Are Pilots Better Auto Drivers?

Daleandee

Daleandee

Final Approach
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Dale Andee
I wonder this because pilots are generally people with a great ability to multitask and look ahead and have a plan for what is going to happen in the next few moments instead of waiting for a situation to develop and then try and figure out what to do.

I see drivers in cars all the time that miss opportunities to take a break, or set themselves up to keep moving. Many times they come to a stop and take forever to find a gap large enough that they feel safe using.

Sometimes it's making a left turn (this can take all day), merging into traffic, or watching the flow of traffic so as to make the lights without a bunch of stopping & starting, etc. Why do drivers race to a light that is solid red only to have me roll past them as it turns green?

I wonder ... does the average driver know what an acceleration lane is for? In places where there are roundabouts ... why are drivers stopping when nobody is coming? Do they still teach drivers the proper behavior of an all way stop? It don't seem so.

Perhaps it's because so many drivers are face down in their phones ...

OK ... rant over!
 
In my experience, myself included, pilots tend to drive fast. I've found myself coming out of the airport after a flight doing 75 in a 55 before I even knew it, probably because my perception of speed got used to the airplane?
 
How does one define "better driver"? What measure do you use?
 
Based on the people I flew with, no.
 
Everskyward said:
Based on the people I flew with, no.
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Unfortunately, I agree with you.

Why?

Other people have called me a good driver. That probably makes me a bad pilot. And you knowing I was a pilot was probably the reason why you would not allow me to drive you home after having BBQ in SF. Either that or...
 
How does one evaluate a chitty pilot with a great driver? Then we have ‘recently of experience’ or doing what’s one is familiar with.

Yeah, in general a pilot has to be ready for the unexpected, that is expected though.
 
People who are predisposed to being decent drivers are predisposed to being interested in flying. I don't think that flying makes you a better driver any more than being a sailor or locomotive engineer makes you a better driver.
 
Brad Z said:
I don't think that flying makes you a better driver any more than being a sailor or locomotive engineer makes you a better driver.
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I wasn't really suggesting that being a pilot made one a better driver but rather that the traits found in pilots might translate to better habits when doing duties behind the wheel such as scanning traffic, knowing how to set up a turn by judging a break in a line of oncoming traffic, recognizing when your speed is overtaking the vehicle ahead before you can read the tag number, etc.

When doing ultralight training many moons ago it seemed that students that were interested in the arts were more focused and more easily grasped concepts that others.
 
What traits of a bad pilot would make them a good driver? (asking for a friend)

Nauga,
who brings down the average
 
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JOhnH said:
I don't trust any driver that continually drives down the center line.
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does it help that my instructor complained that I tended to land to the left of the centerline?
 
Bob Noel said:
does it help that my instructor complained that I tended to land to the left of the centerline?
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So long as it was side-by-side seating, and he was on the right side of the centerline, I'd think it was OK.
 
Dunno, but in my car I can hold final at precisely 60 mph indicated before I brake to turn on my street.
 
Is it foggy, or am I under the hood?
 
I think I’d say our training makes us better drivers. Our ability to multitask, energy management has been mentioned a few times and I couldn’t agree more. I bet more of us check before going on green (“cleared for take off” and we still scan final) or glance down upcoming crossing streets for someone who’s gunna blast through their stop sign than non pilot minded drivers...

By no means does this mean that there are no good drivers who aren’t also pilots, and I agree it may be hard to quantify, but intuitively I concur with OP...
 
Because they worry about losing their certificates, pilots are less likely to drive with a little buzz on. Otherwise, no.
 
I am a very good driver and a mediocre pilot. The vast majority of other people on the road are very poor drivers. This became even more apparent after I started driving a high quality European automobile.
 
I’m probably average. I’ve gotten into 2 accidents. 1 was my fault, the other wasn’t
 
I think being a long-time road bicyclist has made me a better driver, and being a pilot has made me a better humble-braggart.
 
Bill said:
Along those lines, I think being a motorcyclist will improve your driving more than will being a pilot.
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I'll second that, but modify it slightly... being a motorcyclists can (rather than "will) improve your driving. There are too many bikers doing stupid biker tricks. (or do you draw a distinction between biker and motorcyclist?)
 
Bob Noel said:
I'll second that, but modify it slightly... being a motorcyclists can (rather than "will) improve your driving. There are too many bikers doing stupid biker tricks. (or do you draw a distinction between biker and motorcyclist?)
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I do, but I'm not going further along that thread.
 
I'm a Driving Instructor - DI. I use some flying analogies when I teach young people how to drive. I had one student give me a hand signal (you know - left, right, stop...), pointed his left hand up and and said "Up". Probably a future aviator, or at least kite flyer.

Some day I hope to be a DII...
 
I believe becoming a pilot, especially one who flies a lot of $100 hamburger trips, makes one a WORSE driver. We can gawk around a lot more and sightsee when flying since we have no concern for a center line or shoulder. That's one of the main joys of flying low and slow.

And those bad habits have, unfortunately, bled over a bit into my driving.
 
TailWheelChamp said:
I believe becoming a pilot, especially one who flies a lot of $100 hamburger trips, makes one a WORSE driver. We can gawk around a lot more and sightsee when flying since we have no concern for a center line or shoulder. That's one of the main joys of flying low and slow.

And those bad habits have, unfortunately, bled over a bit into my driving.
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This is me. Since it was common to look at charts while flying, I found myself doing it in a car. When flying, wandering off course by a few hundred feet is no big deal. It is when driving.

I have recently found that riding a bicycle has made me more attentive as a driver. Riding next to a row of parked cars, you need to be attentive to being doored, and are especially wary when you see the front wheels of a parked car turn toward the traffic side, or turn at all.
 
Pilots probably check the guages more than the average driver, so if pulling off the road rather than continuing on with no oil pressure until you break down in traffic makes you a better driver than yeah, pilots are better drivers.
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Pilots probably check the guages more than the average driver, so if pulling off the road rather than continuing on with no oil pressure until you break down in traffic makes you a better driver than yeah, pilots are better drivers.
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Unfortunately most modern cars don’t have many gauges, just lights.
 
I was at a aviation safety seminar years ago, and the speaker asked everyone to raise their hand if they do a pre-flight before they fly. Everyone's hand goes up, as expected. Then he asks everyone to raise their hand if they at least walked around their car and looked at all 4 tires before driving to the airport. Everyone's hands go down. His point was on accepting risk, and how you accept more risk driving than flying, and also to consider how much risk you are willing to accept on different flights.
 
Bill said:
Along those lines, I think being a motorcyclist will improve your driving more than will being a pilot.
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I tend to think my motorcycle riding has sharpened my auto driving skills as to scanning for idiots, checking mirrors and gauges, and especially road surface conditions. In an auto a few pot holes, water puddles, and grass clippings mean hardly nothing but on a bike they can be hurtful ...
 
Sac Arrow said:
The logic works, but that hasn't generally been my experience.
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It might not be universal, but the majority of pilots I know are extremely cautious about driving after drinking.
 
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