Chapter 8: Defensive Driving Flashcards
BE PREPARED AND LOOK AHEAD
You should sit in a comfortable, but vertical position, and keep both hands on the steering wheel. Slouching in the driver's seat or using only one hand on the wheel makes it more difficult or even dangerous to control your vehicle.
DRIVER DISTRACTIONS
A distraction is anything that takes your attention away from driving. Distracted driving can cause crashes, resulting in injury, death, or property damage. Taking your eyes off the road or hands off the steering wheel presents obvious driving risks. Mental activities that take your mind away from driving are just as dangerous.
AGGRESSIVE DRIVERS
Aggressive driving includes speeding, which often leads to following too closely, frequent or quick lane changes without a signal, passing on the shoulder or parts of the roadway that are not paved or being a nuisance to motorists, bicyclists or pedestrians, who don't get out of the way. Aggressive drivers sometimes run stop signs and red lights, pass stopped school buses, fail to keep right, drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs and drive in a reckless manner. Some aggressive drivers try to cause damage to another driver, and that is how aggressive driving becomes road rage.
ROAD RAGE
What is "road rage"? Road rage is an angry, hostile state which can increase into violent criminal actions, or attempts of violent actions, that result from the operation of a motor vehicle. Road rage can include behavior to provoke others or to make them fearful.
SPEED
You must obey the speed limit. If no limit is posted, drive no more than 55 mph (88 km/h). Often, it is common sense to keep your actual speed below the posted limit. For example, the legal limit on a slippery or fogged-in expressway might be 55 mph (88 km/h), or even 65 mph (105 km/h), but the safe speed to drive would be much lower. Even if you were to drive at 50 mph (80 km/h) on that hazardous highway, a police officer could ticket you for a speed "not reasonable" for the conditions.
ALLOW YOURSELF SPACE
Four of every 10 crashes involve rear-end collisions, normally because a person is following too closely (tailgating). Leave enough room between your vehicle and the one ahead so you can stop safely if the other vehicle stops suddenly. Brake early and gently when you prepare to stop or turn. It gives drivers behind you plenty of warning that you plan to decrease your speed.
SEAT BELTS, CHILD SAFETY SEATS, AND AIR BAGS
Seat belts save lives and can prevent serious injuries in traffic crashes. This is why New York State requires seat belt use by adults in motor vehicles and seat belts, booster seats or child safety seats for children
HOW TO DRIVE SAFELY IN WORK ZONES
Areas where road work takes place are dangerous to drive in -- and to work in. That is why when you speed in work zones, ticket fines double, even when the workers or work vehicles are not there. Expect to find a work zone wherever you drive - you may have to decrease speed quickly or even stop. Traffic lanes can shift or be completely closed. Workers and work vehicles can be on or near your driving lane. When you drive in a work zone, make it safer because you know what to do.
HOW TO DRIVE THROUGH A ROUNDABOUT
A "roundabout" is a round intersection with a small diameter that makes drivers decrease speed, normally to 30 mph or less. Studies show a roundabout can reduce the number and severity of accidents at an intersection, compared to intersections controlled by stop signs or traffic signals. Roundabouts, or rotaries, are now more common in New York State and other states.
DROWSY AND FATIGUED DRIVING
Driving and sleep do not mix. When you are behind the wheel of a car or truck, fatigue is dangerous. If you are tired when driving you are slower to react, and are not as aware as you should be and your judgment will be impaired. As with drugs and alcohol, drowsiness can contribute to a traffic crash.
USING A CELLULAR OR MOBILE TELEPHONE
A driver can become distracted from safe driving by use of a mobile telephone (like a cellular telephone). In New York State, it is a traffic infraction to speak into or listen to a hand-held mobile telephone while driving. For a first offense you could pay a fine up to $200 and receive five license points. The phone may be hand-held to activate, begin, or end a call. Exemptions are provided for calls for emergency situations, for police and other law enforcement officers and for fire department personnel and operators of authorized emergency vehicles in the performance of official duties. In New York State, a hands-free mobile telephone allows the user to communicate without the use of either hand. A driver can use a hands-free telephone at any time.
VEHICLE CONDITION
No person shall operate or park a vehicle on public highways unless it has been inspected at least once a year, but that does not mean it is the only time you should have safety equipment checked. Follow your owner's manual for routine maintenance. Have problems corrected by a qualified mechanic as soon as possible. Do not wait until mechanical problems cause breakdowns or crashes.
QUESTIONS
Before you move on to Chapter 9, make sure you can answer these questions:
Department of Motor Vehicles
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