No one wants to find themselves involved in a road accident; that goes without saying. But we all do little things each time we’re behind the wheel that might be making an accident more likely. So maybe it’s time to change that and to make accidents less likely.
There are so many small things you can do differently, and many of these things you might not have even thought about before now. So if you want to make a change and become a little safer and less likely to be involved in a crash, here’s what to do.
WATCH YOUR SPEED
It might seem like the most obvious thing to do but lowering your speed is still worth talking about when it comes to avoiding collisions on the road. Far too many drivers speed out of habit and don’t even think about how much they’re breaking their speed limit by. If you feel rushed or need to get to work on time, you might instinctively speed without even considering the risk you’re taking. But the right certainly exists because so many crashes are caused by speeding.
WATCH OUT FOR PEOPLE RUNNING RED LIGHTS
When you’re passing through on a green light, you might understandably assume that the traffic coming the other way is going to be at a standstill. But assuming that other people will obey the red lights is a mistake sometimes. Lots of people when they’re driving think they can quickly pass through on red if the light is just changing. They might think it’s not a big deal, until they hit a car coming through on green. So always look twice and don’t be tempted to rush through as a light changes to red.
TAKE THE TIME TO LOOK AFTER YOUR CAR
If you put more time and effort into making sure that your car is in good shape, you’ll get more out of it for longer. You’ll also make it much safer to drive as well. Cars that are not properly maintained and that have all kinds of issues might be more difficult to control safely and more likely to face problems on the road when traveling at high speed. For obvious reasons, that’s something that can be very dangerous indeed.
LOOK FOR RISKS AND DANGERS 12 SECONDS AHEAD OF YOU
It’s usually a good idea to keep the 12 second rule in mind when it comes to spotting dangers ahead of you on the road. You want to make sure that you scan ahead and make yourself aware of what’s going on in front of you. That way, you can prepare early and make sure you slow down, halt or switch lanes if necessary. The 12 second rule is when you constantly check ahead to see if there are any risks or dangers roughly 12 seconds ahead of where you’re at currently.
TAKE A SAFER DRIVING COURSE
There are driving courses out there for people who have already got a license but simply want to make themselves safer drivers. So it might be a good idea to see if you can find a safer drivers course in your area and enroll in it. You’re never too old to learn something new when it comes to driving and particularly how to do it safely. There’s clearly a lot to learn and a lot that you might want to revisit if it’s a long time since you took lessons.
DON’T FALL INTO AUTOPILOT
It’s very easy to drift into autopilot when you’re behind the wheel, but that’s something that’s also quite dangerous as well. When you’re used to traveling the same routes and going through the motions, it’s easy to stop paying attention to what you’re actually doing and what’s happening around you on the road. That can lead to you missing dangers and potentially getting into an accident.
THINK TWICE BEFORE DRIVING IN BAD WEATHER
Finally, you should make sure that you’re always thinking twice before going out on the road in bad weather, such as snow or ice or even heavy rain. Those kinds of situations present more danger on the road than you’d ordinarily face, so it might sometimes be best to just stay at home if you can.
As you can see, there are lots of things you can start to do a little differently if you want to be a safer driver and make yourself less likely to be involved in an accident. Don’t take your safety on the road for granted because even a small slip up can have big consequences.
Photo Credit: Toyota
