Women tend to catch a lot of flack for being poor drivers. Men often accuse us of accelerating too quickly and becoming easily distracted behind the wheel.
However, recent research has established that women and men are comparable in their driving skills. Both cause a roughly equal number of accidents, and the “woman driver” stereotype should be properly labeled a myth.
But that doesn’t mean our driving skills couldn’t use a little work. Probably just about everyone could improve on something when they’re behind the wheel in order to reduce the risk of getting in a wreck.
If you’re in the market for better driving skills, here four vital tips.
1. Stay Visible
In driver’s education, you were taught always to check your blind spot in case another vehicle is cruising outside the view of your mirrors. But not everyone does.
Along with checking your blind spots religiously, though, you should try to stay more visible when you’re driving behind or alongside other vehicles. This is especially important with semi-trucks.
Big trucks have a huge blind spot along the side of their trailer and behind it. If you linger in this area for long, they might assume no one’s there when they go to make a turn or change lanes.
It’s essential for you to remain visible when driving near a truck to avoid a serious wreck. “The stakes are higher in … truck accidents,” explains a blog post from the law offices of Ketterman, Rowland, & Westlund.
“[They’re] often more complicated than accidents between passenger vehicles…. They often cause much more serious injuries than crashes that involve only cars.”
2. Create More Space
The general rule is to leave about two car lengths of space between your front bumper and the car in front of you. But that’s not necessarily easy to gauge when you’re behind the wheel.
A better practice is to leave four seconds of room between the two vehicles. To determine that, watch when the car in front of you passes a sign or mile marker.
Then count in seconds how long it takes you to pass that same marker. On average, drivers typically leave less than a second of space between them and the car in front of them, which isn’t nearly enough time to stop if the vehicle in front of you hits the brakes suddenly.
You might presume it’s impossible to leave that much space during rush-hour traffic because other vehicles will sneak in front of you, but it’s worth a try! One driver said that even on the busiest of highways during rush hour traffic, he could still leave four seconds of space in front of his car without delaying his trip.
3. Read Updated Rules
“Things have changed a bit since you took driver’s education,” says an article from State Farm Insurance. Those of us who have been driving for 15 to 20 years probably could use a refresher course.
Learning the new rules of the road is especially worthwhile if you’re getting ready to teach a child to drive. “If you have a child taking driver’s ed, it’s time to learn the latest updates to the subject,” the article continues.
Some of the changes include:
- Hand Position: It’s no longer recommended to put your hands at 10 and 2. Instead, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests placing your hands at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions. You’ll have better control of the vehicle and your hands are out of the way if the airbags deploy.
- State Rules: Every state imposes its own rules for driving. Some might have different age limits and time restrictions for permit drivers. Others might have rules about staying too long in the left-hand lane on the highway. You should know what your state requires from its drivers to avoid accidents or violations.
- Turn Things Off: Updated driving rules encourage drivers to switch off all their devices, including cell phones. This rule is tough for many of us to follow, but it can be a great practice if you’re teaching your kids to drive! Distracted driving, particularly among teens, is the number-one cause of collisions and wrecks in the US, so this is a great way to keep yourself and your passengers safe.
Pursue further research to determine other changes in driving rules. This could potentially save your life one day!
4. Be Awake and Alert
Drowsy driving is extremely risky, but too many people still get behind the wheel in this state. Some researchers believe that driving drowsy is just as dangerous as driving under the influence.
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) says that drunk driving and drowsy driving may have similar results, but they don’t always look the same on the road. “A drunk driver can often drive slowly and try to react, but a drowsy driver can nod off while still going fast,” a NSF article says.
“So, drowsy drivers don’t always brake or swerve if something happens in front of them.” About a third of drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel when they didn’t see it coming.
So if you have been recently involved in a car accident, you should know how to choose your car accident lawyer.
For safer overall driving, let someone else drive if you’re tired!