How a Driver Safety Course Can Help You Brush Up on Your Skills
How many years have you been driving? Ten, twenty, thirty or more? Cars have changed a lot in recent years and so have the rules of the road. It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve got behind the wheel, we can all use a refresher course every now and then.
Taking a driver’s safety course on car safety in New Bedford through a local driving instruction center is something that every driver should consider doing. The truth is, some of the most experienced drivers have benefited from taking a brush up course to fine-tune their driving skills.
What to Expect
Speak with your New Bedford car insurance agent to find out if there are any recommended driver safety courses available within the local area. When you take a driver safety course you can expect to receive a refresher on all of the current rules of the road, tips that you can use for safer operation of your vehicle and some basic to advanced defensive driving techniques. All of these tips and skills are desgined to help boost your car safety in New Bedford and anywhere else you might want to go.
You can also expect to learn:
- how to maintain a proper space/distance behind other cars on the road
- strategies for safe lane changing
- how to make intersection turns on busy roadways
tips for minimizing the dangers associated with blind spots - information about common medications that can impact your ability to drive
- overview of new technologies, such as anti-lock brakes, air bags and safety belts
- useful tips for monitoring your driving abilities and limitations
- eliminate distractions such as cellphone usage, smoking and eating while driving
6 Tips to Help Improve Your Driving Abilities Today
The more years we spend driving, the more we think we know about driving. While experience does count a lot, some drivers become too comfortable behind the wheel and begin to develop bad habits. As we age, physical changes to hearing, vision, concentration and reaction times affect all of us differently and at different stages of our lives. The best thing to do is to learn all you can about driver safety and use the following tips to increase your abilities.
#1 – Stay Focused on the Task at Hand
The statistics involving accidents caused by drivers who were distracted by cellphones, conversations with other passengers, taking a drink of a beverage or a bite of food are sobering, to say the least. Learn how to keep your focus on the road so you can keep an eye out for other drivers who might be distracted themselves. Refrain from using a cellphone while driving – even if its on speaker phone or through the use of an ear piece. Give your complete and undivided attention to what you are doing on the road.
#2 – Know the Rules of the Road
Simple rules, such as who has the right of way, proper distances between cars and how to make a turn at a yield, all work to prevent accidents. A driver safety course can help you brush you on your skills or you can look at government websites for the State of Massachusetts to find out if any rules have changed since you took your last test.
#3 – Proper Turning Tips
It is important to think of intersections as the most dangerous part of the road. You must be completely aware of what’s going on when you enter, leave or attempt to make a safe turn. Simple tips can save lives and costs associated with being in an accident. For example, you can avoid being pushed into oncoming traffic in the event of a rear-end hit at an intersection, just by keeping your tires pointed straight ahead so you’ll only move forward.
#4 – Don’t Just Rely on Your Mirrors
The mirrors that are on your vehicle are a great way to see things quickly and easily without a lot of effort. However, it is important to actually turn your head to look for yourself to avoid accidents that can be caused by blind spots, especially when changing lanes. While you will need to use your mirrors in a lot of situations, its good advice to physically look at the road or other cars on the road yourself whenever possible before making your move.
#5 – Use Your Experience
One of the biggest advantages you have over other drivers is your years of experience. Car safety in New Bedford isn’t just about knowing the rules of the road, it’s about learning from past mistakes or experiences and applying them to your daily driving habits. Learning how to avoid accidents and react differently in dangerous situations gives you access to driving skills that can’t be learned from a book.
#6 – Look for Hazards
You can avoid getting damage done to your vehicle and having to file a claim with your auto insurance in New Bedford just by keeping an eye out for hazards both on and off the road. You can do this simply by paying attention to the vehicles that you park next to at a shopping mall to make sure that the other driver can easily get in and out of the spot without hitting your vehicle; choosing well-lit parking spots when you park on a street; and driving slowly through residential areas or parking lots to avoid hitting pedestrians or other vehicles.
Speak with your New Bedford car insurance agent for other safe driving tips that can help you improve your driving skills. Also make sure to ask about taking any driver safety courses that might be available locally that can help you even more.