Back to School Defensive Driving Techniques

It's that time of year again when the pleasant summer commute is back to normal as students and parents return from their summer breaks. That means there are a significantly higher number of motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians to be aware of while commuting.

One way to ensure everyone is safe is to practice defensive driving techniques. Being a defensive driver means driving to prevent accidents in spite of the actions of others or the presence of adverse driving conditions. In other words, defensive driving means that you are ready for any and all surprises on the road.

To avoid accidents by practising defensive driving, follow a three-step process of seeing hazards, understanding potential defences and acting in time.

See the Hazard

Think about what may happen as far ahead of you as possible, and never assume that hazards will resolve themselves before you reach them.

Understand the Defence

Review a potentially hazardous situation in your mind after you see it so that you can act quickly and in plenty of time. This will allow you to formulate a defence that will prevent an accident.

Act in Time

Once you see a hazard and decide upon a defence, you must act immediately. The sooner you act, the more time you will have to avoid a potentially dangerous situation.

Defensive driving requires the knowledge and strict observance of all traffic rules and regulations applicable to the area you are driving in.

It also means that you should be alert for illegal actions and driving errors made by others, and have a willingness to make timely adjustments to your own driving to avoid an accident.

Safety First

By keeping safe driving techniques in mind, you will learn how to modify and tailor your own driving behaviour to the unexpected actions of other drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians on the road.

By doing so, you'll be ready for unpredictable factors such as light, weather, road conditions, traffic patterns, and mechanical troubles.

All of us at Scrivens would like to welcome all the students a safe "Back to School" time and to all the parents, be the example of defensive driving for your kids.