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3 Things a Defensive Driving Course Does!

Defensive Driving offers 3 major things that would
be beneficial to any driver out there on the road:

1. Insurance discounts - Insurance Companies offer discounts for those who have completed a Defensive Driving Course.



2. Get that traffic ticket dismissed - In Texas, points on a license can have a detrimental effect on your driving record. A clean driving record is very important.



3. It could save your life - Defensive Driving equips you with the ability to recognize road hazards or dangerous situations.

By taking a Defensive Driving course; some Insurance Companies will offer a discount on your years Auto insurance Rates. The reason being: those who drive defensively are less likely to be involved in an auto accident. And therefore the money an Insurance company will save from automobile repairs far outweigh the discounts which makes it easy for those companies to pass the savings on down to the consumer as an incentive to take Defensive Driving course!

Get a Traffic Ticket Dismissed. Texas State Law allows you to take an approved driver safety course (Defensive Driving course) every 12 months in order to have a ticket dismissed. Having points on your driving record could significantly increase your Insurance rates and could lead to your License being suspended or your driving privileges revoked!

Defensive Driving is like taking a CPR/First Aid class in that it with tools needed to save lives. It's like investing in your future. Now don't think that just because you have taken a Defensive Driving Course that you are invincible to anything traffic related. What a Defensive driving class does is equip you with the tools necessary to identify problems, Predict what might happen, Decide on the safest action to take, and execute the plan by taking some kind of controlled action.

Purpose and Benefits of a Defensive Driving Course

• Identify the overall traffic safety problems.
• Identify the factors influencing driver performance.
• Understand traffic laws and procedures.
• Understand the special skills needed for difficult driving environments.
• Understand the physical forces that influence driver control.
• Improve your perceptual skills needed for driving.
• Identify defensive driving strategies.
• Identify common driving emergencies and their countermeasures.
• Understand the rationale for having and using occupant restraints and protective equipment.
• Identify the effects of alcohol on roadway users.

Leading Causes of Traffic Accidents

1. Speeding

A) Do you ever exceed the speed limit?
B) Do you ever drive too fast for the road conditions?

Most, if not all, drivers would have to answer yes to these questions. Whether they are late for work, in a hurry to get home, or just impatient with the slow flow of traffic, most drivers exceed the speed limit at least some of the time.

None of these reasons are a good excuse for speeding, though. Speeding is the second leading cause of traffic fatalities in Texas, causing 481 deaths in 2001 alone, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

So, what's the hurry?
By slowing down and obeying the speed limit, you can save lives.

2. Driving While Intoxicated

Even with a BAC as low as .01 percent (one drink), alcohol impairs judgment and makes drinkers feel less inhibited. Drinkers usually don't even recognize this loss of judgment, though, because the alcohol is simultaneously increasing their self confidence. Alcohol then gradually affects drinkers' vision, coordination, speech, and hearing. Vision becomes blurry, and side vision narrows. Eye movements usually slow and there is a tendency to stare too long at one place. Physical responses continue to slow. These effects diminish a driver's ability to work through the IPDE process.

Less experienced drivers feel these effects sooner than others because alcohol affects a person's most recently acquired skills first. In fact, an experiment conducted with drivers under 25 years old showed that their ability to pay attention to and process information was impaired by a BAC of only .015 percent. Another study showed that 16 and 17 year olds at a BAC of less than .05 percent are seven times more likely to have a collision than if they weren't drinking. This collision rate is matched by older, experienced drivers when they reach a BAC of .10 percent.

Medically, alcohol is classified as a drug. In fact, it is used as the base of many medications, such as cough syrup. Alcohol depresses, or slows, the central nervous system, including the brain.

The brain controls all mental and physical functions. One part of the brain controls manners, inhibitions, and decision-making ability. Another part of the brain controls muscle coordination, balance, reflexes, and consciousness. A third part of the brain controls breathing and heartbeat. Each part of the brain is affected by alcohol, resulting in the impairment of numerous mental and physical functions. As soon as alcohol enters the bloodstream, it is carried to the brain. The brain-the body's switchboard-is made sluggish.

When only a small amount of alcohol is consumed, the effects may not be obvious. Still, the drinker is affected. At first, alcohol may appear to be a stimulant, because it depresses inhibitions. Often, people who have been drinking appear to be more outgoing than usual. As they begin to feel more secure and confident, their judgment skills deteriorate. People who have been drinking take chances that they never would under normal circumstances. Behind the wheel, this can be deadly. The danger is this: even small amounts of alcohol cause the drinker to feel more confident and capable at the very time he or she is actually less able to use good judgment and make sound decisions.

Alcohol also affects coordination. Even small amounts impair a drinker's ability to perform tasks that require hand-eye coordination, steadiness, and quick response. It affects body movements, making the drinker uneasy on his or her feet. Alcohol causes a loss of balance, with swaying and stumbling. It can also cause erratic movements when driving or standing.

Hearing becomes impaired. The drinker's eyes become glassy, bloodshot, and glazed, dilating the pupils and impairing vision.

Avoiding and Identifying Drunk Drivers
The basic way to minimize the likelihood of encountering drunk drivers is to avoid driving when bars are closing. That is when the most drunk drivers are on the road, especially on weekends. If you see a car drifting around in or out of its lane, moving too slowly or too fast, tailgating, or driving erratically, it's quite possible that the driver is drunk. They are certainly not in control of their vehicle and may even be so drunk that they are falling asleep at the wheel. The best way to deal with them is to get out of their path. At the earliest opportunity, call the police or highway patrol and notify them of the vehicle's description, including license plate number, location, and the driver's behavior.

3. Road Rage

Road rage happens when one driver reacts angrily to another driver.

Angry drivers may lash out by deliberately braking suddenly, pulling close to another car, or taking more violent steps such as coercing a driver to pull over to "settle" the dispute.

Many drivers make a habit of driving with road rage.

Here are some suggestions to help you avoid provoking other drivers:

• Don't cut off other drivers.
  When you merge, make sure you have enough room and always signal before you merge.



• Don't drive slowly in the left (fast) lane.
  Avoid using the fast lane except for the brief time it takes to pass another driver. Driving slowly in the fast lane frustrates other drivers.



• Don't tailgate.
  Many drivers get angry when they are followed too closely. Remember to keep the appropriate following distance between your car and the car ahead of you.



• Don't signal gestures to other drivers.
  Keep your hands on the steering wheel. Making obscene gestures to other drivers may provoke them.



• Use your horn for emergencies only.
  Even a polite tap of your horn may be enough to provoke another driver.



• Avoid eye contact with an angry driver.
  To some people, eye contact is the same as a challenge. If someone is determined to act out his or her frustrations, even a friendly smile can be misinterpreted.



• Give an angry driver plenty of space.
  If you make a driving error (even accidentally), it is possible the other driver may try and pick a fight with you. Put as much distance between your vehicle and the other car as you can.

3. Physical Condition

Age, sight, hearing, and physical handicaps all can affect your driving performance.

All drivers must evaluate their own situations and allow additional time for their inabilities to enable them to react to traffic situations.

Drivers with short-term or sudden illnesses are usually less attentive and more distracted because of their physical condition. The usual one-second reaction time may be increased to two or three seconds, and if the driver is taking medication as well, the entire driving process is affected. The total effect is greater than the sum of the individual effects. Combining drugs produces a reaction greater than the sum of the individual drugs involved. This is called the synergistic effect.

Fatigue can also have an impact on your driving ability. It can slow your reaction abilities and make you more irritable and uncoordinated. Often, fatigue occurs during long trips. It can result from a heavy meal, eyestrain, lack of sleep, or just boredom. If you find yourself feeling drowsy, inattentive, or if your vision is blurred, you may be suffering from fatigue. If so, you should take a break and continue your trip when you are more alert.

In addition, your reaction time will be reduced. Drivers who are too sleepy to drive properly cause about 200,000 accidents a year around the country. Many traffic fatalities are caused by the driver feeling sleepy.

According to the NHTSA, only four in every one hundred vehicles on the road is a large truck, which traveled only 8% of the total vehicle miles in 2004. In 2004, they accounted for 8% of all vehicles involved in fatal collisions and 12% of traffic fatalities. This high collision rate is caused in large part by fatigue.

The NHTSA recommends you follow these tips to avoid fatigue when taking long trips:

• Plan your trip well with reasonable daily itineraries.
• Rotate driving shifts, if more than one driver is available.
• Always get a good night's sleep before you embark on a long trip.
• Avoid late-night driving--between midnight and 6 am is the riskiest time.
• Take a break every two hours to stretch and relax.
• Try to get some physical exercise during the day.
• Try to maintain a good diet (without excessive caffeine that might contribute to sleep loss at night and fatigue the next day).

Laws and procedures are designed to make driving safer. However, many drivers become more relaxed as they drive. As driving becomes second nature, drivers often pay too little attention to the driving task.

Your education as a driver does not end the day you receive your driver's license. Rather, good drivers continue to learn more and more about safe driving throughout their years behind the wheel. It is easy to become complacent after many years of driving, but a know-it-all can be even more dangerous than an inexperienced driver if he doesn't pay attention to new driving lessons taught every day on the road. By constantly paying attention to these lessons, you can learn how to avoid collisions and help make the roads safer.

No matter how experienced a driver is, new situations occur all the time, especially when driving in unfamiliar territory. Driving in urban areas can be extremely challenging to drivers from small towns, as different situations present themselves. Similarly, a driver experienced in big city traffic may not know how to handle many of the potential hazards found in rural areas.

Inexperienced drivers lacking sufficient knowledge regarding specific laws suffer in many ways. Some become frustrated, and others may end up making driving mistakes, such as going the wrong way on a one-way street, resulting in embarrassment, fines, injury, and sometimes death.

Drivers who lack sufficient knowledge of driving laws may not react in a manner anticipated by other drivers, thus increasing the chances of getting into a collision. You should know all of the driving laws so that you reduce your chances of colliding with other vehicles on the road.