Chapter 1: You in the driver's seat

(Learn to Drive Smart, March 2026 edition)

This short chapter is about the driver rather than the car: the choices you make before and while you drive. The manual sums it up as being a thinking driver, one who puts safety first.

Be fit to drive. Anger and frustration blur judgment and slow your reactions, so do an illness or injury that keeps you from thinking clearly. Do not drive when you are very tired, and never after alcohol or drugs: the manual counts an impaired driver among the worst hazards on the road.

Make good decisions. The manual breaks this into four habits. Keep learning after you are licensed, because experience can turn into overconfidence and your health can change. Plan your trip so you are not tempted to rush. Read the signs, signals and markings, and watch what other road users are likely to do next. And decide for yourself: pressure from impatient drivers, friends or car advertising is not a reason to take a risk.

Take responsibility. Know the limits of your own skill and of your vehicle. Make sure every passenger is buckled in and that children have the right restraint; smoking in a vehicle is illegal when anyone under 16 is aboard. You share the road with pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles, trucks, trains, ambulances and animals, and your choices affect all of them.