Thursday, January 6, 2011

Tips For Being A Good Driver


In most of the accidents happening all over the world, the cause of accident is inattention on the part of the driver. Here are a number of things that must always be remembered by a good driver. Read this and judge yourself - ARE YOU A GOOD DRIVER????
Majority of us tend to drive subconsciously while doing other things - do phone calls, chat, eat, drink, control the music system etc. The most important thing that a good driver must keep in mind is to pay attention to driving alone. Take driving seriously and concentrate. If you want to make a call or eat something while driving, park your car to the road side and have it done or postpone them until you finish driving. Why should we play with our lives as well as that of others????
The next important thing that must be kept in mind is to drive defensively, which means drive cautiously, allowing yourself space and time to react to a hazard. It aids you in physically directing your car away from harm when the need arises, and in reading traffic and predicting hazardous situations. It helps to be calm. Being agitated only slows down your judgement and reactions. This is what alcohol does as well. A clear, calm and focused mind during driving might get the time to tell you, for example, that putting your vehicle in a ditch may be better than an impending head-on-collision.
The most crucial element in these quick decisions is space. If one drives just half feet away from the car ahead of him, he is never going to have a choice. Following close results in the driver paying sharp attention to the front and ignoring other information about the traffic, which a good driver must be aware of as well. Keep a distance of a car length or more with the vehicle in front of you. Or maintain two seconds or more to the car in front of you. This gives you enough time to react to hazards which are about to happen any time. If you are being tailgated, remember that driving is not a Formula 1 Race and just let them pass.
Whatever you do, drive within the limits of what you can see. In the night, there is a tendency to drive faster because the road is empty but remember, you can't notice all the hazards at night. So drive at a more measured pace. When there is fog, use fog lamps and if there are no fog lamps, use only low beams. Don't hesitate to stop driving further if the visibility is too low to drive. Another time when driving must be avoided if you can is the first rains when the roads are especially slippery because the rain washes the dust and oil embedded in the rough surface up. If you think the road is slippery, you must go slower to allow your tyres time to find purchase, and give yourself more space to stop to avoid someone in trouble ahead.
Only a small fraction of the accidents happening all over the world are caused by mechanical failure. If you suspect that you have a blown out tyre, try not to over react by applying sudden brakes. Instead, release the accelerator, hold the steering steady and keep the car going in your lane as it slows and eventually stops. Switch your hazard lamps on if you can and then slowly pull off the road.
Always keep in mind that the hazard indicators are used to indicate trouble and use them only if necessary. Remember to check your mirrors every single time before you change directions.




Tags:- Driving Tips, Good Driver, Tips for being a good driver, Driving lessons, Tips for driving, Tips for being a good driver, Driving skills, safe driving, blown tyres, drive safely, car safety, passenger safety