Originally Posted by Helmet Head
What makes it doable is that at any given moment, the number of drivers that are relevant to your safety (the ones you need to verify) and for the immediate future (0-5 seconds, say), are usually very limited. Plus, by planning ahead, you can limit/influence what that number will be in the near future based on what you do right now.
Well the relevant "doing" here is paying attention. What Mr. TrustNoOne is doing is trying to watch EVERYONE (because he can't trust anyone). What TrustButVerify is doing is looking for a possible exception among the few that I even have to worry about.
Well, the obvious example is when you need to merge left, signal, and someone slows down to let you in. You trust them and go.
OK... sounds like we actually have very similar operating principles... with you only looking for exceptions, where I assume that anyone in front of me can make an exceptional move at any time. That latter bit of course has quite a bit of weight to it.
I do tend to trust those that make very blatent moves that are obvious... such as your left turn example. Where my trust breaks down is that I look beyond the first driver that slowed and I watch for unexpected moves from the motorist behind, and other motorists that may try to take advantage of that slowing motorist (and do not see me) for their own gain. In other words... the motorist behind... are they suddenly going to go around... the guy behind me... is he suddenly going to go. So I have a higher level of "paranoia" than you.