How to Reduce Your Risk of a Crash
Four driving behaviors to adopt now to keep yourself and your passengers safer
Numerous studies have shown that driver error plays a major role in most traffic accidents. Here are a few changes you can make to your driving habits to help avoid a crash.
Avoid distracted driving
Distractions can be deadly, and cell phone use while driving is among the most common distractions, according to a US Department of Transportation survey.
In one recent survey, more than 20% of US drivers reported engaging in at least one smartphone-based activity on most or all of their trips.
An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found that “the drivers who spent the greatest amount of their driving time interacting with a cell phone also had the highest rates of near crashes and crashes.”
To reduce distractions:
- Place your phone somewhere you can’t access it.
- Avoid talking to passengers while driving.
- Teach children not to distract the driver.
- Set all touch screen controls before driving.
- Ignore outside distractions and rubbernecking.
- Don’t eat or drink or attend to personal grooming while driving.
Don’t speed
Even speeding “just a little” can be surprisingly risky. Going 35 mph in a 30 mph zone means that a moving car has more than an additional third of kinetic energy and will hit an object, or pedestrian, with that much more force. Higher speeds also lengthen stopping distances. Don’t believe us? Check out the stopping distance calculator at omnicalculator.com/physics/stopping-distance.
Scan the road ahead
Drivers should look far ahead, scan the sides of the road for potential problems, and check the mirrors often. At highway speeds, looking a quarter- to a half-mile ahead is advisable, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Drivers should always be checking for possible escape paths in case there is a problem ahead.
Drivers should also be alert to perception errors, such as misjudging the speed of an oncoming car before entering an intersection.
Don’t get too close
Following too closely increases your risk of crashing into the vehicle in front of you. The NHTSA recommends that at 60 miles per hour—under ideal conditions—drivers should leave a gap to the car ahead of 280 feet, or about 18 car lengths.
That’s a lot of space, but it is needed—and perhaps a little more—in an emergency. It takes the average car and driver at least 252 feet to stop from that speed, adding in driver reaction time. A heavy SUV or truck can need even more space for stopping, while poor weather will lengthen stopping distances for everyone. Ultimately, drivers should keep as much empty space around their vehicle to the front and sides as possible—no matter the speed.
Adopting these practices will make for safer driving.