When most people talk about driving, what they are actually talking about are three different types or modes: Reactive, Proactive, and Continuous. The most popular conception of driving -- a car gliding along a twisty road or down a straight highway -- is the Continuous mode of driving. That is, the mode of driving where all you are doing is continuing a previous action.

In terms of danger levels, Continuous is the safest mode of driving because it’s predictable (we’ve talked elsewhere about how the art of not getting into an accident is being predictable; see also The Rule of Implied Momentum). The Reactive mode is slightly more dangerous than the Continuous mode because it involves a change in the state of your driving and makes you susceptible to distracted drivers. The most dangerous mode is the Proactive mode, because it involves guesswork on the part of a single driver and therefore is wildly unpredictable.

When my father was teaching me to drive, he phrased it like this: "Think about your safety first, then the safety of other drivers, then the comfort of your passengers, then getting to your destination quickly."