A method for predicting and avoiding data errors by predicting disk drive read-write inhibit requirements in response to at least two parameters including a head position error and velocity with respect to the track centerline. A write or read inhibit signal is generated in response to selected combinations of these parameters to minimize soft read errors arising from track misregistration and to avoid hard errors arising from overwriting data recorded in an adjacent track. The read and write inhibit strategy is described as a pair of linguistic control rules suitable for implementation in a Fuzzy Logic Controller.