“There’s a red car behind me, a good distance away, the vehicle approaching has a right signal on. There’s a warning for a sharp bend to the left with a side road on the right, my brake lights are on, slowing, slowing, slowing. It’s clear to take the right junction, nobody has followed me in, and I’m ok to accelerate”.
That was an example of commentary driving or, as it now seems to be more commonly named, spoken thought. It is proven to enhance concentration and alertness.
It’s a skill that many driving instructors have developed, and some of those ADIs recognise the benefit of encouraging learner drivers to talk out loud too.
But why does it work? Let’s look at the physiology of the brain to learn what’s going on.
The brain is zoned into areas that have specific functions. We know this by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or more specifically a specialised version of it known as functional MRI (fMRI).
Using fMRI, we can put a person in an MRI scanner, ask them to do certain things such as speak, listen to music, look at a picture etc, and then see which parts of the brain receive more blood flow. Thus, we can infer which parts of the brain are more active during certain activities. It’s quite fascinating to see parts of the brain light up on a screen.
The key to alertness is that we want to encourage multiple parts of the brain to be active at the same time: we want more of the “brain centres” to be used. And this is what commentary driving achieves.
We see something, for example, a road sign or a brake light, and then the visual cortex of the brain lights up.
If we then say out loud the name of the road sign, we recruit the memory and the speech parts of the brain too. Take it one stage further and say out loud what we intend to do in response to the sign, and we additionally made the problem-solving part of the brain spring into life.
The words that are spoken, then go back into the driver’s ears and, that’s the auditory cortex, or hearing centre, activated. More brain activity equals more alertness and concentration.
But what if we could find a way to illuminate even more regions of the brain: would that lead to even more increased concentration? The Japanese would agree that it does help, and they even have a specific word for it:
Shisa Kanko
指差喚呼
Translating as pointing and calling, the technique adds in deliberate arm movements, thus also involving the motor cortex of the brain. Initially developed for use on the Japanese railway system, it quickly migrated into building sites and hospitals as a way of improving safety through increasing awareness. And Shisa Kanko is also in use on the New York Subway system. See YouTube: Japan Points the Way to Better Safety.
So, is there any reason why the technique cannot be used to supplement the existing benefit of spoken thought? Clearly, large arm movements are not practical while operating a steering wheel, and it’s probably going to cause some pain if the driver accidentally pokes their finger at the windshield.
But the beauty of the technique is that the movement doesn’t need to be a big gesture to remain effective; simply raising a finger to point at a road sign while calling it out loud or pointing at the mirrors being checked before moving off or reversing is just as good, as it still brings the motor cortex to life. It may even be beneficial as part of pre-drive checks or cockpit drill.
Personally, I have been using Shisa Kanko in driving lessons for about four years and have found it very effective with learners who have ADHD and dyslexia. And it works like a dream when working out who has priority when turning right at those pesky confusing mini roundabouts!
Point: ‘you go’.
Point ‘you stay’.
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