4 Mistakes You Have to Avoid When Driving

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Driving can be a relaxing if you learn to do it well. But for this you need years of practice and mistakes that hopefully will not be fatal. However, even after years of driving one can still make a lot of mistakes without even realizing it. These are mistakes that are not officially recognized as mistakes and which one can get used to.

It’s not too late to correct this harmful behavior and to learn more about driving in a manner that can keep you safe.

Are your headlights on?

Photo source: refcars.com
Photo source: refcars.com

You don’t know how important your headlights are until you have an accident and realize it could have been avoided with a bit of extra light. It’s not just you, there actually have been studies which prove that one can reduce the risk of accidents by 32% if they keep the headlights of their cars on. And if you stop and think about this, it actually makes sense. You see better the things in front of you if they have a bright light attached to them. So stay safe and turn on the lights every time you take the car out for a drive. Those with manual headlights might consider it a burden but it is worth it when your life is at stake.

To brake or not to brake

I think this is the first thing my father told me when I started driving: in case of sliding or blowouts, don’t brake! In normal situations, braking is highly recommended if you want to get out of it alive, but during a blowout try to ignore your usual instincts.

When you brake during a blowout you are most likely to fishtail and lose control of your car (possibly crash into another one on the way). So what is there to do? In spite off everything you know, try to hit the gas. But don’t turn it into a Speedy Gonzalez going-to-get-milk kind of situation. Squeeze the pedal firmly a few seconds until you gain back the control you’ve lost and keep the car as straight as you can. This will help you recover and the car will eventually slow down.

Keep an eye on them

There was a joke circulating the web related to the statements given by drivers after being involved in car accidents. One of them said that he saw in the eyes of the other driver that he gave him permission to go. So he went in and crashed. Don’t settle things with your eyes in traffic. Try to use your brain and attention. It is important to focus on the traffic signs but it is just as important to observe the way in which the other drivers behave in traffic. Relying only on the traffic signs will not save you from getting into an accident. Just because you respect the rules it doesn’t mean that everyone else does it too.

Use the emergency brakes

Photo source: tootdrivingschool.co.uk
Photo source: tootdrivingschool.co.uk

You know how it is when you go out of the game for a while and suddenly your friends want to drag you to a bar and you drink until the morning? What do you think will happen the next day? You won’t be singing happy tunes that’s for sure. It’s the same with the emergency brake. When it’s out of use for a long time it gets rusty and corrodes. Therefore when you will actually need it, it will fail you faster than can say “look, I’m flying.”