Defensive Driving

How good is your defensive driving?

If you’re constantly getting into accidents, even so-called fender benders, or are having far too many near misses, you may want to brush up on your skills in this area. You do increase your driving skills the more you’re out on the road, but taking an actual course can mean learning techniques that you would otherwise miss.It’s also good to think about defensive driving courses and skills for older drivers, those that are new to the road, and those that are very timid and afraid to get behind the wheel in the first place. Spending even a few hours with a teacher on a closed course and getting demonstrations and instructions can make a tremendous amount of difference in your skill on the road. Those defensive driving skills can also help in case of other drivers that are reckless or negligent, and with the increase in the number of distracted drivers today, this is an investment in safety everyone should consider.It might also be a good idea to try a course on defensive driving if you’ve made a move to a more congested area, or are driving more than you did previously. For example, a lifetime New York resident may move to a suburb and suddenly find himself or herself behind the wheel every day, something that is a new experience. He or she may benefit from a defensive driving course simply because they haven’t had the years of concentrated experience someone else has. Or a person may move from a rural area to a congested city, and they too may benefit from an actual defensive driving course since they need to deal with more traffic than ever before.If you’re thinking of improving your defensive driving skills it’s not something to be overwhelmed with or to think is shameful. The shame would be to ignore a problem and a need and to get into an accident because your defensive driving is somewhat lacking. Remember that there are others that will be taking the same course, so they too understand the need to brush up on these skills. The instructors are typically very understanding and know how to allay one’s nervousness and make everyone feel at ease.Choose a defensive driving course that allows both roadwork and coursework, or find one that uses video so you get a real feeling for how their instructions work when you’re behind the wheel. Just trying to read and learn about what happens on the road will not be effective; defensive driving is about seeing certain traffic conditions and situations and being able to respond to them, and you can only do this if you actually feel like you’re behind the wheel.You can in some situations take a defensive driving course online and this can be very effective, if you don’t find one near your home. It can also mean flexibility with the schedule for when you need to actually participate.