California is famously a state that promotes defensive driving. You may find yourself familiar with the phrase but unfamiliar with what it actually means. If that sounds like a position you find yourself in, let us help explain the driving style to you! Once you get the grasp of it, it is quite simple to follow, and you will find yourself implementing defensive driving techniques into your everyday driving in no time!
What is defensive driving?
Defensive driving is a driving technique that promotes, as the name suggests, driving defensively. This opposes aggressive driving, which often leads to a higher risk in collision. Driving defensively essentially means that you drive with an increased awareness of your surroundings and maintain a defensive headspace when behind the wheel. This means you are aware of the things happening on the road around you and are able to have a safer reaction to any road interruption.
What makes a defensive driver?
Defensive driving is made up of a few main parts. The key parts of defensive driving are as follows:
Stay Prepared and Keep Focus
The most essential piece of defensive driving is remaining prepared for any sudden road interruption. Keep an eye on the road ahead of you and take note of slowdowns or construction. If you can, safely change lanes into a new lane to avoid risks. Furthermore, keeping focus on the road is essential. Be sure to avoid distractions such as texting and overall use of cell phones. This ensures that you are staying prepared and ready to react if the road conditions change suddenly.
Check Your Mirrors Often
It is important to have awareness of everything on the road around you, this includes the action on the road next to you and behind you. While you want to keep your eyes on the road in front of you for the most part, it is important to often take a quick glance at your mirrors. Take a quick glance at your side mirrors and your rearview mirror in order to continually see what is happening around your vehicle.
Follow a Safe Following Distance
One of the biggest parts of aggressive driving is tailgating, or following the vehicle ahead of you too closely. Instead, you should keep a safe distance between you and your vehicle to practice defensive driving. Typically, a practice to maintain is the “three-second rule.” This idea is that you should be far enough away from a vehicle that you will not be in the same spot as they are for three seconds. When first getting into this practice, you can actually measure it but seeing when the car in front of you passes a sign on the road and counting to three. If you get to the marker before you hit three seconds, you should increase the space between your vehicles.
The “three-second rule” is a safe identifier because it results in a good amount of space that allows for safe reactions to occur.
Plan to Leave Early
We know this can sometimes be easier said than done, but leaving early erases some panic on the road. Aggressive driving typically happens when a driver is in a rush and makes questionable decisions on the road to try and cut driving time. When possible, try to leave with 10-15 minutes of wiggle room to make room for safe driving!
