Tips for safe driving
Whether you’re traveling far or near, enjoying a family vacation or commuting between cities, ensuring safety is crucial when it comes to hitting the road!
Of course, you can’t control everything that happens around you, but you can avoid problems, protect your life, and protect your family.
To drive safely and reach your final destination without any unexpected incidents, you need to take some precautions.
More than just checking the condition of your vehicle driving, which is essential regardless of the situation, you also need to be aware of the various factors that can impact your journey on the road.
Check out some tips for driving safely:
Respect the speed limit
It’s not just the law. Speed limits are for your safety and the safety of everyone using the road.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), speeding is one of the leading causes of fatal accidents worldwide.
You know that high speeds make it harder to control the vehicle and impair the driver’s ability to react when trying to avoid an accident.
A vehicle traveling at a more compatible speed, on the other hand, can stop immediately when the brakes are applied.
Therefore, if a road has a km/h limit for vehicle traffic, it’s because experts designed it to help you drive safely.
Remember, speed limits exist for a reason. They are the absolute maximum you can drive on a given road, not a guide to how fast you should drive.
Respecting the speed limit is a much safer way to drive.
Drive Consciously
Taking regular breaks is a great way to drive safely, especially on long trips.
Driving while tired, drowsy, or under the influence of alcohol reduces your mental processing. This means your reaction time to avoid an accident is infinitely longer than if you were in full physical and mental condition to hit the road.
Drunk driving, in fact, is a very serious penalty under Traffic Code, which can not only impact your wallet but also result in your driver’s license being suspended for 12 months.
Did you know that driving under the influence of alcohol increases your chance of causing a serious accident by 30 times?
Do not risk driving your vehicle under any conditions that could affect your safety on the road.
Maintain Distance from Vehicles Ahead
If the car in front of you needs to brake suddenly, will you be able to react? This is something you should consider whenever you’re on the road.
To drive safely, you need to maintain a distance of three to four seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you.
Do you know why? Well, the most likely place for you to have an accident is right in front of you.
Choose a fixed object like a traffic sign, wait for the vehicle in front of you to pass it, and time how long it takes you to pass it.
Use this rule to help maintain enough distance so you can stop safely and avoid accidents.
In conditions like rain and fog, increase your distance by one second. This also applies if you’re driving at night or behind a larger vehicle like a truck or bus.
Use Signaling Properly
Other drivers don’t know where you’re going, nor can they predict your behavior on the road.
Turn signals inform vehicles around you that you plan to change lanes or make a turn.
This gives them a chance to prepare to slow down, allowing both of you to move safely.
In addition to using the signaling equipment your vehicle has, obeying the road rules is also essential.
If you see a ‘Stop’ sign, you must stop completely, even if you can see the road is clear.
Always slow down when approaching a sign, especially one that says ‘Yield,’ because this gives you plenty of time to scan your surroundings and act accordingly, especially if another car has the right of way.