How to Drive a Car Safely
Pehaving Responsibly
Never Drink And Drive drinking impairs your judgement and slows your reaction time. At worst, it causes blurred vision and loss of consciousness.Avoid distractions Using cell phones while driving is seriously detrimental in terms of its effect on your attention to driving. If you need to make a call, stop the car first.
Also be careful when driving with children and pets, as they can be a potential distraction. Make sure children are secured with seat belts and pets are contained in a pet carrier.
Avoid drowsiness Feeling sleepy behind the wheel is almost, if not just as dangerous as driving while under the influence of alcoho
Always wear a seat belt. Wearing a seat belt while driving is essential wearing a seat belt can the reduce the risk of fatal injury to passengers
Wearing a seat belt prevents the occupants of a car from being thrown around the vehicle or being propelled through the windshield during a crash, thus helping to prevent broken bones, severe head trauma, lacerations and the possibility of being run over by another vehicle.
Stay calm . Avoid doing anything that could aggravate other drivers, like flashin your headlights, beeping your horn, or making rude hand gestures. This kind of behavior can distract other drivers and potentially cause an accident.
Following the Rules of the Road
Observe the speed limit. It may seem obvious, but observing the speed limit is a vital part of safe driving
Remember that the higher the speed, the less time you have to react to the traffic around you, and collisions are far more likely to be serious if they occur at speed.
. It's very important to avoid following another car too closely, as this gives you less time to react if the driver in front of you decides to brake or turn suddenly. For safety, drivers are advised to maintain a distance of three seconds between their car and the car in front of them.
Be extra careful in poor driving conditions. Being a good driver involves tailoring your driving to the surrounding conditions -- whether you're faced with bad weather, poor visibility, or simply driving at night.
Be wary of other drivers. When driving, you should never assume that everyone else on the road will act in a safe, responsible manner, or that they will react to a situation in the same way as you.
Use your mirrors and check your blind spots. Don't just pay attention to the cars and road in front of you -- you should be scanning more-or-less constantly, using your mirrors to watch the cars on either side and behind you.
Dealing With Specific Hazards
Be extra careful when driving on ice
If you find yourself suddenly on ice (or black ice) do not slam on the brakes; you could lose all control. If you must slow down, put your vehicle in a lower gear and/or apply brakes lightly and steer straight.
When driving on ice, do not turn your steering wheel. Serious accidents often occur in winter, when drivers turn their wheels on ice. Turning the wheel has little or no effect, until the car passes the ice and the tires suddenly regain their traction. Once the tires regain traction, the vehicle will steer violently to the side, potentially causing an accident.
Use your indicators when turning. always use your turn signals to indicate where and when you're going to turn. This gives other drivers time to react
Be cautious around trucks. Trucks are a special hazard; their drivers cannot see other vehicles as well as you can in a car
Therefore, it's important to give trucks extra space
Be extremely careful when overtaking a truck. If there is an accident between a car and a truck, the driver of the car will be the one most at risk.
Taking Care of Mechanical Issues
Regularly check for any mechanical issues. Regularly check the mechanical features of your car, making sure to include the headlights and taillights, the brakes and the suspension.
Keep all four tires properly inflated. This will give the best traction, mileage, and performance.
How to Drive Safely in Heavy Traffic
Remove all distractions. In heavy traffic conditions, the road will be crowded with cars, the flow of traffic irregular, and people will start getting impatient, leading to them trying to merge where they likely shouldn’t. The last thing you need is a distraction preventing you from paying attention to these things. Limit your distractions by:
Turning off your cell phone, or turning it to silent.
Turning off your music, or turning it down.
Telling your passengers to quiet down until you’re free of dense traffic
Pay attention to heavy traffic in the distance. When you are approaching a crowded section of road, you should take your foot of the accelerator and coast forward, allowing friction to slow your vehicle. This will moderate your speed while saving you gas.
Use lower gears to improve your engine efficiency. Even in automatic cars, where you don’t normally have to shift out of drive except to park or move in reverse, there are sometimes lower gear settings. These are usually noted on your gearshift by the letter “D” followed by a number, like D2 or D3.
D3 or 3 is normally used for stop and go driving.
D2, 2, or S (which stands for ‘slow’) locks your car into second gear, which can be useful if you are driving up or down a steep hill.
Lower gears will also break more quickly due to naturally occurring "engine braking
Stay at least 5 mph (8.0 km/h) within the speed limit, even on a highway. It’s important that you feel safe when driving, and this might mean you need to drive a little slower than the flow of traffic. However, driving too slow can make other drivers around you impatient, leading to dangerous driving situations
Prepare yourself for emergency maneuvers. Impatient drivers can make poor decisions that might require you to take action to prevent an accident. In some cases, you may have to merge out of your lane and onto a shoulder.
Driving a Manual (Stick Shift) in Heavy Traffic
Give yourself extra space between you and the car ahead. You'll want to allow a little more room than you would normally when driving an automatic vehicle. This will give you time to crawl forward in a lower gear while traffic starts to move forward again
Slow your vehicle with engine braking. Manual transmission vehicles can exert a braking force called “engine braking” or “shift braking” by releasing the accelerator and shifting safely into a lower gear. You’ll have to wait until the RPMs of your car are at an acceptable level for you to downshift, but when you do, your car will experience a gentle braking effect.
Remain calm when cars tailgate. Depending on your region or country, there may be slight differences in driving law, but generally drivers are expected to allow cushion distance between the operator’s car and cars in front. This is to protect manual transmission drivers, as stick shifts often roll back slightly when shifting into first gear.
