A Blueprint to Avoiding Collisions

Blueprint to Avoiding Collisions is designed to help you build good defensive driving habits and skills you need to know.

Our Top 4 Collisions

Currently, four types of collisions account for more than 70% of all our traffic accidents.

Other Driver Fails to Yield Other Driver Hits us from Behind We hit other Driver from Behind Parking and Backing

Other Driver Fails to Yield

A common fail-to-yield scenario involves another driver who does not heed red or yellow lights at intersections.

 Up to 30% of all traffic collisions occur at intersections, within 2 seconds after the light turns red.

Other Driver Fails to Yield

 When you’re first in line at an intersection and the light turns green, wait at least 2 full seconds before you even hit the gas.

 Spend this time scanning the intersections for last-minute red light runners.

Hit from Behind

There are two very common hit-from behind scenarios:   You’re hit from behind by a tailgater.

You’re hit from behind while you’re stopped at an intersection.

Hit from Behind

To avoid being hit by a tailgater:  When you’re being tailgated, increase the distance between your car and the car ahead of you.

 This gives both you and the tailgater room to stop safely if the car ahead of you stops suddenly.

Hit from Behind

To avoid being hit while you’re stopped:  Have an escape route ready.

 If you’re stopped behind another car, be sure you can clearly see where its rear tires touch the road. This ensures you have enough room to get into your escape route if you need to.

We Hit the Other Driver from Behind Sometimes we’re the ones hitting from behind…  The last two skills we’ll review will help you avoid all types of collisions.

 Know them by heart and practice them until they become second nature.

We Hit the Other Driver from Behind Constantly scan a full circle around your car.

 Check your mirrors every 4 to 8 seconds  Check potential blind spots before you merge or pass  Constantly means don’t stop scanning just because you’re stopped.

We Hit the Other Driver from Behind Use the 2 Second Rule in ideal conditions:  As the car ahead of you passes a landmark, such as a telephone pole, start counting.”One thousand one…”  If you pass the same landmark before you count off 2 full seconds , you’re too close to the car ahead of you.

We Hit the Other Driver from Behind Increase the 2 Second Rule:  At night , make it at least 4 seconds  In rain , make it at least 4 seconds  In snow, fog, sleet or icy conditions , make it at least 8 to 12 seconds

Parking and Backing

There are many ways to get into trouble in a parking lot, but the most common involves backing… To avoid backing in the first place, use pull-through parking whenever possible:  In lots that feature head to head parking, look for 2 empty head to head spots. Pull into the spot nearest you, then pull through to park in the farther spot. No backing is needed to get into the spot, and you’ll also be able to pull out in forward gear.

Parking and Backing

If you have no choice but to back:     Back slowly Back no farther than is necessary Use your mirrors and also turn your head to look over your shoulder Keep scanning, as described above, until you’ve finished the backing maneuver