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Each year there are thousands of people killed or seriously hurt on the roads in the UK. Statistically many of these people are drivers under the age of 25, but there are also a good percentage of experienced motorists getting hurt as well.
Being a good safe driver is one of the most important skills that you will learn in your life, this is even more important today because our roads are getting more congested with more and more drivers taking to the roads than ever before.
There are a number of important skills and qualities that make up a good safe driver, you must have the right attitude, control skills and awareness along with a sound knowledge of defensive driving techniques.
As instructors teaching new drivers we often teach people with the KISS routine, no we don’t mean kiss kiss we mean

Keep It Short and Simple.

If every driver on the road used just a handful of skills whilst driving along there would be a massive reduction in accidents.

Think of five fingers on one hand.

1. Always be at just the right speed for the situation.
2. Always be in the correct position for the situation.
3. Always be in the correct gear for the situation.
4. Know what is behind and around you, and how this may affect you.
5. Know the rules about what you are approaching.

Sounds easy when you put it like this but if every driver adopted this policy they would all get home safely.

However this little piece of advice is not going to change the world so what you need to do is adopt a defensive nature in your driving. Here are some tips that may help you.

• Think of other road users as unpredictable and likely to make mistakes, and then it’s a bonus when they don’t but you are ready when they do.
• Keep a good distance from vehicles in front so that if they stop suddenly you will be able to stop smoothly over a greater distance, otherwise what often happens is that when you stop sharply so does the person driving behind you and you then find that person is now sitting in your boot.
• Switch your mobile phone off. Surprisingly to some people there was life before mobile phones were invented.
• Use your mirrors properly. Set them up before every journey. Use them in the safest way by using the Mirrors Signal Manoeuvre routines. Get in the habit of using them in pairs such as when going right use the interior mirror and then check your right hand door mirror and vice versa when going left. Have a life saving check in the appropriate door mirror just before you make a turn because sooner or later you will be being overtook on the right or the left, don’t learn the hard way.
• Make sure everybody in your vehicle is correctly strapped in even if its not your legal responsibility, they could be the ones that kill you in an accident by flying through your windscreen and taking half of you with them. Also the Police will always have a word with the driver.
• Live with people making mistakes on the road, what’s the point in making a drama out of it, try and help by giving more room etc. Often the ones that make the most fuss are very poor drivers themselves but they seem to think they are perfect.
• Learn to move your eyeballs. Sounds silly but research has shown that drivers who continually alter their field of vision are safer drivers. There is no set way but by looking long distance, middle distance, immediately in front, mirrors, the cars gauges then over and over again you shouldn’t be taken by surprise.
• When emerging from a junction where your view is blocked ‘think once, think twice and think motorbike’ Move forward slowly to improve your view and never go until you can see enough of the road.
• When driving up side streets keep your speed down and keep looking defensively for anything unusual up ahead such as parked vehicles with any type of lights on, look for boot or bonnet lids open, feet under the cars, delivery vehicles, say to yourself where there’s a van there’s a man, and above all look out for children playing behind vehicles. Therefore take your foot off the gas a bit and be ready for the unexpected.
• Look out for situations where there is not enough room for two vehicles to pass safely and be ready to hold back or stop. Know the rules about priorities on the road but remember you only have the priority if the other driver knows the same rules and some of them seem to have read a different rule book.