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Safe Driving 101

By March 20, 2017September 28th, 2020No Comments

In recent months, our office has seen an alarming number of accidents.  It is common knowledge the best way to prevent your auto insurance from rising is not to have an accident but did you know there are a number of things you can do to prevent both causing an accident and in some cases, you can even prevent being hit by another driver?

Tip #1 – Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the steering wheel at 9 and 3 o’clock.  You probably heard that the first day of driver’s training.  These 2 simple things will help you avoid accidents more frequently than any other advice.

Tip #2 – Take advantage of new technology in cars.  Learn how to make the most of the car technology to keep you safe.  Controls on the steering wheels make it so you don’t even have to move your hands or look at the radio to control the volume, change stations and more.  Take advantage of the safe car technology and make sure it is included in the next car you buy.  Here is a great article by Travelers about Car Safety Technologies that May Save Your Life.

Tip #3 –  Eliminate as many distractions as possible.  This is age old advice but the number of distractions has increased exponentially.  Don’t text, email or surf the web while driving.  Don’t just check quick, don’t do it at all.  That quick look to see the text message that just came in could be the split second you need your defensive driving skills to avoid a car coming at you head on.  Take advantage of blue tooth technology in your car to use voice commands if you absolutely must make calls while you are driving.  Keep your phone in a phone holder in your car to help eliminate it as a distraction.

Tip #4 – Reduce your speed.  Literally every day we have clients who re-end other cars.  A lot of these accidents can be avoided by driving the speed limit with the appropriate car lengths between you and the next car and having your eyes on the road.  Speed is a factor in so many accidents I can’t even begin to tell you how important it is to help you avoid accidents.

Tip #5- Talk to your inexperienced driver.  Not only do these inexperienced drivers have all the adult distractions of technology, friends in the car, the radio too high etc…but they are inexperienced.  They don’t have the years of driving practice that teaches them to be a good defensive driver.  Send your driver to an advanced training class.  Doug Herbert’s B.R.A.K.E.S. is an amazing class we have received a ton of great feedback from clients.  You may recall Doug lost his sons Jon & James in a car accident in Cornelius several years ago.  From that tragedy, Doug has created a training class designed to literally save your teen’s life.  Check it out here.

Tip #6-Almost forgot this one, Do Not Take Photos or Videos.  You probably see it on your Facebook feed every day like I do.  Folks who are so impressed with the scenery they are taking video or maybe even a selfie while operating the car.  This falls into the just don’t do it category.  Please refrain unless you are the passenger.  Just for fun while you are parked in the garage try this:  Time how long it takes you to take out your cell phone, turn the video on, aim it at something and take a short video.  That is the amount of time your car is unattended while you are driving down the highway.  S-C-A-R-E-Y!

Please stay safe on the road!  Email me if you need more information about anything mentioned michelle@oianc.com.

 

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