5 New Year's Eve Defensive Driving Tips

1. Look Way Ahead

Looking ahead doesn't just mean directly in front of you or where you are turning to, it means forward, left and right. Let me paint a picture for you, you're coming up to an intersection and no one is there. You have the green light and you want to make a right. Simple right? But did you look to your left anyway to notice that SUV flying through their red light and headed straight towards you? In basketball, this is called court vision and it is when you can understand as well as anticipate everything around you. When my father was teaching me how to drive he would say don't just put on the brakes before the guy in front of you starts braking, start when the guy three cars in front of you does. 

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2. Have an Escape Plan

Here is something you could have picked up subconsciously from watching a great spy movie, always have an escape plan. While being on the road this could mean keeping an eye on the gap in the lane next to you if you need to veer over suddenly, or even pulling over to the side of the road to avoid what's ahead. This is a night where people are on the road and on foot in crazy large numbers making more questionable calls than a pro sports referee during a high stakes final game. Just be ready for whatever the night throws at you, is what I'm saying. 

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3. Minimize Distractions

Decreasing variables of bad things that can happen begins with you and what you choose to do while driving. I think the reason that cupholders in Porsche suck, is because they know that you should be engaged in the drive and not thinking of what is on Netflix tonight while sipping on a latte! If you need to use your phone to make a call or change your music streaming stations, then use your voice commands or leave that up to your co-pilot. The fact of the matter is that on a night like New Year's Eve that are TONS of distracted and drunk drivers on the road. You can actively keep watch and avoid these people better if you yourself are not distracted. 

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4. Maintain Sufficient Distance

Fighting the urge to get through traffic can be a tough one to maintain but being overly cautious is the name of the game on this night. There are just way too many people on the road that choose to drink and drink combined with surprise sobriety checkpoints that turn a good night into a bad one very quickly. Keeping a large buffer between you and the car in front of you gives you precious seconds to stop, dodge, or do whatever maneuver you need to make to keep yourself safe. Remember, the faster you are going, the more distance you will need to stop. 

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5. Watch Everywhere

This may seem like information overload but is something your mind can handle very easily once you get used to this. All you need to do is to be cognizant of various things in your environment and around the car. How fast are you going? Is that speed appropriate for the road/weather conditions? Why is that car to your right slowing down? Do you see that person on the bicycle not wearing a reflective vest edging dangerously into your lane? All you need to do is to take quick looks around and store that information into a pocket of your mind. Knowing those things can help you react when something goes wrong and act swiftly to avoid a bad accident.

Be safe out there and Happy New Year from all of us at Rennlist! 

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