Four ways to avoid a car accident
Each year, millions of people are involved in car accidents. Some accidents are unavoidable. But there are several things you can do to reduce the likelihood that you’ll cause a collision with another vehicle:
- Avoid eating, texting or talking on your phone while driving. It is tempting to answer your phone or take a sip of coffee while behind the wheel. We often forget that driving takes a lot of concentration. We all know that texting while driving is dangerous. Yet studies show that many accidents are caused by talking on the phone — even with a hands-free device. In other cases, eating and drinking can cause just enough distraction to cause a collision.
- Drive the speed limit. The higher your speed, the less time you have to react. Drive the speed limit. Be aware of how fast you are going, and plan ahead as best you can to ensure you don’t have to rush.
- Keep a safe distance behind other vehicles. We all hate it when someone is right behind us, so why do it to others? Driving too closely to the car in front of you delays your reaction time. A sudden object in the road or bad road conditions can cause a major pile-up if other drivers are following too closely as well.
- Be careful in parking lots. Many accidents and small fender benders are due to distracted driving or speeding in parking lots. We might think the parking lot is a safe place to speed to an exit, but traffic rules still need to be observed.
