Stay Alert, Stay Safe With These 4 Important Defensive Driving Tips

There are more than six million car accidents in the US every year, on average. 90 people die from collisions every day. With numbers like those, it’s extremely important that you stay attentive on the road to avoid damaging your car or injuring yourself.

If you’ve experienced a car accident in the past, or simply want to make sure that you do not experience one in the future, keep reading for four defensive driving tips that will keep you safe on the road!

1. Obey the Speed Limit At All Times

The most obvious defensive driving tip that you can benefit from is to always obey the speed limit. Traveling at faster speeds means that it takes longer for you to brake and react to changes around you on the road. Going faster than the speed of other cars also means that other drivers are less likely to be aware of your position or to react to you passing them.

Enabling cruise control on the highway can help you maintain a controllable, constant speed.

2. Keep A Safe Distance

In a similar vein to the above point, you should always leave a few car lengths of empty space between your vehicle and the one in front of you. Tailgating makes it much more likely for you to rear-end someone if they brake suddenly. This is doubly important because, in most instances, you will be found at fault for rear-ending another vehicle.

3. Minimize the Distractions in Your Car

It’s not always possible to prevent something from distracting you. Reflected sunlight, phone calls, and people honking will attract your attention. However, you should do your best to minimize the number of things that will compete for your attention while driving.

Set your phone to silent or vibrate, and only check it once you’ve reached your destination. Use a playlist on your phone instead of the radio, so that you don’t have to keep changing stations to find songs that you like.

4. Stay Vigilant of the Road Around You

You should always be aware of the situation on the road around you. Checking your mirrors periodically every few seconds, and staying alert about your blind spots and what’s in front of you, can make it much easier to react to dangerous situations.

Of course, you’re not always able to control what happens to you. In the event that your vehicle is hit and you’re injured, you should talk to a personal injury lawyer about your case. If you were not at fault, you could be entitled to a financial settlement that can cover the repairs to your vehicle and your medical bills.

Defensive Driving Tips are Just the Start

While the above defensive driving tips can help you avoid accidents and collisions, if you’re really serious about improving your driving, you should sign up for a course. Actually getting behind the wheel with an instructor and putting yourself to the test is the best way to learn.

Want to find out more information about defensive driving, or driving in general? Keep reading the rest of our site!

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