When I was learning to be a school bus driver, our instructors talked often of the big picture. It was especially common during on-the-road training. An instructor would lean across the aisle and point to the windshield. “Remember the big picture.” Something abnormal or noteworthy was ahead.
The big picture was meant to sharpen perception of roadway unpredictability: low-hanging branches, potholes, lane mergers, road construction, accidents, broken stoplights, standing water, fallen wires, erratic drivers. We were being trained to avoid problems through early detection.
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