Seven Driving Safety Tips to Keep You on the Road

It's good to review driving safety tips periodically, whether you're a new driver or have years of experience on the road.. Keeping safety in the front of your mind makes you a safer driver overall, and can help reduce accidents. These seven simple rules, which you should remember from drivers' education, should be mandatory every time you get behind the wheel.

1. Wear your seat belt. Even if you're driving down the street, make sure to wear your seat belt, and don't start the car untill all passengers are buckled in. Seat belts have been reported to prevent deaths in 50% of accidents that would have otherwise resulted in fatality.
2. Pay attention. When you are focused on driving, you are more observant and can make better choices than when you are distracted. Distractions can take the form of a cell phone conversation, a heated discussion, daydreaming, fatigue or eating, among other things. Your primary responsibility is driving the car. Make that your primary focus and improve your safety.
3. Use your signals. Turn signals alert other drivers to your intention to turn. This also communicates to other drivers that you will be slowing down, allowing them to adjust their speed to maintain a safe distance. It also helps drivers know if you need to make a lane change, so the drivers can make room for you safely. Even if no one is behind you, get into the habit of using your signals every time you make a turn. Then you'll be using them when they really matter.
4. Be courteous. Help other drivers and they will help you. This means if someone needs to get over into your lane, allow them in, rather than creating a tense situation by speeding up. Take turns correctly at a stop sign, yield when you should, leave a safe space between you and the driver in front of you and use your signals. Courtesy promotes safety every time. Rudeness and selfish driving is dangerous driving.
5. Keep your cool. Anger at other drivers increases the risk of an accident. Keep your feelings in check, even if another driver is not driving courteously. Remember, as you learned in driver education, your primary goal is safety. Keep as great a distance as possible between you and unsafe drivers, and avoid confrontation when possible. This includes offensive hand gestures. Should one be aimed at you, it is best to ignore it.
6. Avoid rushing. You're late. It happens to all of us sometimes. But driving too fast to get to your destination is futile and unsafe. In most cities, the lights are timed, so you'll be rushing only to stop again. If you drove at the speed limit you'd get there in the same amount of time. When you're speeding, you have less control over the car and less power to drive observantly. If an squirrel ran into the road ahead of you, your power to slow down or avoid it safely would be significantly decreased. Rushing causes erratic driving, which can make other drivers nervous and increase the chance of an accident.
7. Be Awake and Alert. Never get behind the wheel if you're drowsy. The regular motion of painted lines on the road or windshield wipers can put you into a trancelike state known as White Line Fever. Never get behind the wheel if you've been drinking or using any kind of drugs or medications. These reduce your reaction time and impair your ability to drive, making you a potentially lethal menace to yourself and everyone else on the road. This rule applies to any new medication you may take, from antihistamines to antidepressants. Get to know how the medication affects you before you get behind the wheel.