Highway safety is not something that should be neglected. For most drivers, driving on a highway is a daily activity because it is usually a faster route to their destination. But each year thousands of people are injured or killed in highway accidents. With so many drivers on our highways, it just increases the chance for highway collisions and accidents. While some accidents happen so fast they are unavoidable, many of them could have been prevented. By following some highway safety tips, you can help protect yourself from the dangers on the road.
Tips for Highway Safety
There are many highway safety tips to help counter act many of the dangers out there.
- Be Aware of Your Surroundings. Looking ahead and scanning the highway can help avoid highway defects or obstacles in the way. By staying alert to what is coming up, you can help anticipate speed changes and obstructions you need to avoid. Also know where your blind spots are. Your side mirrors do not show everything, and vehicles maybe hidden from your view.
- Keep a safe following distance. Give yourself time to react to sudden changes. The person in front of you many slam on their breaks and or drop debris. You want to be able to avoid these by giving yourself enough lag time to avoid an accident. If there is a vehicle you notice near you that’s driving recklessly, it is best to try and create distance between you and that driver. Attempt to change lanes and work your away from that vehicle.
- Follow the speed limit. Speed limits are there for a reason, and help facilitate traffic flow. Vehicles are more predictable when traveling around the same speed.
- Safely merge into traffic. Merging into traffic is not the same all the time. You can’t merge into traffic at less speed than the traffic flow. Or if you accelerated to quick on the on ramp you will probably end up slamming your breaks. There are a few things to remember when merging into traffic on a highway. You need to check the speed of the traffic and before merging you should try and match your speed to that of the traffic flow. You should almost be mindful of your blind spot as well. Merging into traffic requires a driver to do many things at once. Whether you are changing lanes, exiting or entering a highway, it is very important for you to use your traffic signal. Properly using your traffic signal lets other drivers know what you intend to do.
These highway safety tips can help minimize an accident, but sometimes the most cautious driver still get into highway collisions. To help become more of a defensive driver and for more highway safety tips, check out a defensive driving course.