Safety Tips to follow while driving your vehicle

03 May 2019

Driving a vehicle is often considered as a stress-buster for many people. Who doesn't love to go on that long drive, cruising around the city, with the wind in hair? But when you are behind the wheel, you need to remember to drive safely; whether you are driving by yourself or with passengers. Safe driving should always be your primary concern. However, when driving gets monotonous people tend to get distracted and take traffic rules and violations lightly, which is risky behaviour. As such, it is very important that you exercise safety tips while driving. Here are a few tips for safe driving.

• Always wear a seatbelt:

Whether you are stepping into your car for a short trip or long, whether you are seated in the front seat or the back, whether you are the driver of the car or a passenger; you must always wear the seat belt. When you are in a car accident, the seat belt serves as your greatest saviour because it distributes forces from the car crash across your chest and pelvis which are regarded as some of the body's strongest parts. If you're wearing the seat belt during an accident, you could escape with a few bruises as opposed to flying into the car's windscreen in its absence.

• Concentrate on the road:

Even though this sounds like a basic thing to say, concentrating on the road is one of the most important safe driving tips because texting and driving has become a norm today. Young drivers are especially glued to their mobile phones. If you are on your cell phone while driving you can be distracted physically, cognitively and visually and become a victim of a car crash. If you need to use your cell phone urgently, you should stop and park your vehicle somewhere, complete the call and then continue driving.

• Don't drive without a valid insurance:

Experienced drivers, who've never been in a car accident, begin to think that they are wasting money on insurance. But the fact is that even though you may be a safe driver, the same cannot be said about a third party individual. It is therefore better to always have a valid car insurance policy. Not only is it important, it is also mandatory as per the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988 to hold a basic third party liability insurance policy. You must also remember to renew your car insurance every year.

• Don't drive beyond the speed limit:

Speed driving is exciting and thrilling but it is also one of the most common reasons for car accidents. People especially tend to drive at high speeds on open roads and highways, which is very risky as you cannot predict the speed of another car. As such, driving under the prescribed speed limits is one of the most important car safety tips. Now-a-days, there are CC TV camera's everywhere and if you are caught exceeding the speed limit, you could receive a motor-vehicle violation ticket and you'd have to pay a fine for exceeding speed limits. Moreover, violating traffic laws can affect your car insurance premium as well.

• Keep an eye on your blind-spot:

Before you hit the road, you should adjust your side and rear-view mirrors so that you can always see what is happening behind your car. Despite this, depending upon the size of your car, there could be huge areas for other vehicles that you may not be able to spot in these mirrors. Therefore, safe driving guidelines dictate that you check your blind spots. The blind spots should be checked before parking or vacating the parked position, while making a sharp turn, merging into traffic, changing lanes to over-take etc. Apart from this above mentioned article on safe driving, there are a few more points you need to take into account while driving. These include following traffic signals, always staying alert, never driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, using headlights when required and proper vehicle maintenance. If you practice these safe driving tips, you will find driving to be a very enjoyable experience.