Every time you get behind the steering wheel of a vehicle or climb aboard your bicycle or motorcycle, you have choices. You can choose to be a safe driver or you can choose to put yourself and others at risk. Westshore Driving School instructors want you to know about some risks, and some good driving skills that can better protect you when you’re on the road.
Leading Motorist Causes of Injury and Deat
Law enforcement groups, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies study motor vehicle safety and its impact on communities worldwide. In British Columbia, one of the leading causes of vehicle-related deaths is speeding.
- Speeding is driving faster than the posted speed limit, racing, or going too fast for road conditions.
When a vehicle travels at 55 mph, car, driver and passengers enter the “danger zone” –the speed at which 30 percent of fatalities occur. Higher speeds reduce a driver’s reaction and response times.
Driving lessons Victoria BC instructors can help drivers learn how to be more speed observant and more effectively manage speed control and reactions to adverse and risky conditions.
Another significant risk is DUI – driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
- DUI causes more than 125,000 car crashes, 12,000 serious injuries, and 2,400 fatalities in Canada each year. Alcohol is the primary cause of DUI driving (followed closely by cannabis use and driving). Alcohol impairment-related crashes cost more than $37 billion per year in terms of property damage, injury, and loss of lives.
Both cannabis and alcohol impair the psycho-motor skills necessary for safe driving.
Additional at risk driving habits:
- Tailgating –Victoria driving school instructors know the risks of driving too close to a vehicle. They will help you learn to identify and maintain the safest distance between vehicles.
- Distractions – Despite the increasing number of public safety awareness messages, many people still practice distracted driving. Texting and cell phones are the leading causes of driving while distracted as are fiddling with unimportant things, taking your eyes of the road, etc.
- Aggressive behavior – you may be incensed at the thoughtless driver who just cut in front of you but that driver probably doesn’t care that you are upset.
Ranting, yelling, chasing, and rude gesturing won’t make a difference to that driver but they can place you at risk.
Westshore Driving School instructors can help you identify “at risk” driving habits and refine your current skills for safer driving.
Your life is precious, but no more so than the lives of other individuals who share the road with you. Drive sober, allow for a larger cushion of space between vehicles, adapt your speed to appropriate conditions and situations, reduce distractions, and don’t drive and rage. Wiser driving can get you safely home.
