Staying safe on the roads is sometimes difficult. Car accidents can be life-changing events, but luckily, being a defensive driver will drastically lower your chance of a crash. Being a defensive driver makes our roads safer and will help get you to your destination.
Below, we’ve rounded up 9 defensive driving tips to prevent accidents. No matter how safe a driver you are, it always pays for a refresher. These techniques will help you stay safe out on the roads.
1. Be Aware of Your Surroundings
The first tip might be an obvious one, but it will save your life. Being aware of what’s happening around you always is one of the best ways to prevent accidents on the roads.
That means scanning ahead for any potential hazards, checking your blind spot, and making sure that you’re not in anyone else’s blind spot. Keeping an eye on where the other cars are around you is best done by glancing in your rearview and wing mirrors.
2. Avoid Reckless Drivers on the Road
As you grow your awareness of your surroundings, you’ll notice other drivers who are reckless on the roads. Avoiding them is another key tip to preventing car accidents.
You can identify reckless drivers through whether they’re speeding, changing lanes constantly, tailgating other drivers, or swerving erratically. Once you’ve identified it, you’ll want to give them a wide berth. That could mean slowing down or changing lanes – whatever it is to stay away from them.
3. Don’t Assume Other Drivers Will Make the Correct Choice
When you’re on the roads, don’t assume that the drivers around you will make the correct choice. Whether you’re wondering if someone will merge correctly or give way to you before making a turn, it’s best to be cautious when relying on someone else to decide.
You never know what the other driver is thinking, but what you can control is your reaction. Acting as if they might make the wrong decision is a good way to lower your chance of an accident. You’ll be prepared in case they do something unexpected that puts you in danger.
4. Be a Safe and Courteous Driver
Being a safe and courteous driver is easy, but an essential part of avoiding accidents. It’s all about following the road rules and remembering what you learned when you first started to drive.
That means checking your blind spot before changing lanes, always using your indicators, and maintaining a safe distance between your vehicle and those in front. For the last point, 3–4 seconds is a good distance to keep. Remember, one of the greatest chances of a collision is with the car in front of you.
5. Avoid Speeding
One of the best defensive driving tips we can offer is to follow the speed limits. Stick to the limits (or the general speed of traffic in peak hour) and you’ll drastically decrease your chance of an accident.
Last year, 30% of all accidents in Australia were caused by speeding. That’s a big chunk of road accidents that can be prevented by slowing down and paying attention to the road rules.
6. Don’t Drive While You’re Impaired
We’re not only talking about drink driving here. Driving while impaired could mean anything, from drowsiness to distractedness. If you’re not at 100% when you’re behind the wheel, you’re increasing your chance of a car accident.
If you’re feeling drowsy on a long drive, make sure to pull over and give yourself the recommended breaks. Falling asleep at the wheel is incredibly dangerous to you and those around you.
7. Slow Down in Bad Weather
If the weather is taking a turn for the worse, it’s essential to adjust your driving to match. Whether it’s raining, hailing, or strong winds are sweeping across the roads, it’s essential to act accordingly. Simply slowing down to match the conditions is an easy way to help prevent accidents on the road.
Bad weather is a time when a lot of unexpected things can happen. Driving at regular speeds in the wet could mean your brakes don’t work as well as they do in dry conditions, causing you to aquaplane. Gusts of wind can push your car into another lane, while storms can cause a lot of chaos.
It’s also a good time to be more aware of the drivers around you. There are a lot of people who don’t change their driving techniques at all in bad weather conditions.
8. Stay Cool, Calm, and Collected
We’ve all suffered from road rage before. Whether someone rudely cuts us off in traffic, or another person is driving far too slowly, it’s easy to get annoyed.
Road rage can lead us to make poor decisions when we’re in the car. It’s far safer to remember that getting to our destination safely is the most important thing. Remind yourself that other drivers might not know the roads well like you, might. Staying cool, calm, and collected could help you prevent an unnecessary accident.
9. Cut Out Distractions
Finally, another great tip to become a better defensive driver is to cut out the distractions. Any task that diverts your attention away from driving lowers your awareness of the road around you and increases the chance of an accident.
All it takes is a second for something to happen – and if your attention is elsewhere at the time, it could mean trouble for you. That means no checking your phone, no leaning over to pick up something from the back seat, and no getting distracted by an event unrelated to the road ahead.
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