General Driving Tips

• Prepare your vehicle for the road. Keep headlights, taillights, signal lights, mirrors and windows clean at all times.
• Always wear your seat belt and make sure all your passengers are buckled properly, even on short trips.
• Have a clear head, you should never drive under the influence of alcohol or any drug legal or otherwise that could affect your judgment, reaction time or driving abilities.
• Never drive when you are tired, driver fatigue can be just as deadly as drinking and driving.
• ALWAYS drive defensively and stay alert!
• Pull over to a safe place to use your cell phone.
• Be aware that breaking distances can vary greatly depending on the vehicle, load and conditions.

• Anticipate other driver’s actions and you can be ready to take evasive actions of your own if you need to.
• Do not tailgate! Most rear end accidents are caused at least in part by people following the car ahead of them too closely. You must keep at least a three second buffer between you and the vehicle ahead of you. 
• Pay close attention to crosswalks and intersections or when driving in the vicinity of playgrounds, schoolyards, and  parking lots.
• Be aware of the construction or speed reduction signs.
• Stay properly in your lane, do not weave in and out of traffic.
• Keep right except to pass on multi-lane highways. Slower traffic should stay in the right lane to allow efficient flow of traffic and to avoid angering impatient drivers.
• Signal your intentions! Use your turn signals early enough to let others around you know your intentions before you start your maneuver. Be sure your signal light goes off after your maneuver so you don’t confuse others by signaling a turn you aren’t going to make.

• Be aware of traffic entering your blind spots and avoid blind spot of other motorists.
• Keep looking around you, in and out of your car, while driving. Check your mirrors, turn signals, gauges, blind spots, other traffic, etc., constantly to keep aware of what’s going on around you, avoid tunnel vision.

• Use your headlights day and night. Some jurisdictions have headlight laws where you must have your lights on if windshield wipers are used, some jurisdictions require headlight use at all times. 

• Use your high beams sensibly, be courteous to the other drivers, DON’T blind them. Dim your lights when breaching the top of a hill or going around a curve or bend in the road
• Leave room in front of your vehicle at stoplights. You should always leave enough room ahead of your vehicle to allow you to pull out and around the car in front of you should an emergency arise or the car ahead of you becomes disabled. A good gauge of this is to stop before the bottom of their rear tires disappear below your hood in your line of sight. ALWAYS leave yourself an escape route.
• Cell phones can be a serious distraction while driving, pay attention to the road. Some jurisdictions now ban the use of cell phones while driving a motor vehicle; if you are in such an area, find a safe place to stop to place your calls.
• PLAN AHEAD Allow yourself plenty of extra time to reach your destination and allow for traffic and adverse weather conditions.
• BE ALERT TO SIGNS OF FATIGUE If you start to feel tired when driving pull over in a safe area and let someone else drive. If you are alone, pull into a safe location such as a well lit rest stop and take a short nap or get out of the car and walk around for a few minutes. Stop as often as necessary. When traveling on long trips, eat light. Large, heavy meals can make you drowsy. 

DRIVE SAFE!

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