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Frequently Asked Questions About Defensive Driving |
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Written by Jerry Malcolm
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Frequently Asked Questions About Defensive Driving
There are a lot of misconceptions about defensive driving. The term is very often associated with the classes in defensive driving you have to take to get a ticket dismissed or to get your insurance rates lowered. Because of this negative stigma, there is a perception that defensive driving is something only bad drivers have to learn. That is why it is a good use of our time to take a few moments to talk about the most frequently asked questions about defensive driving.
* Does defensive driving mean just being careful and driving slowly?
The image of a defensive driver as someone who drives ten miles below the speed limit and drives as though they were constantly afraid is a myth. In fact, if you know anyone who is a highly skilled or professional driver who can navigate the worst of traffic in the biggest if cities, they do and must use defensive driving ideas to survive.
* So what is defensive driving anyway?
Defensive driving is, as the name implies, driving in such a way that you can defend yourself against anything that might happen to you on the road. It means anticipating that anyone you are driving with could, at any time, do something wrong and put you in peril. Defensive driving means that you take responsibility to assure that you do not get in an accident even if it means watching out for everyone else on the road when you are out there.
But defensive driving is not driving “like a little old lady”. For example, when driving in fast moving freeway traffic in the city, to be safe, you match the speed of the other drivers. You may have to take an evasive maneuver like someone who is driving recklessly might use. The difference is that you know how to drive aggressively but you use those skills to drive defensively so you avoid trouble when you drive and you get home safe and sound.
* How can you make sure you never get in an accident?
Of course, nobody can ever been 100% sure of that. But a good defensive driver can go for years if not decades without getting in an accident or getting in a ticket. Part of the reason that a defensive driver can accomplish that is that they are prepared from the moment they get in the car until they turn it off in the parking lot where they are going or when they get home. They maintain their car so they don’t have to face the problem of a tire blowing out and they keep their vehicle clean and ready to be used so the rear view windows and windshield wipers work when you need the most.
* How can a defensive driver know when what to avoid on the road?
The key is awareness. A defensive driver learns to always be watching and anticipating what the other guy might do. That means watching the cars driving your direction and the ones coming your way. That means having a way to get out of the way if someone in the next lane suddenly has to swerve into your lane. It also means watching the oncoming traffic virtually preparing at any movement when one of those drivers might cross that line and come toward your vehicle.
A defensive driver is always looking around in every direction. He or she never makes an assumption that the other driver knows what he or she is doing. When entering an intersection, a defensive driver assumes that someone may run a light and come into that intersection at high speed. When driving in the lane near the road, the defensive driver watches for children, pedestrians and animals who may suddenly come into traffic and into the path of their car.
* What is the best way to avoid an accident?
To put it bluntly, stay away from other drivers. The defensive driver knows how to keep a bubble of open space around his or her vehicle. If you watch a defensive driver, there is always a lane, a shoulder or some other route that he or she can take the car if an emergency suddenly occurs. A defensive driver is always preparing an escape route if one is needed. That is why when trouble happens to a defensive driver, he or she knows what to do and follows that plan without panic or fear.
These are just a few of the concepts of what you will learn when you take a course to become a defensive driver. The myth that you will become a weakling on the road is actually opposite of what happens when you learn to drive defensively. Instead, you are taking control of the road and everything that happens on it with one purpose, so get you through each trip out into traffic safely and without incident. That is the goal of defensive driving and with good training, you can achieve that goal.
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