Defensive driving is an incredibly useful skill to have. When you engage in defensive driving, you’re able to avoid the majority of incidents that might be occurring around you. If you’re not defensive driving, you’re more likely to be at the mercy of those drivers who are around you. University Auto Repair wants to help you to learn the best and most important defensive driving techniques so you can stay safe behind the wheel.
Scan the Road in Front, Beside, and Behind You
What you see you can do something about, especially behind the wheel. If you spend most of your time while driving staring out the front windshield, you’re not driving defensively. Defensive driving involves scanning constantly every bit of the space around you. You’re using your mirrors, both side and rearview, and you’re keeping abreast of the changes that are occurring. This is valuable information that is critical for keeping you and the other drivers around you as safe as you possibly can.
Make Sure You’ve Got an Escape Plan
Getting trapped or boxed in somewhere is not defensive driving. That puts you in a bad position and can cause you to make decisions you’re not comfortable making behind the wheel. In every situation, make sure that you’re paying attention to what your options are and that you’ve got an “escape plan” for every situation you’re in. This means leaving plenty of room in between you and other vehicles and changing your plans if the drivers around you are giving you signs that they’re driving offensively rather than defensively.
Avoid Driving Reactively
Something else that causes problems for drivers is that they tend to react to what’s going on around them rather than planning ahead and driving proactively. What that means is that you’re anticipating what the drivers around you are going to do. This also means you’re looking ahead of yourself a bit. You’re not reading driver’s minds, but you’re alert for the signs that they’re about to do something out of the ordinary. Paying attention to lights ahead of you, other vehicles that might be braking, or even pedestrians that might dart out into the road can also help you to avoid bigger problems.
Even with the best defensive driving techniques, accidents can happen. If they happen to you, get in touch with University Auto Repair. We’re in Flagstaff, AZ, and we can take a look at the damage and get it repaired for you.
