When it comes to driving, even the most experienced drivers come in situations that are new to them from time to time, and situations like these require a lot of vigilance in order to be handled properly. Having that in mind, it’s understandable why new drivers need to be even more careful and attentive, and in most cases – they are able to avert any unwanted scenario as well.
That being said, if you happen to be a new driver, in this article – we are going to talk about some useful tips that are going to help you to stay safe and prevent accidents from happening.
1.Stay Away From Your Phone
It’s imperative that you don’t use your phone while you drive. Avoiding your phone while driving is probably one of the most emphasized tips out there when it comes to driving safely, and yet, as experts on cases regarding car accidents over at noogalaw.com/car-accident-lawyer/ it still continues to be one of the major reasons for car accidents not only in the United States but in the entire world.
The distraction that phones cause, be it due to talking, emailing, texting, or anything else can oftentimes lead to an otherwise easily preventable accident – and even a glance at your phone for a couple of seconds is enough for a car accident to happen.
All of that being said, just put the phone away, it’s just not worth the risk.
2.Try and Stay Calm
Well, this is a tricky one, especially for inexperienced drivers – and yet it is extremely important. The probability is high that you will, at some point, run into an aggressive driver that tends to cut people off, honk, and just gesture obscenely for no reason whatsoever. Now, around half of the drivers that run into such scenarios tend to respond with the same aggressive approach, and while it’s understandable that you are upset, try and avoid doing so.
Getting frustrated is only going to make the possibility of your driving getting more reckless, and in the end – the probability is high that you’ll never see the person that has cut you off again, so, it would be best that you stay cool and ignore it. Don’t try and compete with people like these, it’ll only make them act crazier and the level of danger will rise.
3.Make Sure That You Are Well-rested
Did you know that over 40% of drivers sit in their car for less than 6 hours a night? This is extremely dangerous as your span of attention, as well as your reflexes, greatly decrease when you are tired. It’s heavily advised that you make sure that you are well-rested when driving!
4.No Tailgating
While rear-end crashes don’t often lead to devastating crashes, they can still cause you some unnecessary legal trouble and that is why you should avoid tailgating. Even when it comes to driving at low speeds, if you are too close to the person in front of you, it can easily end up in an accident as you have no time to properly respond to what the car in front of you is doing. So, make sure that you keep a distance of at least 3 seconds from the person in front of you.
5 Avoid Peak Hours
When it comes to accidents that happen during peak hours, it isn’t necessarily because of bad drivers, but mostly due to heavy congestion. Statistics say that around a quarter of crashes actually occur in the afternoon peak.
That being said, if you need to drive in peak hours, make sure that you are more acutely aware of everything that’s happening around you. On the other hand, if possible, change your drive time – it will be both safer and more relaxing.
6.Use Lanes Appropriately
It’s important to know how to use lanes wisely. Don’t go changing lanes from one to the other all that often, but don’t hog the fast lane as well. Also, make sure that you know how to merge into the stream of traffic.
7.Don’t Drink and Drive
This list wouldn’t be a good one if we didn’t talk about driving while intoxicated. Did you know that every day, around 30 people in the United States alone happen to die in drunk-driving crashes? An even worse statistic says that alcohol is a reason for 40% of the 40,000 car accident-related deaths each year.
Many people are aware of these dire statistics, and yet they still happen to overlook them and drive while well aware that they could be over the legal limit. We urge you not to drink and drive, even if it’s a short distance, it’s absolutely not worth the risk.
In the end, it all boils down to making sure that you are following some quite simple rules and paying attention at all times – it isn’t all that much, and it goes a long way. If choosing to avoid your phone means a high percent less possibility of something bad happening, it should be considered quite a fair bargain. Drive safely!
