Follow
these guidelines and you will enjoy driving more, and increase your chance of
arriving safely as well!
Steps
Never
consume alcoholic beverages before driving. This is the
most frequent cause of serious accidents. If you drink, use a
non-drinking designated driver, a taxi, or sleep over.
Check
your car over mechanically, including headlights, brake, and taillights, the
brakes, and suspension regularly, or have this done by a capable mechanic.
Failures of any of these components can create a dangerous situation.
Mentally
prepare for driving. If you are distracted, upset, or unusually tired and
sleepy, do not drive. This also applies to driving when you are using
medications which may cause drowsiness. If you are taking a cold medication or
antihistamine, read the warnings on the label.
Observation
and anticipation are key skills to master.If you remain very observant ,of
everything,and learn to predict others actions you will be well on your way to
being a safe driver and avoiding being the victim of others mistakes.
Turn your lights on whenever visibility is limited, such as at dusk, while raining, in tunnels, and similar. To avoid being hit, first you must be seen! Older drivers can only see 1/3rd as well as younger ones.
Follow
street signs and traffic lights, but use your judgment too. Don't try to beat
red lights. And expect others to try to do so, so give them time to go through,
particularly trucks that have trouble slowing down. Always stay at a safe
distance from other vehicles. A general rule is the farther you are from them,
the safer you are.
When
you try to run a red light, there are many grave hazards. You take the risk
that someone will turn in front of you (thinking that you must be stopping).
Or, when the light changes, someone will pull out from the side and into your
path. Or, a pedestrian (perhaps a child) will step out into the crosswalk on
the far side. You are probably speeding and are committed to running the light,
so the accident will be a severe one. The resulting carnage will be your fault,
and you will have to live with it for the rest of your life. Keep in mind here
that, it is exceptionally difficult for the other driver, when looking at your
vehicle head on, whether your are about to accelerate, stop, or even how fast
you are going.
Use
turn signals to indicate where and when you're going to turn. Other drivers need
to know this. This includes lane changes, to warn approaching drivers of your
intentions. It's not only safer, but, it's common courtesy. Signal as soon as
you decide that you would like to make a turn, then look for a space into which
to make the turn, not vice versa. This gives other drivers more time to notice
you, and perhaps even open up a space for you.
Trucks
are a special hazard.
Give them extra room. They cannot see other vehicles as well as you can in a
car. If there is an accident between a car and a truck, the driver of the car
will be the one most at risk.
Use
the horn only in when necessary to avoid an accident. It is rude, it is
upsetting to others (possibly causing road rage), and adds to noise pollution.
Don't
block your vision.
Avoid decals, dangling objects from the rear-view mirror, and similar. Stop and
clean off fogged or iced windows. Surface treatment such as "Rain-X"
improves visibility through rained-on glass. (The kind sold on a towel, rather
than in a bottle, is frequently overpriced.)
Use
your mirrors.
Good safe driving involves not only a great awareness of what is in front of
you, but what is behind you, what is next to you. Every vehicle has blind
spots; know what yours are, and make allowances for those of other vehicles
.
Expect
other people to make mistakes and bad decisions. No one is perfect.
If you learn to expect or anticipate it, to take it into account, you will be
ready when they eventually do make mistakes. (If you leave some room around
yourself, you'll often be safe even if you and another driver happen to make or
fail to notice mistake at the same time.)
Quick
stops are a recipe for crashes, since people behind often have to stop even
quicker, and aren't always paying attention. But make them anyway if you must in
order to avoid hitting a person or another car head-on; a front-to-rear
collision is usually much better.
Maintain
your car properly.
For example, if your wheel falls off and you have an accident, your insurance
company will find that you are at fault. Minor things count,
too. Change windshield wiper blades when they begin to streak the windshield
during use. Also keep your windshield washer reservoir filled regularly to
clear mud or debris from your windshield.
Keep
all four tires properly inflated. This will give the best traction,
mileage, and performance. Replace worn tires. Wet traction deteriorates before
tread wears to its legal limit because the water has only smaller places to be
squeezed out to; replacing at 4/32 can be wise. [1] Check your spare when you
check your four tires.
Loose
objects inside a car can be hazardous. Keep the dashboard and interior clear
of objects or debris that could slide around and interfere with driving, fall
and block your steering wheel, and similar actions. Cups, bottles, and other
objects can slide under the pedals and interfere with your driving. Objects on
the deck under the back window can fly forward in hard braking and injure you
or one of your passengers (if any). Make a habit of drinking only water,
sugar-free and milk-free drinks in the car. If you don't fear a mess from
evasive maneuvers (though you should accept one if it must happen), you may
more readily make them when appropriate.
Talking
on cell phones while driving is seriously detrimental in terms of the effect on
your attention to driving. Pull off the road to use cell phones or other
distracting devices or items. In some states, such as Oregon, they have
outlawed, but not enforced these, no talking on your phone. At the very least
put the cell phone in a holder, on speakerphone. If traffic is not heavy a
brief call to a police non-emergency number to assist a stranded motorist is
appropriate, or nearly always to an emergency number to report a dangerous
situation.
Do
not eat while driving, and if you drink (non-alcoholic of course!), do so carefully.
Spilling a drink while driving can cause you to be distracted and leave the
road or not notice a dangerous situation suddenly occurring.
Use
care when transporting animals. Keep pets in the back seat or a pet
carrier. Having the family dog decide to jump in your lap while driving in
traffic can cause a dangerous distraction. Don't put the pet somewhere it is
likely to be forgotten in the car and cooked.
Driving
on ice requires special care. If you find yourself suddenly on ice
(or black ice) do not slam on the brakes; you could lose all control. If you
must slow down, put your vehicle in a lower gear and/or apply brakes lightly
and steer straight. Four-wheel drive is for getting unstuck, not driving
faster. It will not stop you significantly better than a regular car, all of
which have four-wheel brakes already.
On
ice, do not turn your steering wheel. A common cause of serious accidents in
winter is when a driver turns his wheels on ice. This has little or no effect,
until he passes the ice (say, while going under a bridge); suddenly, the tires
regain their traction, and the vehicle steers violently to the side and into a
bridge (or other obstacle).
When
in a turning lane, don't suddenly change your mind and pull into traffic: make the turn
everyone is expecting you to make, and recover later. Do not follow a turning
car closely if it blocks your view of traffic coming the other way.
No
accident is a good accident! Whether or not you are at fault, hardly matters! You
still are at risk of injury or death. You still have to get your car fixed or
replaced. And, even though you are "in the right", the other driver
may successfully argue the opposite.
Turns
into traffic (for example, left turns in right-hand-drive countries) are
especially hazardous.
Plan your trip to make turns with the traffic whenever possible; go out of your
way if necessary.
Keep
your temper when other drivers are less than courteous, or act dangerously. Give them room, and
stay out of their way, let them by, etc., rather than returning aggression or
acting a hostile way, which could create a dangerous situation.
Plan
your maneuvers to accommodate other drivers. For example, avoid passing someone,
only to apply brakes to turn or to slow to look for your street.
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