5 Steps to Safe Driving

5 Steps to Safe Driving

Do you want to instill safe driving habits in your family? Maybe you have wanted to improve your own driving safety habits. These five items will put you on your way to driving more safely, regardless of the weather or traffic conditions. We want our loved ones to come home safe. So let us review five central safety guides for driving.

1. Always Look First

  • We should be looking before taking any action. Look around your car before getting in and moving it. Be aware of hidden dangers like holes, tools, nails, or vehicles that parked close to you. It is also necessary when you have children or pets, to assure they are not in harm’s way. Too often, we hear stories where a family pet had crawled up on the engine to get warm or was laying in the driveway sleeping – and discovered too late.
  • When preparing to turn, look where you are going and where you are going to be after making a turn. Do not forget to glance at your rearview mirror. Many accidents were prevented by a glance into the rearview mirror. It allows us to see someone behind us who can’t slow down in time, thus moving us forward to keep from being hit from behind.

2. Brake With Tradition

  • When braking, do not slam on your brakes. This is the least efficient use of your braking system. When preparing to stop, always depress your pedal a few times to slow your vehicle before coming to a full stop. You may also use your brakes to help you navigate curves by slowing near the apex of a curve and then slightly accelerating out of the other side.
  • Modern cars have power-assist brakes, which are more powerful than the manual brake systems in earlier vehicles. Older vehicles required the brakes be pumped to get the full use out of them. That is not true of today’s cars, yet when brake fluid is low, sometimes the pedal can be pumped once or twice to increase stopping power.

3. Keep Your Distance

  • It is vital to keep your distance when stopping behind other vehicles. Drivers should have a clear view of the vehicle tires in front of them, touching the roadway. This allows for standard transmission vehicles to roll-back slightly when resuming travel, or for your car to roll forward slightly. It is also necessary to enable navigation in tight spaces, should an emergency vehicle approach from behind. Should another vehicle strike you from the rear, it would prevent a secondary collision, making your car a sandwich.
  • When following other vehicles during travel, it is vital to keep two to three seconds of travel distance between vehicles to prevent accidents. Many accidents are due to a car swerving to miss an obstacle in the roadway, or slowing suddenly – only to cause an accident.

4. Safety Belts

  • We should all be adults and not act like children. Safety belts are designed to keep us in the vehicle and in position during an accident. Do you know why? – Because people are killed. Drivers and passengers alike are killed when they come out of a moving vehicle during a crash. Often an accident will result in a minor mishap if a safety belt restrains the driver – because they can regain control of the car. They were held in place by their safety belt. The safest place to be in an accident is inside the vehicle.
  • It is our responsibility to make sure our passengers are also correctly restrained using safety belts. Again, most people die in accidents because they are ejected from the vehicle.

5. Check The Tires

  • Do you check your tires? They are instrumental in the traction, control, steering, and stopping of your car. You must check your tires often to assure they are properly inflated. (The proper tire inflation pressures of each vehicle are on the driver’s door jamb of most vehicles.) Do not go by the maximum tire inflation pressure on your tire’s sidewall – as this is the maximum pressure your tire will hold. That pressure will increase during travel and could cause a blowout.
  • Proper tire pressure will make your vehicle handle better, stop better, and operate as it was designed. It will also give you optimal gas mileage.
  • Check your tires for uneven wear. It could indicate tire underinflation, overinflation, or a problem with your vehicle’s alignment. Should the tire wear be uneven, consult your local tire shop or mechanic.
  • Thank you for reading this short piece. Hopefully, you will heed my advice and take these five simple measures, keeping them in mind and using them to keep you and your family safe during your travels.

Member – IAPWE