Here are the reasons why you should practice defensive driving
Defensive driving may be contrasted with aggressive driving which is a combination of high-risk driver behavior such as spamming the accelerator pedal and braking aggressively, as well as speeding. It is a concept in which a driver uses caution to anticipate and react to dangerous situations on the road. While defensive driving encompasses all aspects of vehicle operation, it puts the emphasis primarily on the driver's behavior. Defensive drivers operate their vehicles anticipating potential collisions with other objects or other vehicles, pedestrians, animals, and weather events.
1. Increase Your Safety
When you practice defensive driving, you not only increase your safety but the safety of those around you as well! By recognizing dangerous situations and taking precautions to avoid them, we ensure ourselves and others a safe journey.
We must be aware of our vehicle’s surroundings at all times and control our speed appropriately. Always pay attention to signs and signals, do not drive when tired, and always check your vehicle’s tire pressure.
2. Help Prevent Accidents
You can help prevent accidents by practicing defensive driving! When you are aware of what’s around you, you can act appropriately to avoid dangerous situations. When drivers follow the rules of the road and drive defensively, they reduce their risk of being involved in an accident.
No matter how good a driver you are, there is always the chance that you may be involved in an accident. If you do find yourself in a one, seek legal advice as soon as possible. If you're from the windy city, you should call Chicago car accident lawyers, and if you're from the bay area, you should contact a lawyer from San Francisco. The point is, your lawyer should always operate in the place you live.
Making sure that you're the one that adheres to the rules of the road can help you ensure that you won't be the guilty party in an accident. This, of course, cuts down on the chances of you getting sued.
3. Avoid Fines
By practicing defensive driving, you can avoid receiving citations! If you are aware of your surroundings and remain cautious in your actions, then police officers will not have any reason to pull you over for traffic violations. Always drive within the speed limit, stay off your cell phone while driving, and always obey traffic signals.
Police officers are known for being able to spot drivers that are not practicing defensive driving. When an officer observes a motorist swerving in lanes or tailgating another vehicle, he may very well pull them over to give them a warning about their unsafe driving behavior. If the driver refuses to heed this warning, they may be fined for their offenses.
The law states that all drivers must drive with caution. If you are obeying all traffic laws and being cautious on the road, there really is no reason why you should have to worry about receiving citations.
4. Increase Traffic Flow
If many people practice defensive driving then traffic will flow more smoothly - meaning that you can get to where you need to go faster! It can also help reduce the risk of accidents which in turn reduces the amount of congestion on the roads.
Life always moves fast - especially when you're trying to get somewhere! By practicing defensive driving, we can help ensure that we don't waste time sitting in traffic and thus make our own lives much easier. It may seem contradictory to say so, but being courteous to others on the road can actually help you get where you are going faster.
This is because if most people are obeying traffic laws and practicing defensive driving, then there will be fewer cars breaking rules and causing accidents. If the flow of traffic is more consistent then it helps reduce congestion thus allowing for fewer traffic jams.
5. Avoid Car Repairs and Medical Bills
By practicing defensive driving, you can help avoid car repairs and medical bills! If you remain aware of your surroundings and take appropriate precautions to avoid dangerous situations, then you will reduce the chances that your vehicle is going to be involved in a collision. The statistics bear this out: if everyone practiced defensive driving, there would be fewer accidents.
When car accidents do happen, people are often injured. Oftentimes these injuries will put the car accident victim out of work for an extended period of time and these medical bills can be quite high. If you practice defensive driving, hopefully, your vehicle will never be involved in a collision that could lead to any injuries.
This doesn't mean that you don't have to get your car detailed. You should always maintain your car properly, but if you practice defensive driving, then your car will likely stay safe from accidents and thus not need repairs often.
6. Save Money on Gas
Driving requires gasoline and this gasoline doesn't grow on trees! If you want to save money in the long run, then it's a good idea to practice defensive driving. This is because if you avoid speeding tickets and collisions, you won't need as much gas - thus saving yourself some cash in the process.
Aggressive driving, apart from being dangerous, wastes gas. If you drive at a consistent pace and obey traffic laws, then your car will be using less gasoline which of course translates to saving money. A lot of traffic lights are timed so you can't get through them if you drive over the speed limit. This means that, if you don't obey the speed limit, you will find yourself having to waste gas and time by constantly stopping at red lights.
One could argue that defensive driving even helps with eco-friendly concerns. This is because driving this way can help reduce fuel emissions since your car won't be wasting gas by accelerating needlessly or frequently braking.
Sometimes people forget that a car is potentially a dangerous weapon and that it requires care and caution to operate. Because of this, they think that they're invincible and start driving in risky ways. But this simply isn't the case.
There are so many benefits to practicing defensive driving that it's hard to list them all here. By obeying traffic laws and avoiding dangerous situations, you can help improve the quality of life in your community for yourself and others. You can also make your car safer, save money on gas and medical bills, and reduce congestion. If you want to remain safe on the road and not end up spending a lot of money on repairs and medical bills over time, then defensive driving is the way to go!
