Staying Safe While Driving: The Ultimate Guide

Staying safe while you’re out on the road should always be one of your main priorities, but how do you go about driving in a risk free manner? Fortunately, this guide contains everything that you need to know to improve your driving skills and help you to maintain ultimate peace of mind wherever you might be headed. So, if you’re interested in finding out more, then simply read on to uncover some of the best tips and tricks that you can make the most of now!

Image Source – Pexels

 

Watch Your Speed

 

One of the most effective steps that you can follow to ensure you can drive in the safest, most secure manner is to watch your speed. Driving too fast puts you, your passengers and other road users in serious danger, as this will reduce your reaction time dramatically and allow you very little space to stop should anything occur while you are on the road. You will also likely receive a number of fines or penalties as a result of your high speed driving, as there are set speed limits in place that need to be respected. It’s absolutely vital that you make an effort to drive in a slow controlled manner no matter where you might be headed, as there’s never any reason for you to rush in such a way. If you are late to your destination then this is still no excuse, as it’s far better to be late yet arrive in one piece rather than getting into a crash due to your excessive speed. Learning how to drive more slowly can be a little bit tricky, but adding a black box to your car can be of real benefit. A black box monitors the speed of your vehicle, informing you of any occasions where you crept over the speed limit and potentially impacting upon the cost of your insurance as a result. If you have the added risk of having to pay an enormous fee for your car insurance when you drive too fast, then you have even more reason to watch your speed! Alternatively, if you do not want to install a black box on your car to control your speed, then you can instead attempt to drive as though there is a bowl of water on your passenger seat. If you drive too fast and take corners too wide then the water would be splashing around soaking your vehicle, so you need to try and drive as though you are keeping the bowl still and level. For those of you having trouble with any kind of speed management, then perhaps it might be beneficial to put a cap on the top speed that your vehicle can actually reach. Many people do actually find it very tricky to slow down due to the sheer power of their car, so heading to the mechanic so that they can make it a little slower can certainly aid your in sticking with the speed limit.

 

Avoid All Distractions

 

No matter what, there are no excuses when it comes to distractions in your vehicle, as you need to make a conscious effort to maintain complete focus whenever you are driving. Making the mistake of allowing your children to distract you in the car could be fatal, as it only takes a second to change direction or fail to see oncoming traffic heading straight towards you. Distractions can be anything from radio music that’s far too loud, kids arguing in the backseat or even your smartphone flashing with notification after notification, so you need to take some time to better understand the dangers in order to avoid them. The safest driving environment would be a car that is as close to silence as possible, as this will allow you to monitor the sounds of your vehicle and the sounds of the road at the same time! In reality your smartphone should be in your pocket or inside your bag somewhere, as you do not need to keep it with you when you are driving – most cars have pre installed map systems that you can use to reach your destination, or you can source an external sat nav to make sure you needn’t use your smartphone no matter how old your car may be. Even using hands free settings while you drive can still be a distraction, as you will be thinking about what to say and glancing across to the screen to check everything is correct – this is added stress that you do not need, so it’s best to avoid all distractions whenever possible so that you can keep your eyes and ears on the road.

 

Get To Know Your Roads

 

If you regularly drive on the same set of roads time and time again, getting to know the roads can help you to become a safer driver. Understanding the local speed limits and acknowledging the most apparent risks should always be a priority, as you need to take your surroundings into consideration if you’re going to stay secure as you drive. For example, recognizing when you enter onto a school road that has a slower speed limit due to the risk of children crossing the street can help you to protect both yourself and the local children. The same goes for natural locations that regularly see animal life, as you cannot speed through a forest road when there’s a risk that a deer or even a bear could enter into the street and cause you to crash. Getting to know your local roads will not only help you to drive more responsibly, as it will also allow you to become a more confident driver. If you know exactly what to expect and when to expect it, you will have the greatest faith in yourself and your own driving abilities! If you move to a new location or gain new employment in a different area then be sure to take a few different routes beforehand – exploring the area without any pressure can be of real benefit, as you can start to identify the main risks and dangers which must be avoided to become a safe driver. It can always be of benefit to take a friendly local around with you, as they can point out any one way roads or missing road marks that might confuse you or put you in danger if you have not recognized them yourself.

 

Seek Out Quality Protection

 

Last but by no means least, it’s absolutely vital that you can take the time to seek out quality protection if you want to become a safe, responsible driver, as you need to be able to maintain your physical and financial health in times of an emergency. Finding yourself in a sticky situation that requires you to pay out to another driver would leave you at risk if you don’t have insurance, as you may be fined or even given a jail sentence as a result of your lack of responsibility. Equally you can find yourself in trouble if you don’t have insurance to cover any issues you may be having, as the payment will be left for you to fork out for! This means that if you get into an accident that was your fault, you could end up having to pay thousands of dollars to get your car back on the road! Driving without insurance puts you and other road users at risk, so there’s truly no time like the present to seek out or upgrade your car insurance plan to make sure you can rest assured no matter what happens. Fortunately there are hundreds, possibly even thousands of different car insurance providers that you can choose from, but there are several different features that you should be looking out for. The first and most important feature of your insurance plan is the total coverage, as the more cover you have the less danger you will be in. Full coverage insurance will pay out when you have an accident, send a replacement vehicle for you to use in the short term and even repair or change your vehicle so that you can hit the road once more. The second feature you should be checking out is price, as the total cost of your car insurance should never exceed the real value of your car. The average price of CarShield and other similar insurance providers should be compared against each other with coverage types in mind so that you can pinpoint the most affordable yet effective car insurance that can protect you and your family while you’re out and about!

 

Staying safe while driving has never been such a simple task when you can take the time to utilize some of the brilliant tips and ideas that have been carefully detailed above! There are countless different risks and dangers that you can expect to encounter at any one time, so it’s absolutely essential that you can be vigilant in your efforts to become a secure, danger-free driver.