Car Driving Safety Tips
With the vacation season swiftly approaching, many people are preparing to make the once a year pilgrimage to visit friends and family. If you are one of the 30 million people who will drive, here are 1 or 2 refresher pointers to help keep you and your folks safe on the road.
Maintain a good distance between you and the car ahead. Following behind another car too closely can cause you to crash into it if the other driver brakes all of a sudden. As a rule, follow the “three second rule.” To check whether you are leaving sufficient space, wait till the car before you drives by a fixed object, for example an indication or telefone pole. Count “one thousand, two 1000, 3 one thousand.” If you reach that fixed object before you're done counting, then you're following the other vehicle too closely. In poor driving weather, double the distance to six seconds ‘ worth.
Use turn signals. Signalling your plans with turn signals permits other drivers and pedestrians to see where you are going next. After all , they can't read your mind. And, it's the courteous course of action. If you turn or change lanes without using your turn signal, you'll catch others by surprise — and even crash into them.
Watch your speed. Driving too swiftly can make you an impetuous driver, and it decreases your control and time to retort in the event of emergency. Driving too slow blocks traffic. It’s preferable to “go with the flow” and follow the average speed of the autos around you. If the driver behind you obviously wants to go quicker, get in the right lane and let him/her pass you. If weather or road conditions are poor, slow down appropriately.
Don’t send or read SMS messages while driving. Texting, one of the most dangerous driver activities, is causing accidents left and right on the road. That is due to the fact that it needs the driver to look away from the road, use his/her hands to do something other than handle the wheel, and think about something not related to driving — all while controlling a two-ton machine hurtling down the road at 65 miles an hour or even more. Typically in the event of an emergency, you have 3 seconds to retort. But if you're texting, your response time simply becomes 30 seconds or more. Such a delay can be perilous. Texting has proved to be such a danger that some states have even outlawed texting while driving.
Of course, these tips are applicable anytime you're behind the wheel, not just during vacation travel. Doing what you can to drive carefully will go a great distance toward decreasing stress and making a delightful vacation.
Cars today are safer than ever and even vehicles with a bad reputation like SUVs are very safe as you can read in this article about the safety of SUVs. However, even if a vehicle has a 5 star safety rating it can not protect us fully.