One of the things you learn on an advanced driving
course is to continually assess your own driving and make
adjustments. Here are just a few of my top driving tips.
Don't fix your speed, set a target speed.
Do not attempt to maintain exactly one particular
speed whilst driving. Instead set yourself a
target speed. But be prepared slow down or speed
up as conditions around you dictate.
Do not follow too closely other vehicles
driving along a slip road onto a motorway.
Leave a gap so that vehicles already travelling
on the motorway in the near-side lane can slot
into that gap rather than having to slow down or
pull out into the middle lane.
When in doubt, ease off
Do not instinctively change course when something
unexpected happens ahead such as when a vehicle
pulls out into your lane whilst on a motorway.
Think first, and if you need more time, ease off the accelerator.
Overtake briskly
Even though you can overtake another vehicle
travelling only a few mph slower than yourself,
just how long are you going to occupy that
overtaking lane? Why not just slow down a few mph
yourself?
After overtaking, do not pull back in too
early
Especially if it is raining heavily but also if
the motorway is quiet, there's absolutely no
reason to do this.
Demonstrate better driving by example
There are a lot of bad drivers around. However
bad another person's driving, don't attempt to
teach them a lesson or get your own back. If you
do, there'll be two bad drivers, not just one!
Stress-free queuing
It is tiring stopping and starting when in
queuing traffic. It's better for you and your car
if you can keep the car crawling. Don't upset
drivers behind by allowing a massive gap to form
in front of you but do use the shadows cast by
the sun on the cars ahead to determine whether
the queue is about to start moving again or not.
Maximise the visibility of your
indications
Think about how you can maximise the visibility
and usefulness of your indications. Try to begin
indicating before you start braking so that your
indications are not obscured by your vehicle's
brake lights and have a better chance of being
seen.
Never accelerate to get away from a
tailgater
Concentrate instead on what is happening in front
of you. Make sure that whatever might happen
ahead you will have time to gradually reduce your
speed thereby reducing the chances of the vehicle
behind running into you.
Do not let yourself get worked up by
other people's bad driving
This is hard to do but if you allow yourself to
get worked up by another person's bad driving you
stand a good chance of increasing the likelyhood
of having an accident yourself. Did the other
person really do that deliberately? Could they
have just made a mistake and handled it badly in
the heat of the moment. Get satisfaction from
minimising the risks and inconvenience presented
by other people's bad driving. Treat others as
you would like them to treat you in a similar
situation.
Pre-empt other people's courtesy
When travelling in heavy traffic behind a number
of other vehicles and you see another vehicle
waiting to join the traffic flow, if possible,
try to create more of a gap between you and the
vehicle ahead. This might not only provide an
opportunity for the waiting vehicle to join the
traffic flow ahead of you but will also help you
keep moving should a vehicle ahead of you begin
to slow down or stop so that the waiting vehicle
can pull out ahead of them.
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