Driving a vehicle today is one of the most dangerous tasks that humans perform. So, why does it seem that so many people really don’t care about the way they drive?
There are many reasons. Some people just don’t take driving seriously. Some people don’t really worry or care about other drivers on the roadway. Most drivers have no training at all on defensive driving. Does this all sound like a recipe for disaster? It is! This is why we have so many disasters, injuries and death on our roads every single day. Believe it or not, the majority of accidents would not have occurred had drivers been trained to drive better. Learning how to pay better attention to the way we drive, adjusting to motorists attitudes and having more defensive driving training can help all drivers.
Taking the proper time to learn all the rules of the road, studying good defensive driving methods and analyzing the patterns of traffic and errors that drivers make will minimize the chances of having an accident. We all have better chances of not being involved in an accident if we don’t take risks on the road. When you do have a close call, stop and analyze what just happened. Think about what you could have done differently to avoid the situation.
People don’t take the proper time they should to analyze their own driving. If you want to improve your driving skills and lessen the chance of being involved in an accident, below are a few suggestions.
Every time you crank your car, be determined to be very serious about the way you drive. Think about how you can improve your driving skills. Don’t blame another driver for almost running into you when you may have been distracted by trying to answer your cell phone or put a CD in the CD player. Always pay 100 percent attention to the road when driving.
Eliminate all distractions before you leave the house to drive. Shaving, putting on makeup, writing notes or making phone calls does not need to be done in the car while driving. You may get by with it a time or two, but eventually it will cause an accident.
Defensive driving means that you always use the safest driving techniques to avoid accidents. Practicing those safe driving techniques every time you get out on the road will ensure you become a much safer driver.
Think about how much driving room you leave between yourself and the vehicle in front of you. Is it one car length or two? If you happen to be driving along the expressway at 60 mph, you need to have at least five car lengths between you and the car in front of you. If that driver happens to slam on breaks, and you are right behind him, you will slam into his rear end and hit him, or you will swerve and possibly lose control of your vehicle. This situation here is with the pavement being dry, and your car having a good set of breaks. On the other hand, if it’s raining, you need to add another car length between you and the vehicle in front of you, extending that length to six cars.
What about that time your cars right wheel slipped right off of the pavement into the shoulder of the road? Did you yank the wheel so hard you almost lost control of the vehicle? Did you have to apply the brakes so hard that you came close to driving into a ditch? The correct procedure is to totally back off the accelerator, and while holding the wheel steadily, ease your way back on the pavement slowly. Don’t make excuses that the road was bad. Get back on the road, learn from your mistake, and don’t let it happen again.
What about those cold winter nights when you are driving, the roads are wet, and the temperature is just about at the freezing point? You see the glazed look on the roads, but being in a hurry, you keep moving along. Suddenly, you lose traction around a curve. You slide and panic. You fishtail off the road and slam into a median. All of this could have been avoided had you slowed down as soon as you noticed the road conditions. These are preventable accidents that we can all control if we learn to be better defensive drivers. To prevent these accidents from happening, we have to stop and think about what we are doing. Even if we are running late, we have to concentrate on the road and the conditions. Nothing else should be a priority.
We need to discipline ourselves to take responsibility for our actions on the road and to constantly pay attention to the way we drive is important. Always pay attention to what the other drivers are doing, and always be on guard for things to happen in an instant. With the traffic that we face today, no one can afford to let their guard down when they drive. A disastrous accident can happen in seconds causing serious injury or even death. Surviving on the roads is your choice. Always choose to drive defensively.
Cecil & Geiser are dedicated to protecting the state of Ohio. If you’ve been injured in a car accident, contact them for a free consultation and have the best columbus car accident attorney in your corner.