You will find all kinds of drivers out on the road, and you cannot trust everybody’s driving skills or the safety precautions they follow while driving. So, it is your duty to adopt measures that can reduce the risks involved with driving and ensure everyone’s safety.
A defensive driving course Perth trains you in all the aspects of defensive driving so that you can avoid crashes and other mishaps on the road. Here are some of the rules of effective defensive driving.
Stay Alert, Stay Focused
Driving is a conscious activity and should involve all of your focus and attention. A few seconds of distraction may lead to severe accidents. Always being aware of the other vehicles around you increases your anticipating and decision-making time, which are crucial traits when you are on the road.
You should always steer clear of alcohol and drugs, which negatively affects your judging skills and reaction time. Also, try to avoid engaging in any food or drinking activity while driving to better concentrate on the road.
Give Proper Signals
In defensive driving training, you learn the importance of car signals or indicators. So that the other drivers can anticipate your action and adjust their vehicles accordingly, you should turn on your indicators a bit before you actually turn at an intersection or change lanes. However, avoid turning on the indicators way in advance as the other drivers can become confused and frustrated by your action.
Don’t Overspeed
You Might Like: Top 8 Driving Rules In Western Australia
While it may seem cool to ram your accelerator and go shooting off like a rocket, it is not at all safe for you and others on the road. Overspeeding severely cuts down your reaction time and your control over the vehicle. As a responsible defensive driver, you should match your speed with the driving conditions and avoid exceeding the speed limit.
Avoiding overspeeding, however, does not mean that you should drive at a speed slower than the minimum speed limit, which can also lead to unfavorable situations. Always try balancing your speed according to the flow of the traffic.
Take Proper Rests
Driving for long distances or at night can make you drowsy on the road, which is something you cannot afford at any cost. So, before you go on a drive, have a proper sleep and rejuvenate your body to its optimum. Also, for long distances, don’t try to drive for hours at a stretch and try taking rests after a couple of hours or so. You can also switch with some other person in your car who is also adept at defensive driving.
Do Not Depend on Others
While on the road, always prepare yourself for the worst-case scenario. You should always look out for the actions of other drivers and adjust your vehicle accordingly. A defensive driving course teaches you to be skeptical about other drivers and assume that others are not going to follow all the traffic rules.
They may not allow you to merge and may drive through stop signs and red lights. You should be prepared beforehand so that you get enough time to react.
Follow the 4-second Rule
The 4-second rule is simply the distance between you and the vehicle ahead you maintain, which should give you a time of 4 seconds in case the other vehicle stops suddenly. It is necessary to follow this rule so that you get enough reaction time to deflect your vehicle and avoid a collision.
However, this rule is only applicable to normal weather conditions, and you have to add an extra second for each condition like fog, rain, driving at night, or when following any large motorcycle or truck.
Be Vigilant at Intersections
Most chances of collisions are at intersections, so a defensive driving instructor trains you to be extra careful while approaching an intersection. Slow down your speed at an intersection and even though the light is green, thoroughly check your left and right for any vehicle or pedestrian who may be crossing the intersection without following the lights.
If you come across a bling intersection where you are not able to see the traffic, slow down your car as much as possible until you are so close to the cross that you can clearly see everything.
Know Your Blind Spots
The blind spots vary from vehicle to vehicle. Typically, a car has blind spots on its sides near the back, which means that you are unable to see anything at these spots by looking in your mirrors. Some vehicles can even be blind to anything that is right behind them. A vehicle in which the driver seat is very high may have quarter-blind spots meaning the driver cannot see anything close to the ground in the front or to either side of the front.
So, you should check your mirrors every 5 seconds. Also, if your car has large blind areas, your mirrors may not be able to show a vehicle that is switching lanes, so you turn your head and check before you change lanes.
You can get familiarised with all these small but significant habits at a driving school Perth.
Have an Escape Route
One of the aspects of defensive driving is to place your vehicle in a way so that you can see clearly and are also visible to others. Also, keep an alternate escape route so that you don’t get stuck in any situation and can get away with your vehicle.
Stay Away from Distractions
A lot of distractions can come your way while driving, which you should be prepared for and try to avoid at all costs. Often it happens that a driver is not responsible for a collision but could have avoided it by not engaging in distracting activities. Some of the common distractions you can avoid are eating, talking on mobiles, changing CDs, dealing with kids or just chatting with fellow passengers.
Final Words
If you want to hone your defensive driving skills, you can search for “Perth driving lessons” and enrol in a reputed and experienced driving school that provides quality training at competitive rates.
