The Grand Master Paradox: Why Most "Above Average" Drivers Aren't I recently asked Reddit a simple question: What makes you an above-average driver? Over 600 responses poured in. Just about every single respondent believed they were above average, with only a couple expressing any uncertainty. Yet only a handful demonstrated reasoning that suggested genuine expertise, and just two described behaviours that would actually place them in the lowest crash-risk category. The responses themselves were telling. One person claimed superiority because they could operate multiple vehicle types. Another insisted that strict traffic law obedience was the hallmark of excellence, apparently unaware that rigid rule-following can sometimes create dangerous situations. Many suggested that what are actually dangerous habits were a demonstration of their amazing driving skill. The License Illusion We all learn to drive the same way. Study the rules, practice with friends or family until we can pass a road test, then receive a license that we treat as certification of competence. Imagine if we licensed chess players the same way. A beginner learns how the pieces move, plays a few practice games with Grandpa, and then sits for an exam. As long as they don't make too many illegal moves during their test game, congratulations, you're licensed to play chess! But does this make them a good chess player? The Grand Master thinks several moves ahead. They anticipate their opponent's strategy. They force their opponent into positions that serve their larger plan. And just like grand master chess players, there are drivers on the road who are thinking several moves ahead, reading crash risk and mitigating that risk 360 degrees around their car. They're taking action to reduce the risk of crash. At times, they're even controlling the drivers around them. What's Actually at Stake What's the worst thing that can happen while driving? A crash? Your own death? What if your passenger dies? What if you or someone you love ends up paralysed (paraplegic or quadriplegic) with their entire life trajectory permanently altered? If we agree these are the outcomes we most want to avoid, then the best drivers are those who possess the understanding and skill to avoid crashes, especially crashes that are technically another driver's fault. Your insurance company might rule a crash wasn't your fault, but if a truly skilled driver could have prevented it, then skill was lacking. Legal blame and driving competence are not the same thing. The Dunning-Kruger Highway New drivers study simplified materials that give them the illusion of complete knowledge. They pass a basic competency test and interpret this as proof they know as much as anyone else. Then they develop additional habits beyond what the test required, convincing themselves they've surpassed even that baseline. Every decision is based entirely on personal anecdotal experience. The driver tailgating at 70 mph genuinely believes the two-second rule is "for beginners, not someone with my reflexes." They've personally never crashed while tailgating, so this validates the behavior. They don't realize they're simply gambling with statistics they don't understand. Almost every driver believes they possess expertise that others lack. Yet the holder of each idea is completely confident in their superior judgment. The Reality Gap My Reddit experiment revealed that drivers can't reliably assess their own skill level. This isn't surprising. It's nearly impossible to accurately evaluate your own competence in any complex skill without external measurement and feedback. But on the road, that feedback often comes in the form of crashes, injuries, or death. The gap between "I haven't crashed yet" and "I'm skilled enough to avoid crashes" is enormous. One is luck and statistics. The other is genuine expertise that requires deliberate study and practice beyond the bare minimum licensing requirements. A Path Forward We need to normalize a simple truth: there is always more to learn. The idea that your personal driving experience has made you an expert is, for the vast majority of drivers, simply not realistic. The licensing system gives us a false endpoint. It suggests that once you pass, you're done learning. But the test barely ensures a driver can obey traffic law in a quiet residential area. That isn't real world driving. Everything after that (the pattern recognition, the threat anticipation, the spatial awareness, the ability to read other drivers and predict their actions) all of that comes from deliberate practice and study that most drivers never pursue. The Grand Masters of the road exist. They rack up hundreds of thousands of miles without incident, not through luck, but through constant vigilance and continuously refined skill. They can tell you exactly why they positioned their car in that specific spot at that specific moment. They're playing chess while the other 90% are focused on the drivers who frustrate them in traffic. The question isn't whether you're an above-average driver. The question is: are you willing to admit you might not be?