Why does track driving make simple instructions so hard to follow? | Articles

Look Ahead!

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Despite our lofty position atop the food chain, we humans are still just animals. We don’t shed this identity when we strap on our helmets. 

On the contrary, our most basic animal instincts bubble to the surface the instant we drive onto a race track. At speed, our adrenal glands fire off at a furious rate, jacking up our heart rate, quickening our respiration, and drenching us in perspiration.

This is brought to us courtesy of the brain’s fight-or-flight reflex, a vestige of the survival instinct ingrained in us from prehistoric times–back when our extreme sport of choice was evading hungry saber-toothed tigers. 

Thanks to the miracle of evolution, those with strong fight-or-flight reflexes lived long enough to procreate and thus became our ancient ancestors. Those lacking such reflexes became satisfying snacks. 

For us drivers, the most important component of fight-or-flight is its effect on our vision. At high speed, an adrenalin-charged student driver will experience tunnel vision: a drastic narrowing of their field of vision. 

Why? Because that stress response commands our brains to concentrate every bit of our attention on the threat, to the exclusion of practically all else. 

Picture the pivotal scene from a classic action film: When the bad guy pulls out a pistol and points it at our hero, what is the inevitable follow-up camera shot? It’s a close-up of the sinister muzzle, usually accompanied by scary music on the soundtrack. The camera shows us what our hero sees–the threat (“fight!”). Then the music depicts his reaction: panic (“no, wait, flee!”).

Similarly, on track, an inexperienced driver’s field of vision narrows so much, it is as if he or she is looking at the world through a drinking straw. Worse, that straw is likely pointed at the perceived threat–a point just a few feet directly in front of the car–instead of at the proper place. 

Why? Because, like our movie hero, our…