Staying Safe On the Road: The Top Safe Driving Tips
You’re driving to work when your phone rings. You pick it up because it’s your spouse calling. You haven’t set up hands-free talk yet and in the two distracted seconds that it takes you to answer, another car comes slamming into your side.
The good news is that you weren’t hurt this time. The bad news is that you’ll need to shell out quite a bit of money to get your car repaired. This could have been avoided if you’d just waited and called your spouse back.
Distractions are a huge cause of accidents on the road but it’s not the only one. To help you stay safe out there, check out these safe driving tips.
1. Be Aware of Your Blind Spots
When you’re driving it’s important that you look through your rearview and side mirrors. They’re helpful and will show you a lot when you’re pulling out of a parking lot. They won’t show you everything though.
If you’re going to see all of your blind spots you’ll need to look out of your back window to be able to get a full view.
If you want to be completely safe on the road you need to not only become familiar with your blind spots but the blind spots of the other drivers as well. You’ll have to stay out of them to avoid being hit.
2. Avoid All Distractions
There are many people who will try to multitask when they are behind the wheel. You may take the time to eat your breakfast on the way to work or answer your phone. These are huge distractions and when you’re behind the wheel it’s best to avoid them.
When you’re engaged in a conversation with the person in the passenger seat your response time may be a bit off which could cause a horrible car accident.
3. Keep Your Children Seated
Speaking of distractions, if you have your kids in the car with you, they should be seated at all times. If they are roaming around the car or fighting and yelling with each other, it could cause you to get into an accident when you’re dealing with it.
Make sure you have some activities or snacks ready to go to keep them occupied while you focus on the road.
4. Don’t Drive When You’re Tired
If you’re leaving work late and are tired, pull off to the side of the road and take a small nap. If you try to keep going on your course toward home you could get into a crash.
When you’re sleepy your brain isn’t alert so you’ll have a slower reaction time in an emergency and your judgment won’t be at it’s best either.
5. Keep Tabs on Your Tires
If you don’t take care of your tires then there is a good chance you’ll have blowout when you’re driving which will send your car off the road. Bad tires can also prevent you from braking as you should.
Check your tires regularly to make sure they are inflated. While you’re checking that, also look at the tire tread. If your tire is worn out then you’ll need to get it replaced as soon as you can.
6. Don’t Drink and Drive (Obviously)
The number one rule of being safe on the road is to not drive after you’ve been drinking. If you’ve had a few drinks, stay where you are until you get a chance to sober up.
If you’re planning to go to a bar, take a designated driver with you or call an uber to bring you home. You can always come back to pick up your car later after you’re sober.
7. The Speed Limit is There for a Reason
The speed limit sign is there for a reason. For you to obey it. If you go faster than the recommended speed then it will be possible for you to lose control of your vehicle.
This rule is especially important to follow if you’re a new driver. Keep in mind that the speed limit is the recommended one for good weather. If it’s raining or snowing then you’ll need to drive a bit slower.
8. Don’t Tailgate
It only takes a couple of seconds for your car to slow down when you press on the brake. That doesn’t mean that you can tailgate the car in front of you. If your reaction time is the slightest bit too slow then you can bang into them.
Tailgaiting is even more dangerous on icy roads. Even if you brake on time, you could slide into the car in front of you.
9. Use Your Blinker!
Never neglect your turn signal. It’s your way of warning other drivers when you’re going to make a turn or get into another lane. If you don’t use it then the driver behind you may not be able to slow down in time which will cause an accident.
Like the speed limit sign, the blinker is there for a reason and it’s common courtesy for you to use it.
Safe Driving Tips to Help You Get to Your Destination in One Piece
You don’t think about it when you’re driving day to day but it only takes one small slip up to get into an accident that will change your life for the worst. Keep these safe driving tips in mind when you get behind the wheel so you can arrive at your destination safely.
Were these tips able to help you stay safe? For more auto tips like the ones you read here, check out our blog.