Choose To Be Safe:
Maintain The Correct Following Distance And Do Not Tailgate
Correct following distance is at least 3- 4 seconds.
How can you measure 3 – 4 seconds when driving?
1) Pick a stationary object.
2) Allow the vehicle in front of you to pass that object.
3) Count the number of seconds before you pass the same object.
4) You should be able to count to at least three before he/she passes the same stationary object.
Following distance should be increased in bad weather conditions or any other condition that might make stopping challenging such as:
> rain
> snow
> ice
According to NHTSA, 40% of all bad weather collisions occur in rain.
More collisions occur during rain than in snow or ice because drivers do not feel as if they need to increase following distance in rain.
If you are following behind a truck or have limited visibility, you should increase following distance.
At high speeds, drivers should plan to increase following distance. At 65mph, it takes a driver at least 71 feet to react to the actions of drivers around them and 217 feet to come to a complete stop.
If you see drivers around you being distracted, increasing following distance is the best way to keep yourself safe.
Aggressive Driving: Failure to obey Traffic Signals
What is the danger?
The sign indicates “No Turn on Red” but you are late and decided to do it anyway.
“No turn on red” signs are used in areas where there are a lot of pedestrians or on busy roads. If you make the turn, you run the risk of hitting a pedestrian or being involved with a crash with another vehicle.
The traffic signal is turning from yellow to red. Why can’t I just go through?
In 2015, 771 people were killed and an estimated 137,000 were injured in crashes that involved red light running. Over half of those killed were pedestrians, bicyclists and people in other vehicles who were hit by the red light runners.
The car in front of me stopped at the stop sign and I stopped behind them. Can’t I just go now?
Every driver has to stop at a stop sign. You need to check and make sure it is safe to proceed.
The light is only flashing red. Why can’t I just ignore it and go on through the intersection?
Drivers should treat flashing red lights like a stop sign.