Driving is one of the best skills you can learn in your life. Freedom driving can give something many people benefit from every day. Not to mention the opportunities driving can afford your career. However, with more cars on the road than ever, making sure you are a safe driver and reducing the risk of accidents is vital. On average, there are around 6.75 auto accidents per year in the US alone, resulting in thousands of fatalities.
Being a safer driver can help you avoid getting into an accident and give you the skills to handle the situation should you find yourself involved in a road traffic collision of any kind.
Contact Details
Along with keeping your license and registration in your car, you need to keep some contact details in the car too. Keep them with your license and include things such as your name and address, next of kin name and contact details, work and home phone numbers, medical history or medications you take. If you are in an accident, this information can help get you the necessary treatment faster and inform others of your condition.
Keep a 4 Second Gap
When you are driving, it can help to track your distance from the vehicle in front. Use a fixed point to time how long after you pass after who is in front of you. Aim to keep a 4-second distance, so you have time to react to any changes on the road in front of you or their driving. Sometimes, accidents cannot be avoided, but the longer you have to respond, the better it will be for you. If you find yourself in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, you should consult a truck accident lawyer to find out what your next steps are.
Avoid High Beams
The CAA recommends that when driving at night toward an oncoming vehicle that has failed to dim its lights, instead of staring into the high beams, look to the right side of the road and follow the painted edge line, according to the organization’s website.
Maintaining your low beams while following another vehicle is also recommended to avoid blinding the driver in front of you. When driving on rural roads or open highways away from urban areas, you should only use your high beams when necessary.
Use The S-Turn Manuveur
When making a left turn, most drivers pull into the designated, offset left-turn intersection and begin immediately turning their wheels to the left.
To avoid being slammed into oncoming traffic, you should keep your wheels pointed straight ahead in case you are hit from behind. Instead, when approaching an intersection from a left-turn lane, make a significant move to the left (typically an additional 9 to 12 inches), then straighten out and point your wheels straight ahead. At the same time, you wait for a gap in oncoming traffic to open.
Check Mirrors
When driving down highways or long straight roads, many drivers tend to fix their gaze on one thing for several seconds at a time, and that thing is usually the vehicle in front of them.
This can result in a condition known as target fixation, which prevents you from realizing that you’re getting closer and closer to the vehicle in front of you.
Practice checking your rear-view mirror every 5 seconds and scanning all of the other cars on the road rather than just the one directly ahead of you.
Leave a Reply