Defensive Driving Tips for Owning Your Safety

Road rageTraffic laws exist to keep us safe, but in reality, it’s everyone for themselves out on the road. You are responsible for the safety of yourself and your passengers, so it’s important to take a proactive role.

At Direct Paint, we want our customers to stay safe during their travels. Keep reading for our top five defensive driving tips.

Five Tips for Practicing Defensive Driving

1. Avoid Distractions: Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. No using your cell phone, no eating, no applying makeup, and no holding pets or attending to children. Safe driving means no distractions.

2. Constant Vigilance: Sweep your eyes across the road in front of you and check your mirrors constantly. This way, you can see hazards before it’s too late.

3. Don’t Tailgate: If you’re not sure what a safe distance is, two seconds is a good rule of thumb. Identify a stationary object. After the car in front of you passes it, you should be able to count “1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi” before you pass the same object.

4. Increase Visibility: Always use your turn signal and make sure your tail lights are in working order. Be aware of other drivers’ blind spots and make an effort to not linger where other drivers cannot see you.

5. No Road Rage Zone: Aggressive or rude drivers can set you on edge, but it’s important that you remain calm. Not only will retaliating with similar behavior put you and other drivers in danger, but it won’t change the rude driver’s attitude.

On behalf of the team at Direct Paint, we wish everyone safe driving for the rest of the winter season!