Ways to reduce your risks while driving

There are many safety factors when you are operating a motor vehicle. Safety checks, avoiding tailgating, and watching the space beside and behind you are three of the most important factors. Learning driving safety at work is absolutely imperative. Risks on the road can be minimised by following simple rules and procedures.
Always do a safety-check before you drive. Check to make sure your headlights, break-lights and signal lights work. Make sure the mirrors are adjusted to fit your size and then make sure the seat is adjusted properly as well. Many work vehicles are used by multiple employees and you don’t want to be making adjustments while you are driving. If you haven’t driven the car before, drive around a parking lot or a side street until you are familiar with the vehicle.
Tailgating is one of the major causes of accidents. The best way to know if you are far enough behind someone is the four second rule. Pick a landmark on the side of the road or an overpass and begin to count to 4 when the vehicle passes it. If you don’t get to four before you pass the landmark, then you are too close. Following this procedure will allow you time to break or to avoid an accident and is imperative in driving safety. While its important not to tailgate a car or light truck, it’s especially important to tailgate a large truck. They cannot see you if you are too close and a truck rides higher than a car. If you hit the back of a truck, a car will slide under and destroy the passenger area.
In addition to the vehicle in front of you, you also need to watch careful for vehicles behind and to the side of you. Be especially careful when trucks are beside you. There is a lot less room and trucks have poor visibility. Also, be aware of tailgaters.
Never speed up to avoid them. Slow down and force them to pass you. When you are passing another vehicle, do it quickly but safely. Do not linger in another driver’s blind spot — the area from the back of their vehicle to the beginning of the driver’s door. They cannot see you when you are in this area. Lastly, make sure you allow enough room to merge back into the right lane so that you don’t cut-off the vehicle that you were passing.
Don’t be a driving fatality. Do everything in your power to make your driving at work safe. These tips are just few ways to drive safe.