Road Rules That’ll Turn You Into A Brilliant Driver

When you passed your driving test, did you feel like you knew absolutely everything about the road? Did you feel that you could take on any kind of road situation and come out on top? Maybe you did because of the elation of finally being independent behind the wheel, but there’s a good chance you wouldn’t have known if something actually did happen!

If you’re a driver, you already know the amount of rules out there that you have to follow to be a safe driver (as well as stay within the law). However, there’s some more unspoken ones that often get ignored or are simply unknown about, and if you did know them you’d be a lot better at what you do. Road safety is always going to be the number one priority when it comes to using the road, but there’s some more tips and tricks you can have on your side to help you out. And you can read on about them below.

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Always Brush Up on Your Skills

This is a good plan for anyone who has been away from driving for a good amount of time, or someone who has just passed their test and feels like they still need a bit of preparation to go full time behind the wheel. So if you can brush up on your skills, make sure you do! There’s always courses out there for you to find that offer pass plus skills, or you could go for something like defensive driving.

Anyone can use these services, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re new to driving or have been doing so for years and years now. They won’t cost too much extra, and if they mean you get more and more use out of your vehicle, they’re worth it. You can never play it too safe when you’re trying to get out of congested area after all, and even your insurance can get a bit cheaper if you can prove you really know what you’re doing (although that’s never guaranteed).

Know Who is at Fault

When it comes to using the road, the biggest issue is whether or not your actions will get you into a crash. And these can vary in severity, from the slightest bump from the car behind you to being completely totalled by a truck that’s suddenly jack knifed on the highway. It’s what people are most worried about when it comes to having to use a car, and they’re also what makes the insurance premiums so expensive to pay for.

So if you get into an accident, you need to know who is at fault. And this isn’t an easy thing to keep track of! But if you’re following all rules of the road, and you know you stopped, indicated, and slowed when you needed to, you should be in the clear. Speaking of that truck accident, if any larger vehicles hit you, make sure you look into truck accident lawyers before you go to court, if need be. They are the experts in this matter, and can do more for you than a standard car accident specialist.

Learn to Park

There’s a couple of ways to pull off a successful parking maneuver, and it’s always going to be easiest when no other vehicle is around to stop you. But the universally hated one is the need to parallel park. If you can parallel park without any problems already, you’re doing a far sight better than most of us. Parallel parking is something most road users find difficult to pull off, and thus they don’t spend much time practicing it, or find other places to park to avoid having to use this maneuver. Don’t feel bad if you’re the kind of person who does this, we’ve all been in that situation.

However, it can be relatively simple once you realise the steps that are involved, and remember everything your instructor told you when you were learning. Simply know how big your car is, have a good spacial awareness of the spot you want to fit into, and learn how to properly reverse yourself into it. Once you’ve handled these three steps, the rest should follow suit fairly easily, as you just have to wiggle your car into fitting the spot a little better. A good infographic to help illustrate these steps can be found here.

Make Sure Your Mirrors are Correct

Mirrors are the most handy tool your car has, and thus you’re always going to need them to be in the best position for your road use. And that can change from time to time, and fairly rapidly, so make sure you’ve got all the outside world covered when you’re stuck in the cockpit of the car.

It’s a generally accepted truth that the car has a blind spot over your shoulder, but you should make sure there are no other blind spots when you’re using your car. So adjust your outside mirrors until you can’t see the side of your own car anymore, and instead the entirety of the road will be opened up to you. Use your rearview mirror as the guiding line here.

Always Be Alert

Quite possibly the most important tip, but also the most ignored tip when it comes to good road safety. If you think you can manage a drive to another town on 5 hours of sleep, don’t get behind the wheel. If you’re anything less than alert when you’re driving, the situation is going to be much more dangerous for anyone on the same road as you. If anything happens, it’s going to cost you a lot of money, a lot of injuries, and possibly even something worse for you or another driver you collided with.

When it comes to using the road, always keep tips like these in mind. You know your skills, so try and make them better for everyone involved in the automobile world. You never know when a serious crash could occur.