Driving is something that most people do every single day. Surprisingly, many of us completely forget the lessons we learned when we started driving. The thing is that many of those basic lessons could save our lives, or the lives of other people when we are on the road. If you were to ask a student that just graduated from a driver’s education course what the basic road rules were, they would probably be able to tell you quickly.
Were you to pose the same question to an adult that has been driving for years, you may not get as many correct responses. Sometimes, brushing up on those basic safety tips that pertain to driving is the best way to make sure that you are driving safely. Go ahead and read through these tips — and test yourself to see how many of these things that you know!
- Take a careful look at the car you are about to step into. Have you ever rented a car from a rental agency before? If you have, you’ll note that one of the first things employees at these rental outfits do is check the car before you take off. They look for things like flat tires, lights that are out, and any other problems a car might have. You should do the same thing before getting into your own car each day. Does everything look okay? Has something happened overnight? Take a close look!
- Don’t tailgate. It won’t get you anywhere faster to ride the bumper of the car in front of you. It is the law to keep the distance of one average car between yourself and the car in front of you. If you are not keeping that distance, you are driving too close to the other car. Why does this matter? If the car in front of you slams on his breaks, you will likely wind up rear-ending that car. This probably isn’t the best situation to be in, so just avoid it by driving cautiously.
- Reduce your speed if someone is tailgating you. Do not hit your brakes! Instead, just start to slow down. If the person in back of you is in a really big rush, they will pass you. There’s no need to feel pressured to speed up when someone is tailgating you. This kind of pressure easily leads to accidents. Simply ignore the person, and decrease your speed gradually. Eventually, that person will pass.
- Use your mirrors (for reasons other than to check your makeup!). You should be looking in your rear and side mirrors regularly, and not just when you back out of a spot. Get into the habit of looking in your mirrors every few seconds, just to make sure that everything checks out. Sometimes, a car can be in your blind spot, and you won’t be able to see that car until you check your mirrors. There’s a reason why mirrors are there–use them, and make sure that they are adjusted according to your height.
- Adjust the seat and mirrors. When you get into a car that someone else has been driving, make sure to take the time to adjust your seat, side, and rear mirrors. It’s doubtful that yourself and the other person are the same exact height, and some minor adjustments can make a big difference.
- Remember what yellow lights are for. Yellow lights exist to warn you that a red light is coming. A yellow light is not an indication to dash through that light as quickly as possible! You should be slowing down, and preparing to stop–not speeding up!
- You know how to yield, right? Make sure that you do yield every time you come across a yield sign. For some reason, most of us completely ignore yield signs, and this can be dangerous when entering a highway or any other roadway.
- Use your horn sparingly. Road rage is a real problem in major cities, but you can help by keeping your horn usage to a minimum. Do you really need to honk at every person you see? Probably not. If you’re angry, try and calm down, rationalize it, and remember that someone driving too slow or blocking a lane is not the end of the world (annoying, yes, but not the end of the world!).
- Use a wireless backup camera. Why? Because you can’t always see everything that’s behind you, and because all new cars in 2016 will legally have to have a rear backup camera installed. These cameras simply make the road safer, and that’s something that benefits all of us.
If you don’t have a rear view backup camera, call us at QuickVu today to purchase the right one for your car or truck or SUV.