15 Defensive Driving Secrets That Can Save Your Life

How to drive a car safely? How to drive a car with an automatic transmission? Safety is everything when it comes to driving.
For example, do you know how to drive in winter weather? If you don't feel sure about your driving skills, then watch these 15 secrets from the specialists of defensive driving.

The most important rule for when you’re in a drift is not to brake. We mean than blocked wheels don’t let the driver control the car at all. There are only two ways of dealing with drifts, and they are different for each type of drive.

We're sure that you know these methods, but we still have a few secrets from the specialists of defensive driving to offer you.

TIMESTAMPS
How to avoid a car accident 0:29
Always keep the right distance 0:55
Look further 1:13
Use clutch and brake in the winter 1:34
How to drive in fog 1:56
ABS VS. no ABS 2:23
How to drive when drifting 3:08
Check the road 4:21
Divide by two 4:48
The surface road 5:11
Pick a side 5:36
Higher gear 5:51
Don’t overestimate other drivers 6:05
Have an emergency plan 6:32
Use car technology wisely 7:04

SUMMARY
Where danger can come from.
The places where people brake more often are usually the most slippery: before turns, pedestrian crossings, and bus stops. You should keep the same speed there and start braking early.

Keeping the right distance.
In winter, the distance between two cars should be two times bigger than in summer. But don’t leave too much space because someone else will want to get in the middle.

Looking further
Don’t look only at the car in front of you. Keep it in your sight, but also look further — 4-5 cars further.

Using clutch and brake in the winter.
In winter, you shouldn’t push the clutch pedal together with the brake pedal. In this case, the wheels can get blocked and the car will be put into a drift.

Driving in fog.
Make sure your headlights are on but don’t use high beams. Those will reflect off of the vapor in the air and only make things worse.

ABS VS. no ABS.
ABS car owners.
The anti-lock braking system neutralizes the brake pedal on icy roads if you push it too fast and too hard. Instead of braking suddenly, the system causes the pedal to vibrate, so you can turn the wheel and put it in the initial position.

None ABS car owners.
The best way to brake in winter is using the brake pedal together with the downshift speeds. You should push the brake pedal shortly and then fully unblock the wheels. Repeat before the full stop.

How to regain control when drifting
If your car starts drifting, don’t panic and don’t hit the brake pedal! Another mistake most people make is wrenching the wheel round and in this way over-compensating.

Check the road.
When driving on winter roads, hit the brake pedal and let it go several times. If you feel that the car stops, the road is good; if you don’t, it means that the road is icy. Do this as often as possible. Make sure you aren’t creating dangerous situations, of course.

Divide by two.
If in summer you can drive at 80 miles per hour, then in winter, you should drive at 40 miles per hour. This way, you will make sure that you will have enough time to react if your car starts drifting.

The surface road.
On any road, try to drive the car so that all 4 wheels are on the same surface.

Pick a side
To avoid bounces between the walls of a deep track, push either the inside or the outside part of the wheels against the wall.

Higher gear.
On an icy road, you should drive in a higher gear. Again, take the summer norm and increase the gear by one when you’re driving in winter.

Don’t overestimate other drivers.
People will speed, drive on red, and not let you merge from time to time. Staying alert for others to make mistakes is an essential defensive driving trick.

Have an emergency plan.
Always leave enough space around your car to swerve to safety if you should. An emergency plan and an escape route in mind provide extra safety for you.

Use technology wisely.
Use planners available for your smartphone to make sure you never forget to have your wheels changed. Set a reminder right now, so every October you will be reminded that it’s time you thought about your safety.

What driving secrets do you know? Feel free to share them in the comments.

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[kevinhughes]

Best piece of driving advice I ever received was 'treat every other road user as if they are a complete idiot ' . It hasn't failed me yet, and after watching these videos I think the person who told me 40 years ago was right.

[greenbear]

I am a pro driver and some things missed here are 1- Constantly scan your mirrors and gauges every 7 seconds is a good rule of thumb. 2- The bigger the vehicle the more time needed to stop. 3- Be aware of smells and odd sounds that are coming from your vehicle. If you notice something find a safe place to pull over and investigate. 4- Don't get distracted by outside influences like texting, screaming kids etc. Pull over and take care of business. 5- Always look out for unsafe drivers and give them plenty of room preferably way ahead of you. 6- do routine equipment checks to make sure your vehicle is road worthy and safe for you, your family and everyone else that has to share the roads with you.

[smartdrivetest]

Hello Bright Side: Unfortunately, the tips in this video are less than satisfactory, and some of the information is wrong. When working to control a skid on snow and ice, for example, do NOT downshift. Downshifting can potentially cause the vehicle's wheels to lock up and go into a skid. And the information about different kinds of skids uses a language which, first I've never encountered, and second, only complicates the issue. For example, what does "pull throttle up" and "pull back on the throttle" mean? The tips lack specificity: following distance in a passenger vehicle should be 2 - 3 seconds; and when road conditions deteriorate, increase your following distance to 5 seconds. And in the winter, when checking the road also take note of the outside temperature. If the outside temperature is around freezing 0°C (36°F) there will be ice. And finally, when teaching defensive driving, it is counterintuitive to show images from "The Fast & Furious" franchise and other illegal street racing movies. I might suggest in future you consult a professional driving expert to consult on the information and ensure that it is accurate. All the best, Cheers Rick

[iallso]

Tip 3, I always hear this in videos from the US, look 4 or 5 cars ahead or 12 seconds ahead, I was taught to look as far ahead as can be seen and then draw your vision back to the car in front, and repeat. Not only do you get an early warning about traffic congestion ahead but it is good for your eyes to focus an distant and close objects.

[Replevideo]

Regarding keeping the right distance. If someone passes you and nips in, drop back to restore your safe distance, even if it happens more than once. Don't let a fool turn you into one. Don't get annoyed either because an angry driver is more ikely to have an accident. It won't make you late because each time someone does that you only lose a couple of seconds.

[redheadfan]

Practice driving in the snow when you have the chance. The more comfortable and knowledgeable you are on how your car handles snowy conditions the better.

[RyguyK]

“Do you want to be safer while driving?”
*shows video of a driver and passenger without a seatbelt on*

[frankhoward]

4:00 "Pull back on the throttle." 4:08 "Pull the throttle up." I've got a gas pedal in my car. What's in your car? A rope?

[dfw_motorrad]

#16: In the snow, drift everywhere so that you will be more noticeable to other drivers. You can initiate the drift by either the handbrake, a clutch kick, or simply mashing the throttle. Make sure you get good and sideways though for maximum visibility.

[albeit]

One useful rule I follow when its slippery: Do one thing at a time! Don't change your speed AND your direction at the same time. Don't downshift or accelerate when changing lanes either. Do one, then the other. And do as little as possible when you are going down a hill if you can.

Downshift to slow down when going down hill. Keep your brakes cooler longer and you'll have more brakes in an emergency.

Start slowing down way before you reach other cars at a light. This keeps your brakes cooler again and also saves gas.

If you have a hybrid, use your regenerative braking first and early, only using your actual brakes after you've recaptured as much energy as you can in your car's battery. But don't avoid braking when you need to just to save energy.

And keep in mind that it's always safer going up a hill at a particular speed than it is going the same speed downhill. Don't let gravity dictate your speed. Your brakes will work great when you are going uphill but cold be overwhelmed when going downhill.

And learn to spot other drivers making these mistakes. Once you master driving yourself, you still need to watch out for what other people do.

[farrier]

My Dad taught me :- "It doesn't matter which way you are facing, as long as you can make the car go in the right direction."

[gaz]

This wasn’t the defensive driving I was thinking of. This was just tips on driving safely.

[SoullessProductions]

2:13 That is a "fog light" not low beam. Low beam would be the next light upwards.

[tinkri]

In Denmark where I'm from ALL of this is mandatory knowloge if you ever hope for getting your drivers license.
We even have to do "Winter driving" on an enclosed facitily where all the lanes are made extra slippery to give you the idea of how it's like to drive in the winterseason.

[tag]

I would say having situational awareness would be the #1 defensive driving skill to have. Know what's going around you. Not only what's front, but what may be along side, and keeping eye on what's behind you as well. Develop and use your own "radar" to keep track of other vehicles. Not all vehicles are moving at the same relative speed as posted. Most are, or should be, but then you have those going slower or faster than posted. Understand that not everybody has the same reaction speed. They may react slowly if at all. Know that they give drivers license to anybody. And there are some people who don't bother to get a license. Plan ahead. Not an exact science, but for every 10 mph of velocity you should be thinking about a second into the future. Because that's all the time you have to react if driving safely. Another tip is drive to your location. That means pick a spot roughly 3 seconds ahead of you and drive toward it. The number one defensive driving technique is PAY ATTENTION!

[Frozenedh]

as a car enthusiast i cringed when he was explaining what drift was...

[flubdreload]

I have my permit and am going for my road test in a few months and I try to drive as defensively as possible. I will admit, I make a few mistakes here or there but I will learn real quick and hopefully I can apply some of these tips into everyday driving.

[yanDeriction]

"don't leave too much space in front or else someone will slot in"
wrong. always maintain a safe following distance. if someone decides to slot themselves in, just slow down and re-establish a safe following distance.

[lincolnpaul]

Unbelievable, any driver should know this before receiving their drivers license

[BRIGHTSIDEOFFICIAL]

TIMESTAMPS
How to avoid a car accident 0:29
Always keep the right distance 0:55
Look further 1:13
Use clutch and brake in the winter 1:34
How to drive in fog 1:56
ABS VS. no ABS 2:23
How to drive when drifting 3:08
Check the road 4:21
Divide by two 4:48
The surface road 5:11
Pick a side 5:36
Higher gear 5:51
Don’t overestimate other drivers 6:05
Have an emergency plan 6:32
Use car technology wisely 7:04