Road safety is an ongoing issue that affects everyone regardless of where they are located. While some nations have more stringent laws than others, road traffic accidents (RTAs) are an unfortunate but often inevitable part of life.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of steps you can take to reduce the chances of becoming a victim and yet another gruesome statistic, most of which will be discussed throughout this post.
Even though many of these suggestions will seem obvious, they are worth restating because so few people actually implement them. So, without any further delay, let’s begin our journey into road safety so you can get out on the road safely in the knowledge you are doing all you can to stay safe and protect other road users.
Understanding The Importance Of Road Safety
Before diving into the weeds regarding the actual tips themselves, it’s worth providing a little context for the rest of the post. In the USA alone, there are around 43,000 fatal crashes each year. However, when you factor in all those that weren’t fatal, 2021 saw over six million accidents (that were reported and registered by the police).
That is a truly staggering statistic and goes to show how dangerous it can be to get behind the wheel without any forethought. As stated by this experienced car accident lawyer based out of San Bernardino, two issues arise from most types of accidents. These include:
- Economic: These are financial in nature and not merely relegated to physical damage. It can include medical bills, lost wages, and even damage to other property if you hit other vehicles or real estate, etc.
- Non-economic: Compared to the previous issue, non-economic problems include anything from emotional distress to a drastic loss in the quality of your life from any injuries you might have sustained, often on a sliding scale from whiplash to complete paralysis or loss of limbs.
These points also leave out the impact you might have on other road users or pedestrians that you can cause by your own reckless driving. If this is the case, you could also find yourself not only facing civil litigation but possible jail time if you are found to have been recklessly negligible (DUI, for instance). If that isn’t enough to scare you into taking more care when you start your car, the fact that you could permanently destroy other people’s lives should be.
Advice For Safe Driving On The Road
Now that you realize how important it is to take reasonable safety measures before setting out on a road trip, we can get into the most important advice you should follow.
As mentioned in the introduction, some of the tips might come across as blindingly obvious, but they are worth reiterating in order to bury them deep into your mind.
Stay Alert And Well-Rested
The first tip in this post is one that everyone knows in the back of their heads but tends never to actually heed. Driving while fatigued can have similar effects to driving under the influence. While you need to be pretty exhausted for it to reach this level, your reaction times will dramatically diminish the more tired you become.
This is particularly prevalent on longer road trips but can also become an issue even during shorter journeys if you fail to get enough sleep the night before. Your best option is to ensure you are adequately rested before putting your hands on to wheel (or handlebars in the case of a motorcycle).
Failing that, you must factor in plenty of rest stops throughout longer trips. If you really find yourself waning at the wheel, the only course of action you must take is to pull over somewhere safe and take a short nap to recharge your batteries.
Never Drive Under The Influence Of Any Intoxicants
Yes, this sounds completely obvious, but unfortunately, many drivers simply don’t pay attention. We all know someone who has said, “One more won’t hurt,” and if you’re being honest with yourself, you have probably thought the same at one point or another. However, one more can be the difference between getting home alive or in the back of an ambulance.
Moreover, even if you are able to wind your way back home safely, you run the risk of being intercepted by the police and finding yourself in a whole world of legal pain. It is better to lay it safe and avoid drinking or drugs altogether, which will reduce the odds of reckless driving by almost 100%.
Avoid Distractions While Driving
It only takes one second to turn your life or someone else’s life upside down. You might not want to believe it, but that split second when you take your eyes off the road while doing make-up in the mirror or checking your phone can be the moment you will come to regret the remainder of your life.
Play it safe, and if you need to do any other activity other than driving, pull over to the side of the road and perform whatever action you need to before getting back to the task at hand.
Follow The Speed Limit
Speed limits can appear to be a frustrating additional layer of bureaucracy that has been designed to make our lives more difficult, but in most cases, they exist for a reason. This is especially true when it comes to high-speed highways or low speeds on streets that wind through urban areas or near schools. There can be no situation where you need to exceed the limit, and you can avoid this by planning your routes in advance and checking traffic reports before heading out.
Pack An Emergency Car Kit
Being stranded by the side of the road when your vehicle decides to give up the ghost is not only an annoyance but can be potentially dangerous (especially if beside a busy highway or thoroughfare).
To avoid this scary situation, it pays to have a few tools handy and the knowledge to use them. This usually includes a spare tire and the tools to help you change them quickly and efficiently.
You should also have a reflective triangle on hand to warn other road users that you are immobile and a potential hazard. At the bare minimum, it’s worth investing in a roadside assistance program that you can call to come and rescue you in such a situation.
Keep Your Car Well-Maintained
Whether it’s your tires that are severely lacking tread or your lights that don’t work, any number of issues can cause carnage if you don’t adequately maintain your vehicle.
While not everyone has the time to learn the intricate inner workings of an internal combustion engine (or electrical ones, as is increasingly the case these days), you do have responsibility for checking the basics. This includes performing a 5-minute check of your front, rear, brake, and indicating lights before you set off. Moreover, you should periodically inspect your tires to ensure they have plenty of tread, allowing for stable driving in inclement weather.
Another simple inspection you can perform yourself is making sure your windscreen washing fluid is sufficiently topped up and ready to wash away any detritus that could impede your vision. If you are car-savvy enough, you can also top up the various fluids that make your car function correctly (brake, coolant, etc).
If you are unsure how to do this, it’s worthwhile bringing it to your local mechanic once a year to keep things oiled up and ready to go.
Always Wear Your Seatbelt Properly
Why people fail to put on their seatbelts is beyond me, but all too often, you see drivers ignoring the warning signs and taking their life into their own hands. Seatbelts save lives. There is so much evidence to back this claim up that it can be stated as fact rather than theory. Vehicles move at such high speeds, and you have such inertia that an accident is capable of mangling a human body beyond recognition. Moreover, it isn’t only yourself that needs to wear one. If involved in a head-on collision with a rear passenger not wearing a seatbelt, the force can be so strong as to crush the front passenger irreparably. It takes but a second to put on your seatbelt and inform other passengers to do so that it’s simply not worth ignoring.
Check Your Blind Spots Carefully
You are not the only person on the road, and you must be aware of that. Blind spots exist in cars because they can only be made in a certain to ensure structural integrity.
However, a blind spot is a slight misnomer because they aren’t really blind. As long you take a second to double-check before you make a turn to ensure nothing else is coming, you can save lives.
Be Aware Of Changing Weather Conditions
Poor weather conditions tend to cause more accidents than usual. This is simply because powerful winds, rain, ice, and snow can all interfere with how you drive, including breaking distances.
Although it might not be entirely possible to cease driving when a storm front heads your way, you should make an effort to check in advance and prepare accordingly. This could mean attaching snow tires or merely driving with more caution than you might otherwise do.
Driving is one of those tasks that can seem blase when you have been doing so for years. However, it’s when you take your mind off the game that accidents begin to occur.
By following the steps presented in this post, you should be able to avoid accidents, possibly saving your life and that of other people.
