Feb 12, 2008 -
Prudent Driving—Some Tips to Control Your Environment
Defensive driving is predictable driving. When other drivers know what you’re going to do, it’s easy for them to keep a safe distance. On the other hand, when your actions behind the wheel take other drivers by surprise, they may not be able to react fast enough to avoid a collision.
Predictability—clearly communicating your intentions to other drivers—is one of the key elements of prudent driving. One of the simplest ways to reduce your risk of being in an accident is to drive with your low beam headlights turned on during the day. Other drivers may think it’s weird, but they’ll always see you. And that’s all that matters.
There’s no sense getting angry when an oncoming car or truck fails to dim its headlights. Only people with a clear death wish intentionally try to blind you with their high beam at night—all the rest are simply bad drivers. They may be fatigued, distracted, talking to someone on the phone, or trying to eat dinner behind the wheel. Whatever the reason, getting angry will only impair your own ability to focus on the road.
The worst thing you can do in this scenario is try to punish the driver of the approaching vehicle by switching on your high beam. When an approaching vehicle appears in the distance with its bright lights on, I’ll switch to my high beam for just a split-second and then switch back to my low beam. This will remind a distracted or tired driver to make the switch; it may also help him stay alert. Of course, I never use this tactic if there is a car ahead of me
But if it doesn’t work the first time, I simply focus my eyes on the guardrails (or on the edge of the road, if there are no guardrails). This is one of the most important skills in night driving. You can’t let the bright lights affect your concentration, of course, but it’s just as dangerous if you let your own anger affect your self-control.
The most dangerous time of day for drivers is twilight. Most drivers wait until it’s almost dark before they turn on their headlights. Prudent driving means doing the safe thing whether you’re required to do it by law or not. Many collisions could easily be avoided—and thousands of lives could be saved—if drivers turned on their headlights as soon as the sun goes down.
One of the secrets of prudent driving is to keep an eye on any vehicle that gives you a reason to think you can’t predict what its driver is going to do. Defensive driving means learning to spot potential hazards as soon as they come into your field of vision.
Two things to watch for are rental trucks and parked cars with people inside them. People driving rental trucks are unusually unfamiliar with truck driving. They may make a sudden, dangerous move because they don’t see you behind them.
Whenever you see people in parked cars, always be alert to the possibility that the driver may suddenly pull out into traffic. When you learn how to predict such movements, you increase the amount of time you have to make an adjustment. That means you can easily avoid the hazard without having to make a severe evasive maneuver at the last moment.
Prudent driving depends on being in control of your driving environment—and on being in control of your own emotions. When you take care of those two things, you become a safer, more responsible driver.
9:05 am | Categories:
traffic safety,
defensive driving,
safety,
driving styles,
highways,
roads,
road rage,
driving,
traffic,
courtesy,
cars
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