In Defense of Defensive Driving

Defensive Driving is defined as the manner of driving which utilizes safety driving precaution strategies enabling drivers to tackle specific road dangers in a predictable manner. These techniques encompass laws, procedures and instruction on basic traffic rules.

This kind of education allow students to learn and develop driving skills while lowering the risks of accidents by predicting situations and making intellectual and safe decisions which are implemented according to environmental and road conditions present when making a safe driving maneuver.

Defensive Driving include the benefits of learning the following fundamentals of road rules:

Traffic Crashes

Both personal and social factors affect car crashes. Annually, around 41,000 people die as a product of traffic collisions, add to that the recorded 3,236,000 injuries. Defensive driving covers most of the dollars spent on car crashes as well as the emotional impact caused by crashes. This type of education aims to reduce the present dangers through proper information on how to make sound judgment while behind the wheel.

Psychological Factors

Though some of the factors that affect driving are beyond one’s control, psychological factors can be overcome by a driver when equipped with the proper information in handling it.

Defensive driving courses provide a focus on educating their students on several psychological aspects such as emotional distress, fatigue, unneeded stress, and road rage. Instructions on having a positive driving attitude while increasing focus is also included.

Dynamics of a Crash

Most crashes are almost always an avoidable result of a sequence of incidents. Factors such as place of impact, size of object being impacted and speed play a key role in identifying the severity of a crash. In road accidents, however, vehicle to vehicle, or vehicle to objects are not the only collisions that happen.

Collisions between driver and windshield, or with other passengers and/or objects within the car can also happen especially with the absence of a security belt. Defensive driving education help students to address this danger through proper illustrations and information.

Safety Equipment

In approximation, 50% of all deaths occur as a result of car crashes that could have been avoided if seat belts were properly used. Of course, seat belts are the most common thing that comes into mind when vehicle safety equipment is mentioned. Other than these, however, head rests, air bags and child safety seats also offer the much needed protection in case of a crash.

Defensive driving programs provide tips and knowledge on how to use such mentioned devises to our advantage so as to lessen the impact or effect of crashes, ensuring your safety when cruising even on the harshest road conditions and environments.

State Traffic Laws

The last segment of most state defensive driving curriculum requisites is an driver’s education of state-specific traffic laws (as traffic rules vary depending on state of residency). While this may serve as a mere review for many students, it is still important to include this for the benefit of some students who are not familiar with state laws.