1.   Remember to shoulder check just before every turn and lane change.

2.   Check your rear view mirror every 5-8 seconds and every time you slow down or press your brake.

3.   Come to a full, complete stop for all red lights and stop signs with no part of your car over the white line if there is one.

4.    Stay close to the speed limit if conditions allow, but don’t go over the speed limit.  Remember that all 30km zones are in effect (if today is a school day); if the sign reads 30km/hr then you must do 30km/hr, if the sign does NOT read 30 km/hr then you must NOT do 30km/hr.

5.   Do a 360 degree check just before backing, and look out the back window when moving backwards.

6.   At a four way stop, it is first come, first serve (whoever gets to the white line first should go first, whoever gets there second should go second, and so on).  If two cars arrive at about the same time, then the person on the right is supposed to go first.

7.   Remember to scan all your intersections left, centre, right, centre.

8.   Do not stop in an intersection if there is no room to leave the intersection on the other side, do not enter it.

9.   Remember, cover your brake when approaching a stale green light until you reach the point of no return.

10.  Never stop on top of a railroad track, do not change lanes when approaching a train track.

What to do when faced with a potential head-on collision caused by impatient, speeding driver

What seems to have happened here was a speedy driver from the rear passes  our camera car (on a curve!) that was ahead of him or her (probably him) on a roadway that has only one lane of traffic in each direction. 

As he speeds up to pass the car, the driver of the red vehicle (that the speedy driver probably did not see since we, with the view from inside the camera car, could not see due to the driver of the light coloured car directly behind the red car following too closely) slows down to make a right turn onto a side road and then the driver of the light coloured car who was tailgating the red car must also slow down dramatically.

To avoid rear-ending this light coloured car the speedy driver swerves hard to the left, losing control, into oncoming traffic.

Three drivers of 3 different oncoming vehicles (first the blue car driver, then the white van driver, and finally the driver of a small black car) then make beautiful, split-second moves going, to varying degrees, onto the right shoulder of their roadway to successfully avoid the head-on collision. Notice how the three vehicles on the left and the one vehicle on the right all used all the available space (the dirt shoulder) to avoid the potential crash.

Many drivers would stare directly at the one thing they don’t want to hit and are therefore drawn exactly to that one thing (i.e., the oncoming car).

 What are the lessons to be learned here?

• DON’T BE IN SUCH A RUSH! Unless you are on your way to save the lives of thousands of people, you don’t need to drive that much faster than the people around you.

• Never pass on a curve. You must be able, depending on your speed, to see hundreds of metres ahead of your vehicle before commencing a pass.

• Use all available space necessary to avoid a crash — just like our three heroes here.

• Don’t you ever tailgate! (See “Lost Highway” clip to get the joke.) If you have to hit your brakes and dramatically slow down on a non-city road like this one when someone in front of you makes a turn, then YOU ARE FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY!  If our impatient driver here didn’t do his uncontrolled swerve, everybody in the light coloured car would be eating hospital food right now.

• Check your rear every time you slow down. The driver of the light coloured car might have followed the red car into the right turn to avoid the rear end collision if s/he saw it coming. The driver of the light coloured car probably never saw our speedy driver until it was too late. Notice how that driver doesn’t make a move to the right until our speedy driver makes a move to the left — that’s just too late.

• You can learn on-road emergency maneuvers like head-on collision avoidance and rear-end collision avoidance with our Emergency Manoeuvres accident avoidance driving course. Just check the Tuition page of our website to find out details and to Book Now!

Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? Do you think you could/would react the same way?

A2A Easypark Driving Academy’s “Twelve Step” in-car program of defensive driver training.

Here is stage one of our twelve steps to help guide and direct a new students training and development. During stage one new drivers have little to no experience when it comes to how to operate a vehicle. It is important to not overwhelm the new driver by only focusing on these first six things.

#1 Instruments and controls, point out where different controls are around the steering wheel. Next,

#2 is seeing eye habits. How to use your most important tool, your eyes.

#3 Evaluation drive, go for a drive and see exactly where the student is at to begin with.

#4 Lesson planning, how often are you planning to go out driving between now and their road test.

#5 Straight Path Steering and

#6 Gas and Brake control.  

These should be the first things worked on when driving for the first time, again to not overwhelm the new driver, to help calm down nerves and anxieties about driving for the first time, and to develop confidence at these introductory skills.

When parking make sure to read signs, to not block traffic, that others can clearly see you and to follow curb markings. Always park safely and legally to avoid paying fines, having your vehicle towed, and being a hazard to others.

11 Illegal Places to park:

1. On a sidewalk or boulevard

2. Across the entrance to any driveway, back lane or intersection

3. Within five meters of a fire hydrant (measured from the point at the curb beside the hydrant)

4. Within six meters of a crosswalk or intersection

5. Within six meters of a stop sign or traffic light

6. Within 15 meters of the nearest rail of a railway crossing

7. In a bicycle lane

8. On a bridge or in a highway tunnel

9. Where your vehicle obstructs the visibility of a traffic sign

10. Where a traffic sign prohibits parking, or where the curb is painted yellow or red

11. In a space for people with disabilities unless you display a disabled person parking permit in your windshield and your vehicle is carrying a person with a disability.

Q: Should I drive really fast when I get in the “fast lane”?

A: Actually, the speed limit is the same for ALL the lanes on the roadway, therefore…