After you've analyzed a number of accident reports, you find certain phrases that pop up repeatedly.   One of these is "I never saw him".   Another is "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 eyes faithfully send impressions back to the brain the same way that a camera records all the details of a scene on film.   But even though the brain receives every detail of information that comes through the eyes, it is very selective in what it uses.   It ignores everything except those items that are meaningful to it and have some bearing on the immediate situation.  

For example, when you are driving, you eyes will tell your brain that the sky is blue, the grass is green, there's an airplane off in the distance, the on-coming cars are green, blue, etc.   Even though all this is being fed in, your grain doesn't want to concern itself with all these details.   What it's really interested in is what color the traffic light up ahead may be, whether the car coming at you through an intersection is slowing down or speeding, or that the pedestrian up ahead might step off the curb into the path of your vehicle.   Through experience you've learned that those are some of the things that are important in driving.   Now, here's where a lot of us get into trouble.   Either through lack of experience or lack of training, we never learn how to use our eyes while driving or how to sort out important things from the unimportant ones.

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.