defensive driving is so important speacial for girls
Someone got cut off. They bleeped their horn. You bleeped back. They
gesticulated, you gesticulated. And now you're stuck with a lunatic on your
back, tailgating and swerving, keeping up with you with a crazy grimace on his
face and trying his best to force you off the road. Whoa there. Not everybody
lives in Orange County, Calif. Or Miami, Fla. And maybe you're the lunatic, who
knows? Or perhaps you take a more considered path of action. We've chosen eight
often overlooked defensive driving tips that hopefully will help ensure
situations like this one don't develop, and which come with the added bonus of
avoiding an expensive insurance
payment or minimizing the risks of injury or death in a serious crash.
Tip 1: Don't do unto others
So the crazy-driver pursuit is unlikely to occur, but remonstrating with
another driver can not only prove dangerous to your health and wellbeing --
remember you may be inflaming a road-rage situation -- but perhaps more
crucially, it distracts a driver for a split second or longer. The entire event
could adversely affect their driving for the rest of the day. Remember: Don't
take it out on others. And though I usually don't subscribe to the fractured
logic of bumper stickers -- mean people, and in particular mean drivers, really
do suck.
Tip 2: Stay out of the way
One of the first defensive driving tips listed by Dr Leon James, a professor
at the University of Hawaii who publishes DrDriving.com, is: "Stay out of
the way. Give aggressive drivers plenty of room to get around you." If
another driver is endangering you or his actions are threatening to cause a
smash, the best tactic is avoidance, usually by slowing down (with one caveat:
always check mirrors before hitting the brakes).
He tells AOL Autos: "One thing to
remember is that there is a diversity of drivers on the road. They have
different goals for being there -- some are in a hurry to get somewhere, others
are just looking around or don't know where they are going exactly and have
plenty of time. Others are challenged by sickness, age, drugs, anger,
depression, etc. So the best defensive driving advice is to give them more
latitude. Let them do what they want at all times."
Tip 3: Yield
Dr. James also says it is never a given that other drivers will follow the
rules of the road, and to never insist on your own right of way if another
driver is challenging you. Mark Sedenquist, the publisher of
RoadTripAmerica.com, agrees, advocating a "yield anyway" strategy. He
says: "Even if the right of way is yours by law, custom, or common sense,
always remember that the real object is to get home safely. So when someone
barges out ahead of you when it's not their turn, put your ego and irritation
in the back seat and ... yield anyway."
Tip 4: Be aware of your surroundings
Riding Chicago's L train system to O'Hare Airport alongside the Kennedy
Expressway, as I did recently in transit to Los Angeles, gives a great
opportunity to observe what drivers get up to behind the wheel: text messaging,
applying lipstick, talking on cell phones and reading (!), often at speed.
Sedenquist advises keeping an eye out for others' -- and also your own -- bad
habits. He says: "One major key to safe driving is observing and responding
to the unexpected things that other drivers do. Drivers should be scanning the
road constantly, both ahead and (in a rear-view mirror) behind. Another
strategy is the 'two-seconds-plus rule,' ensuring a safe following distance
between your car and that car or truck
in front of you."
Tip 5: Overcome overconfidence
Russ Radar, of the
Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety, suggests overconfidence could be at the root
of the problem and also offers a practical approach to safety. "We all think we're
good drivers and it's all the other drivers out there that are dangerous. We
need to examine our own driving behavior: Slow down, obey traffic laws,
and always wear safety belts. If everyone did those things, our highways would
be a lot safer."
Tip 6: Take a refresher course
I attended a brief defensive driving
course as part of an assignment a few years back and was shocked by just
how much my road habits had decayed in a decade or so behind the wheel, perhaps
as a result of overconfidence. One-hand steering wheel spins? Please no. Even
crossing hands is frowned upon here. Quick to point out and work on combating
bad habits, my instructor also offered valuable lessons on everyday road stuff
that I'd forgotten, some as surprisingly basic as road position or safely
approaching a stop sign or street entrance. It's valuable in other ways, too:
Any money spent on the course may end up saving larger payouts on speeding tickets or traffic misdemeanors -- both
of which will probably necessitate the taking of defensive driving course,
usually in a class or online.
Tip 7: Rest and refresh
The
National Highway and
Traffic Safety Administration reports that more than 56,000 crashes
annually are caused by drowsy drivers. It also suggests some startling
characteristics of crashes involving a drowsy driver: The crash occurs late at
night or early in the morning; it is likely to be serious; a single vehicle
leaves the roadway; the crash occurs on a high-speed road; the driver does not
attempt to avoid a crash; the driver is alone in the vehicle. A friend of mine,
who crashed a Volvo 850 into highway
safety barrels at 70 mph (and thankfully walked away without a scratch) will
bear witness that all of these factors occurred in her early-morning smash when
she fell asleep at the wheel. The
NHTSA says that, young people (ages 16 to 29), especially
males, are most at risk. Shift workers whose sleep is disrupted by working at
night or working long or irregular hours also face the same risks. Sedenquist,
who has tallied a half million miles in his 30 years on the road across
America, says "Before you push on for 'just another fifty miles,' keep in
mind that sleepy drivers can be just as dangerous as drunk ones." Stay
alert, it can save your life.
Tip 8: Take a Zen-like approach
Dr James advises: "The secret of
being a "supportive driver" -- the opposite of an aggressive driver.
Facilitate what they are trying to do. Do not put your sail in their wind. Be a
smart driver, a peaceful driver, and be safe and calm that way."
