inclimate weather and to be prepared to stop at a moments notice. a good driver has his/her vehicle under control at all times. a good driver avoids anger on the road. a good driver uses his seatbelt and obeys all traffic laws. and finally, a good driver is a courteous driver. to move over and yield to oncoming vehicles on the interstate.

Good question. jp

Here is a lot of opinions on the topic.

In the first place I would describe it as obeying the traffic laws. Beyond that, I would say that a good driver is a calm, defensive driver who pays attention to all that is going on around him and tries to avoid getting into or causing problems for other drivers and pedestrians. Sometimes that means having to speed up or slow down or swerve (and possibly break a speed law) to avoid an accident. Good drivers are polite and let people merge, even when the mergers don’t have the right of way. Good drivers don’t tailgait or flash their lights at other drivers who drive poorly, they just try to drive safely themselves and avoid causing more problems. Good drivers try to remain un-distracted by staying off the phone, keeping the music low and by not eating or reading or applying makeup while driving and by keeping other distractions inside or outside the car to a minimum.

I think that I am a pretty good driver. Two things that cause problems for me is when another driver is driving poorly (speeding, swerving, tailgating, cutting off) and catches me off guard and the other is when people in my own car won’t shut up. I’ve had to tell one of my good friends to hush up while I’m in heavy traffic. Luckily, she’s never offended by that.

One who does it only as often as necessary, which in a civil society means close to never.

ME! I’m an excellent driver!

One who keeps his head out of his ass while he is driving.

I might sound like a dick announcing this, but I can cross everything off of @john65pennington‘s list. I do look at what everyone else is doing with, as well as inside of, their cars; wearing a belt is impulsive; and I even come to actual stops at stop signs. etc. etc.

I don’t know what really constitutes a good driver but when I first learned to drive my Pop’s told me to always know/anticipate what the other driver is going to do. That’s easier said than done but it has worked for me.

Being a person who has been involved in too many wrecks to any longer feel comfortable in a vehicle with others driving, my biggest peeve is following too closely. My boyfriend does that and it drives me nuts. I think he does it mostly now bc he knows it drives me crazy. Guys are mean like that sometimes? A good driver stays a car length back for every 10 miles per hour he is driving. You never know when the driver in front may drop their stupid phone they are talking on and bend down to get it and hits the brakes without thinking…. then bam you go into them if you are tailgating. A good driver notices all that is going on around them. A good driver doesn’t depend on the side mirror to tell them the lane is clear next to them to move into but will turn their head to check the blindspot before moving over. A good driver doesn’t do the speed limit or less in the passing lane. Ho hummm just a few of my thoughts on the subject… for what they are worth. ;^)

A good driver obeys the speed limits, doesn’t drive aggressively, uses turn signals, pays attention to the road and keeps their speed down when weather conditions (snow. sleet, ice, rain/downpours) are poor.

@gravity It drives me nuts when people drive up my ass like that. ugh.
I suppose common sense does it really when it comes to driving.

I think that the best driver makes the people safe and relaxed.

Here are the hallmarks of a good driver:

Good drivers never pause longer than a moment at a stop sign. A good driver immediately and observantly, goes when it is their turn with no countable pausing. Anything else causes confusion.

Good drivers, when approaching a 4-way stop, as a matter of habit looks at all the cars ahead of time as he or she approaches, and then figures out ahead of time who should go first, and in what order.

Good drivers enter freeway onramps at a high speed, which makes merging safer and more maneuverable (instead of acting all scared, slow, hesitant, stupid and timid).

Good drivers go over speed bumps without having to stop. Speed bumps are not “stop bumps” and good drivers know this. Trucks and those with broken shocks are the only exceptions.

Good drivers never shark around parking lots in circles hoping to wait and look for the “front” space. Good drivers just park, get out, and go, without delaying those behind them… even if that means parking in the back of the lot.

Good drivers never drive slower in the left lanes of the highways and freeways. Good drivers always go faster if they are on the left, unless in a traffic jam where it can’t be helped. Good drivers realize there’s no excuse to stubbornly go slower in the left lane.

Good drivers speed up prior to going up to hills (because good drivers understand the laws of physics).

Good drivers are not afraid of trucks and not afraid passing them.

Good drivers never put their brakes on when no obstacles or stops are ahead. Good drivers realize the car will slow down just by letting the gas up a bit. Brakes are way overused by people.

A good drivers’ first instinctual snap reaction in an emergency should not be “to brake immediately”... but to instantly recognize what’s going on and brake if needed, or speed up and out of the way, if needed.

Good drivers never hog the entire lane to make a right turn. Good drivers use the land closest to the shoulder to turn, staying out of the way of vehicles who are not turning.

Good drivers have a fast reaction time when a light turns green.

Good drivers never get in the carpool lane only to drive at a speed lower than that of the general freeway. Good drivers in the carpool lane always, and without exception unless they’re caught behind a bad driver, should be going faster than EVERY lane on the freeway. Otherwise, the good driver realizes not to be in the carpool lane.

Good drivers do not tailgate people who are innocent and are themselves stuck behind a slow dummy.

Good drivers do not come to almost-stops when turning right into parking lots. They just go right in, without delaying the cars behind them.

Good drivers do not use drive-thrus unless they and their passengers already know what they want to buy. Good drivers also never use drive-thrus if the order is huge. Unless the main seating area is closed of course.

Good drivers realize that traffic patterns mimic jazz songs, and the best drivers flow with the jazz of the traffic. The really bad drivers are the ones who are out-of-touch with traffic flow and cause delays (or bunchups, which are dangerous) through their indecision or bad choices.

A good driver can anticipate mistakes made by other drivers.

@gravity @stardust Tailgating angers me more than any thing else. Especially when the waether is bad, the roads are sleet/snow covered, the normal speed limit is 45 mph and in these bad conditions you’re doing 35 to 40 mph and get some jackoff in an oversized pickup truck riding your bumper.

@mattbrowne Yes, maybe that’s why I get so nervous driving through busy intersections. People will sometimes tell me to just go (especially if I’m stopped at a redlight and it turns green) because I usually will hesitate for a few seconds to make sure oncoming traffic will stop. I’ve been nearly killed and had 2 of my vehicles mangled on several occasions because the other drivers didn’t stop when they should of. I don’t wait for the vehicles to stop but at least show an effort they’re slowing down. I’m lucky enough to be alive here typing this right now.

@Paradox – Hesitating for a few seconds isn’t necessary because most of the other drivers won’t make mistakes all the time. The challenge is being able to tell the difference.

@mattbrowne Yes I said to be able to anticipate if the other drivers are slowing down. However I’ve guessed wrong on two occasions, one resulted in an accident that nearly killed me and the other a very close call. Seeing how aggressive so many drivers are these days, how most drivers don’t obey the speed limits I do not put much faith in other drivers anymore. I definitely make sure I look both ways before I move on green.

@Kraigmo AARP posterchild in the making?

A good driver waits till he hits a red light before rolling one.

@Paradox – I agree with you. Better safe than sorry !

@woodcutter , the stereotypical “AARP” posterchild is slow-as-fnck