Two Words: PAY ATTENTIONSep 03 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Defensive driving is part paying attention and part staying on defense. This is not football; in this game the person with the most offense is usually the loser...
I only looked down for a second... That was all it took or me to rear-end the car in front of me. Attention to detail had never been my strong suit, and here I was... a sixteen year old behind the wheel of a tank... a 1967 Dodge Polara that we had rebuilt from a junkyard. My Dad had insisted my first car be large to protect me in case of an accident... but God help the other drivers on the road... I was cruising along at 45 miles an hour, which was the speed limit... but it was an over-used two lane highway running through the heart of town... past due for a widening project and with a canal running along the road so drivers heading north had nowhere to go... Being young and inexperienced led to my looking from the road and onto the floor to help my girlfriend find the 8-track tape we wanted to listen to... and suddenly... BLAM! The driver of the other car, a new Alpha Romero 2000 or some such thing... had needed to stop. I, of course didn't see him because I was not looking... and when I looked I barely had time to hit my brakes... Fortunately nobody was hurt, the driver of the smaller car had been buckled in before it was law or fashionable... and his car had absorbed much of the impact as the rear section of his car folded up like an acordian. A police officer was on the scene in seconds... having been two cars behind us in traffic... and I was charged with failure to use due care... and never was a a more apt charge leveled on a driver... Fortunately for us nobody had been hurt. Fortunately for us my parents had ensured I had insurance prior to allowing me to drive. Fortunately for drivers everywhere... I did learn from that bone-jarring wake-up call... and became a much more alert driver. Here are a few common sense tips to help you be a more alert driver... they all have a common theme... PAY ATTENTION to the driving and let everything else go if it will unduly distract you. 1.) Cell Phones can kill you... and I'm not even politically correct most of the time... I use a cell phone quite frequently while driving, it is not illegal where I live, but I never try to dial a number or do anything that requires a lot of concentration while actually moving. If I must instigate a call, I either pull off the road or wait until I'm stopped at a traffic signal or for some other reason... The Center Line is More Important Than the Phone Line! 2.) Never Argue While Driving because it will not only distract you from your primary focus, which should be the safe navigation of your vehicle through a road filled with potential idiots! Also, arguing with your kids or your spouse in the car tends to raise the blood pressure and in many cases you will take your aggressions out on the road. If you really get upset, pull off the road! Not only will it be safer for you and your fellow man, but might actually stop the argument... especially if the kids think you're going to spank them now! 3.) Avoid Drinking From Open Containers or drinks that are very hot! Having an open cup of coffee fresh from the golden arches can be a nice pick-me-up on a drive, but if you spill it on yourself... especially when the "hot coffee is hot", as they warn us... you will react instinctively and your mind at that moment will be on the stain or the burn... and not on the road! This holds true for any beverage, not just coffee... Use a sip-lid or a straw if you must drink while you drive... and remember, no alcoholic beverages in any type of container! 4.) Avoid Looking For Tapes & CD's (like in my experience above, unless you're blind and the labels are in braille... you're gonna look away from the road... (of course, if you're blind... the driving tip for you is simply "DON'T!") It's far better and safer for everyone if you wait until you've stopped to change your music... same goes for changing the station unless you use pre-sets... you can't watch the road and the dial at the same time! 5.) Pay Attention to Your Vehicle Maintenance. While this doesn't sound like a defensive driving tip... if you're driving on a "may-pop tire" and it does you might have a disaster on your hands. Simple things like wiper fluid can be most important... so you can clear a foggy/dirty windshield and see more clearly the things you should be watching for! 6.) The Car is NOT For Babe-Watching... well, not for the driver to be checking out the girls (OR guys, for you lady drivers our there!) Remember that regardless if you're driving to work, to home, to the store... you will do it safer if something is not driving you to distraction! 7.) Watch For Other Lunatics. Be aware of what the drivers are doing around you. If you see them doing something that seems distracting, stay aware and steer clear of them. It is said in war one should give his enemy credit for equal or greater intelligence than one's self... while driving, you need to think that the other driver is perhaps a total moron... and it is up to you to see that both you and he survive the encounter! A few years back, I saw a bumper sticker... it read: Drive Defensively... Buy a Tank! My parents had done that for my defense but a better form of defense is to make sure that you are never on the offense as a driver!  |
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