Driving To Work Every Day? Safety Tips You Need To Know

Maintaining safety on the road is becoming increasingly hard to achieve considering that accident and death rates are steadily increasing across the country. Although the majority of drivers are doing their best to follow the road rules and stay safe, it is nearly impossible to avoid the dangers of driving to work, especially on highways. 

However, following a set of safety tips and making sure that you’re as safe as possible can help reduce the risk of car accidents, and will guarantee a safer commute to work. So, keep the following safety tips in mind next time you take your car for a drive. 

Car Safety

In order for your daily commute to be safe, you need your vehicle to follow the standard safety measures. One good way to start doing this is by checking out the website of IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety), as they provide ratings on how safe different types of cars are. This is important, especially in states like Las Vegas, which ranks 144 out of 200 for driver safety. As any car accident attorney in Las Vegas will tell you, car accidents can be fatal and might cause PTSD in addition to severe injuries, such as head injuries, spinal paralysis, whiplash, as well as leg and knee injuries unless you follow car safety measures. To do this, your car should have the following features.

  • Blindspot detection
  • Adaptive cruise control
  • Automatic braking
  • 360 airbags
  • Back-up assistant cameras
  • Lane departure warnings

This can be useful if you’re considering buying a new car. Make sure that the model you choose has these features and is within your budget. If not, you can choose another one with similar features. Car safety also includes regular maintenance, so even if you already have a car, you’ll have to do regular check-ups to make sure that it won’t malfunction at any given moment on the road. 

Maintain Space 

It is important that you maintain a safe distance between you and other drivers, but this can be nearly impossible in congested streets where cars are nearly bumper to bumper. Of course, this can’t be avoided, but as long as you have the chance, you must keep a safe distance between you and other drivers. If you do this, you will have more time to react if there’s a threat ahead of you, and you won’t run into any cars if you happen to stop suddenly on the road. Therefore, your chances of getting into an accident will decrease significantly.

Vehicle Maintenance

Getting into vehicular accidents is way easier if your vehicle isn’t maintained properly. Unless you make sure that your car is well-maintained every time you commute for work, you might have to deal with car problems in the middle of the road. Your chances of getting into car accidents will increase and it will be too late to deal with your car problems then. To avoid this, you can do simple check-ups, like regular oil changes, lubricating the moving parts of the car, and regular tire pressure check-ups, especially if you have to drive in bad weather and road conditions.

Defensive Driving

One of the best safety measures to adopt on the road is to practice defensive driving. Because you can’t control poor weather, drunk drivers, or bad drivers in general, you’ll have to keep your eyes open to locate possible danger that will cause car collisions. To do this, you’ll have to be conscious of what other drivers around you are doing and how they’re acting and be prepared for unexpected actions from other drivers on the road. You should also maintain a safe distance from other drivers, especially in bad weather, and drive on safer roads if possible. Sources of distraction, like the radio, your cell phone, beverages, or food should be avoided. Drive in one lane if possible, always expect other drivers to make mistakes, and be ready to react when these mistakes occur.

Change Your Driving Hours

One way to avoid driving in congested streets is to change the time you drive your car in order to avoid rush hours. It is possible that your employer may change your work hours, so you won’t have to be stuck on the road. Depending on the traffic in your area, you might work from 10 am to 6 pm, for example, or from 7 am to 4 pm.

Avoid Aggressive Driving

Driving during rush hour can make any driver get frustrated really quickly. Succumbing to your anger, however, will not end well and might result in a car accident before you realize it. Thus, keeping your cool on the road, steering clear from aggressive drivers, and driving courteously will help you stay safe.

Following these safety tips while driving is not just about protecting yourself; it’s also about protecting other drivers, pedestrians, the passengers that might be in your vehicle, and the integrity of your car. Car collisions can cause grave injuries, so they must be avoided at all costs by performing regular car maintenance and abiding by traffic rules.

Annika Bansal
 

Annika "The Chick Geek" is the founder of AnnikaBansal.com. Small Business Sense shares small business ideas, tips and resources for independent Entrepreneurs and Small Business owners.