Safe driving is an important part of being responsible enough to be behind the wheel of a car. Going too fast, not wearing a seat belt, following the car in front of you too closely are all signs that a person may not be prepared for driving and surely shows that the person behind the wheel is not driving safely. Safe driving not only keeps the person in the car safe, it keeps passengers safe and other drivers safe as well.
Speeding
The speed limit is there because it has been proven to be as fast as a car should be driven in a designated area to maintain the safety of the driver. It's important as a driver to follow the speed limit wherever you are driving, for the obvious safety issues, but also because driving too fast could cause a person to receive a speeding ticket. Too many tickets and your car insurance goes up and you could run the risk of losing your driver's license.
Keep a Safe Distance
If you are too close and the car in front of you stops suddenly, you run a higher risk of rear ending that car, and you will be to blame for not maintaining a safe distance or controlling your car. A good idea is to follow the "Two Second Rule" with cars in front of you. As you are driving, keep an eye on the car in front of you and as it passes an object, such as a street sign or speed limit sign begin counting "one-one thousand, two-one thousand" and if you pass the same object before you count to two, you are too close to the car in front of you.
Wear Your Seat Belt
It's a proven fact, seat belts save lives. It's extremely important to wear your seat belt each and every time you get behind the wheel of a car, or in a car- even as a passenger. According to statistics, 17,000 people each year could have been saved if they had worn their seat belt during the time of an accident. Make it a habit to put your seat belt on before even starting your car and make it a rule that everyone in your car must have his or her seat belt on at all times.
Don't Drive Distracted
Put your cell phone and IPod away. Avoid putting make-up on, eating and anything that would draw your attention from the road at anytime.Using these items while driving is a major distraction. Not only are your eyes off the road for a time, your hands are doing something other than gripping the steering wheel. Taking your eyes off the road even for a split second can cause you to steer your car into oncoming traffic or cause a fatality.
Make a Full Stop
Stop signs are placed in intersections so traffic can flow in an orderly manner. A full stop needs to occur at every stop you make; even at intersections where you believe there are no other cars around. To begin with, running a stop sign is illegal and you can be ticketed, but it's also dangerous. People who run stop signs often just slow down by breaking lightly, and then proceed through the stop. A full stop is one where the breaks are pressed completely, the car comes to a rest and the person in the car has looked all ways for traffic and made sure it is their turn to proceed through the stop sign safely.
Tags: behind wheel, seat belt, speed limit, close front, eyes road, full stop