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Here are ten tips to being a better driver:
1. Situational awareness- This means to be aware of your surroundings, not just what is in front of you but what is to the sides and behind you. Something could be happening or about to happen that you could prevent if you knew it was there.
2. Be patient- I know that there are a lot of times when you are running late for work or it is an emergency but when you are going to a fast food restaurant you can wait 30 seconds for a light to change. It is safer to not run a yellow light and make it to the restaurant than to potentially cause an accident that might not even hurt you.
3. Be considerate- This is especially important when it comes to merges. People often think that they cannot let that car in front of them. Why? Is one car in front of you going to make that big of a difference? If you want to know how to drive someone crazy just dont let them merge and see what happens, and remember this could be you not merging. So please be considerate to other drivers.
4. Speed- When you are trying to get on a highway or interstate there is a lane called the acceleration lane. This is used to accelerate to interstate speeds so that the cars on the interstate dont have to slow down for you. Dont accelerate past highway speeds but speed up to the flow of traffic.
5. Be aware during merges- While you are being situationaly aware you might notice that up ahead you see merging traffic. If your lane merges into another start to plan where you are going to merge into that lane. If a lane merges into your start planning to let another car or two into your lane.
6. Signals- These arent just put on cars because the government demands it, they are safety features. Use these to let other drivers know what your intentions are; they cant read your mind. If you need to make a lane change start to signal and another considerate driver should let you in.
7. Keep both hands on the wheel- Everyone is taught in their driving lessons to drive with both hands on the wheel, but a lot of people dont. This isnt something that is just said it is again a safety issue. With two hands on the wheel you have better control of the car and can receive more feedback through the steering wheel on what the car is doing.
8. Use your mirrors- You mirrors can help you tremendously when it come to city driving. Once you learn how to drive with them all you need to do is just move your eyes to see out your mirrors. This means that you can keep your main focus forward yet still be aware of the cars to the left and right and behind you.
9. Obey the traffic laws- I know this one sounds like a given but there are many times when people just blatantly disregard the laws. Im not talking just about speeding. Stop means stop, no left turn means no left turn, yield means yield to other traffic. These laws are there to keep you and other drivers safe. It doesnt take long to make a full stop and look around or to go to the next street and make a left.
10. Situational awareness- I know this has already been said but I feel that if you are aware of your surroundings and what other cars are doing you can avoid a lot of problems. If you can see that another car isnt going to stop you can avoid it or if another car starts to merge without signaling you can see it an avoid it.
Learning how to drive is easy but learning how to drive well is a difficult task to master but if you just slow down and take in your surroundings you will be able to make better decisions and therefore be a better driver.
