Some Driving Education Tips
- Work on your attitude—it is more than 50% of what makes a top-notch driver. Prefer others, be quick to back down, etc.
“There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”
– Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone.
- Buckle up before starting up! Every 12 seconds someone is injured in a vehicle crash (GEICO). The seat belt is your brake if the vehicle's brakes don't stop the vehicle. Without the seat belt you will crash into the vehicle at the same speed the vehicle crashes into an object. The seat belt will also prevent your body organs from hitting ribs, skull, etc.! Realize that a crash at 55 miles per hour is like falling from a 15 story building! If there is to be a collision, hit something that will give since the force of impact varies inversely with the distance it takes a vehicle to stop. The greater the distance in stopping after you hit something, the less is the force of impact.
Buckle up! Seat belts save face!
Seat belts keep you hanging in there so you can regain control!
If you care for your passengers, “belt” them!
- Be a defensive driver, not an offensive driver! To do this, allow at least a two second following distance (reaction time) between the vehicle in front of you (stopping distance would be four seconds). Look as far as you can see, keep your eyes moving, and expect the unexpected!
Stay unhurt, drive alert!
It is better to blow your horn than hear the crash!
A defensive driver obeys the rules of the road and is alert enough to dodge those who don't!
Drive your vehicle as if your family was in the other vehicle!
Remember it's not only the car that can be recalled by it's maker!
Make defensive driving first and make defensive driving last!
Don't call while you drive! Talking on a cell phone while driving increases the chance of an accident by 400%! (GEICO) Pull off of the road and then enjoy calling and talking!
Stay out of the no-zone of big trucks. If you can't see the truck's side mirrors, the trucker can't see you.
Consider leaving your headlights on during the daytime. It helps others to see you and reduces accidents by 30% (GEICO).
Steer clear of road rage. South Carolina was second in the nation with the most road rage incidents!
Remember that “anger” is one letter short of “danger”! “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly…” (Proverbs 14:17).
Be strong enough to control your anger instead of letting it control you. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32).
If a person is upset, try to avoid eye contact and remember that “…grievous words stir up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).
Anger at an injury causes more injury than the injury itself.
An angry man is seldom reasonable; a reasonable man is seldom angry.
Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.
Fly into a rage only at the risk of making a bad landing.
Anger is a state that starts with madness and ends with regret.
- Try not to make up time on the road. Fast driving often causes fast dying! Some motorists are in such a hurry to get into the next town that they go right on into the next world! Better step on the brake and be laughed at than tromp on the gas and be cried over!
Drive with care. Life has no spare.
Safe driving is no accident.
In football a safety means two points. In driving, safety means your life.
– Captain Billy Fallaw
Driving is like baseball. It's the number of times you reach home safely that counts.
In basketball your goal is to score and in driving your goal is to arrive alive.
– Donny Harrison
Safe driving will keep your car out of the junkyard and your body out of the graveyard.
Joe Sabbadino
Driving Educator
SCDTSEA Public Relations