-
Always wear your seat belt--and make sure all passengers buckle up, too.
-
Use your cellular phone for emergencies.
-
Never try to fit more people in the car than you have seatbelts for them
to use.
-
Never drink and
drive, and don't ride with anyone who has been drinking. Call your parents
or friends to take you home if you need a ride. Take a cab as
your parents will gladly pay the fare and be proud of the responsibility you
have shown.
-
When going out for a night on the town,
select a designated driver. This person does not
drink and has the responsibility of getting people home safely. (Drinking and
driving DO NOT MIX)
-
Never take drugs
or drive if you've taken any. Don't ride with anyone who has been using
drugs. Even some over the counter drugs can make you drowsy. Check label for
warnings.
-
Obey the speed limits, Going too fast gives you less time to stop or
react. Excess speed is one of the main causes of teenage accidents.
-
Don't run red lights.
-
Use turn signals to indicate your intention to turn or to change lanes.
Turn it on to give the cars behind you enough time to react before you take the
action. Also, make sure the signals turns off after you've completed the action.
-
When light turns green, make sure the intersection is clear before you
proceed
-
Don't talk on the car phone (or your cell phone), put on make-up, comb
your hair, or eat while driving. People who talk on car phones while
driving are four times more likely to have an accident. If you need to
make a call, pull off the road to a safe spot and park.
-
Use headlights during daylight driving, especially on long stretches of
desert highway and rural roads to make you more visible to oncoming drivers.
-
Make sure your windshield is clean. At sun rise and sun set, light
reflecting off your dirty windshield can momentarily blind you from seeing
what's going on.
-
Don't blast the radio. You might miss hearing a siren or a horn
that could warn you of possible trouble.
-
Make sure your car has gas in it. Don't ride around with the gauge on
empty--who knows where you might get stranded.
-
Don't drive with small children or even small teenage friends as
passengers in a front seat that has a passenger-side air bag. They should be
buckled up in the back seat. Recent transportation studies show that small
children may be injured by the air bags even in low impact collisions.
(Actually, it's safer not to drive with friends and kids in the car when you're
learning to drive. They can be distracting.)
-
Don't leave your car in cruise control when you're driving late at night or when
you're tired. If you fall asleep at the wheel, the car will crash at the
speed you've set your cruise control to maintain.
-
Maintain your car. Bald tires, under-inflated tires, a slipping
transmission, or a hesitant engine could lead to accidents.
-
Don't fiddle with the radio while you are driving. It's better to
wait until you can pull over and stop because even taking your focus off the
road for a few seconds could lead to an accident.
-
Be on the lookout for motorcycles, bikes, and pedestrians.
-
When driving to a new place, get complete directions before you go. Figure out
what exits you need to take before hand.
-
Watch out for potholes, especially after bad weather.
