Common Cause of Accident:

Advice:

The faster you go, the less your eyes can see and the less time your brain has to process information such as the sharp bend ahead. It doesn’t matter how good your reactions are or how skilled a driver you are, fast driving can lead to missing vital information, resulting in reacting late to hazards.

A vehicle travelling at speed can cover a considerable distance in a short space of time, and failure to judge another person’s path or speed is a causation factor in almost a quarter of collisions.

Check your speedometer reglarly, because you can often be travelling much faster than you think, especially after leaving a high-speed road such as a motorway or dual carriageway.

Common Cause of Accident:

Advice:

Driver error is the main reason why crashes occur, and the risk of crashing increases significantly if you are tired, impaired (alcohol or drugs), are distracted or simply drive in a reckless fashion.

Space is the driver’s biggest friend; in dry driving conditions, you should leave at least two seconds between you and the vehicle in front. You can measure this by noting when the vehicle in front passes a post or bridge support and then counting two seconds. You should not arrive at the same spot before the two seconds are up, you can measure this by saying, “only a fool breaks the two-second rule”. If you are too close, then carefully drop back and retest the gap. In wet weather, it will take you twice the distance to stop and even further in ice and snow.

Keep a bubble of space around you. If someone is tailgating you, keep more space in front. This will give space for your braking and theirs too. Keep space to the sides too, especially on multi-lane roads like motorways.

Common Cause of Accident:

Advice:

When changing lane or direction always carry out the “mirror-signal-manoeuvre routine”. A safe manoeuvre involves being in the correct position, ensuring the vehicle is travelling at the appropriate speed for the condition. Good observation involves:

Looking – What can you see?

Assessing – What are your options?

Deciding – Depending on what you can see?

Acting

For example, when overtaking, make sure that the road is sufficiently clear ahead, that you are not being overtaken yourself and that there is a sufficient gap in front of the road user you plan to overtake, for you to get back into your lane safely.