The most useful defensive driving strategies.
Whether you’re traveling to the local grocery store to taking a cross-country road trip, staying safe on the road is a challenge. Although you can’t control how others drive, you can control how you drive. Part of staying safe as a motorist has everything to do with safe driving habits, defensive driving, and quality auto insurance. To protect your journey, wherever it’s to, we’ve compiled a list of the most useful defensive driving tips.
- Eliminate distractions
This means waiting to reply back to the text that just chirped at you or letting your drink wait until it’s safe to stop. Avoid getting distracted from the satellite radio, subwoofers, GPS systems, your phone, eating, and drinking. Distracted driving is one of the greatest dangers to driver safety, and if you don’t keep your hands, focus, and eyes on the road, you could end up in a collision or worse. Driving always requires your full and undivided attention. If you need to turn off the radio and put your phone in the trunk to avoid feeling tempted, do so.
- Maintain a safe following distance
The greatest chance of collision is usually right in front of you. Maintaining a safe following distance is easily one of the most effective ways to avoid collisions. Bear in mind that the distance you need to leave between yourself and the vehicle in front of you will change depending on the season, road conditions, and more. A general rule of thumb is to leave a three-second gap, but this distance should increase if the road conditions are wet, icy, or slippery or if it’s night-time and visibility is low.
- Look far down the road
Knowing what’s down the road can help you to prepare for the worst and effectively respond to the unexpected, especially at higher speeds. If you see that there’s traffic building up in front, you will know to start slowing down rather than speeding up. Not only can this save your brakes by braking gentle instead of at the last minute, but it helps to protect yourself and the vehicle.
Along with safe driving habits, protect yourself on the road with quality auto insurance. Talk to the experts at C.V. Mason Insurance Agency in Bristol, Connecticut to get your tailored policy.
