Following Defensive Driving Instruction
More than a million people die every year due to motor vehicle accidents according to a 2004 study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Because of this, a number of non-profit organizations and government agencies have acknowledged the need of drivers to learn about and practice defensive driving. Special courses that highlight defensive driving instruction like Alive at 25, Coaching the Mature Driver, Defensive Driving Course (DDC), and Attitudinal Dynamics of Driving have been offered in the United States to help people improve their driving skills. The US government had likewise, implemented safety campaigns to encourage the use of air bags and safety belts to decrease fatalities in road accidents. Defensive driving would mean being able to anticipate what may happen while driving on the road. This includes knowing how what to do when another driver makes a driving error. In order to be able to do this, one should therefore be confident in his or her driving skills. Some tips have to be followed in order to be able to drive defensively.
The first and most important defensive driving instruction is to follow all traffic rules and to be ready to respond to driving mistakes made by other drivers. In order to avert accidents, one may have to evade other vehicles. Another defensive driving instruction is to watch traffic from both sides. A defensive driver should take note of the road conditions and traffic situation on both his left and right side. A defensive driver should likewise make sure that he is able to see clearly while on the road. At the same time, he should make sure that other drivers could see his vehicle well. In order to do this, the driver should make sure that the headlights, tail lights, brake lights and turn signal lights of his vehicle are all functioning well. He should also make sure that all his car mirrors and windows are clean. Another defensive driving instruction is to watch for irregular changes in the traffic flow. This way, the driver can adjust his driving speed to avoid any accidents. A defensive driver should also have to drive with the speed of the current traffic. The reason for this defensive driving instruction is that driving too fast or too slow can increase the risk of accidents. The driver should check his speedometer every once in a while to monitor how fast he has been driving. The final defensive driving instruction is to take regular stops when taking long trips. This way, the driver will stay alert when he goes back to the road. Aside from dissemination of the concept of defensive driving to the public, the use of sobriety detectors and drifting monitors have also been proposed. In fact, these tools have been integrated in many car models to help prevent car accidents. Sobriety detectors can be used to prevent the ignition key of a car from working if alcohol is detected when a driver breathes to it. Drifting monitors, on the other hand, warns a driver that when he becomes too close to lane markers while running at a certain speed. |