Defensive Driving
The Sad Facts
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of all work place
fatalities.
• Leading cause of death for those aged 5 to 24
• Two out of every five people will be involved in an
alcohol related crash in their lifetime
• In 4 hours roughly 20 people will be killed in motor
vehicle crashes
The Statistics
• Every 11 minutes in the USA a person dies as a
result of injuries sustained in a crash
• In four hours 1,040 will be injured
• In one year more than?
• 44,000
• 24,000
• 124,000
It’s the Other Driver I’m Worried About…
• Have you ever said this or heard this comment
before?
• Are you the other driver?
• Are you part of the solution?
• If you are a defensive driver you are part of the
solution.
Part of the Problem
• In the last 20, years the number of registered drivers
has doubled
• The number of registered vehicles tripled...yet our
roads have not
• 60 to 90% of us feel we are better drivers than every
one else…yet accident numbers are remaining the
same…
Still Part of the Problem
• Drivers surveyed admitted to the following:
• 30% ran yellow / red lights
• 26% slowed but did not come to a complete stop at
stop signs
• 23% drove 10 mph over interstate speed limit
• 22% drove 10 mph faster than flow of traffic
• 8% drove when affected by alcohol
Defensive Driving, the Solution
• Driving to SAVE LIVES, TIME and MONEY, in spite
of the conditions around you and the actions of
others.
• We just heard from the other driver their actions and
in some cases their condition.
• NOW lets learn how to deal with them and other
issues.
Defensive Driving Course is About:
• Developing safe driving habits / attitudes
• Improving the way you see the road
• Improving the way you respond to hazards
• Taking control over your actions behind the wheel
• Learning to recognize hazards, avoid crashes,
violations, and road rage
The Goal!!!
• Develop driving skills that may one day save your life
and the lives of others
• Remember those statistics
• The more you drive the more potential
What are…
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The most hazardous issue you see daily?
The hazard you deal with most often?
The conditions you deal with?
The driver conditions you deal with?
How do you handle these hazardous?
Do you talk to management about them, other
drivers?
• At the end we will talk about some of these.
Defensive Driving Involves…
• Making effective, safety and legal choices
• Creating safe, stress free driving conditions
• Getting to place without ticket or crash
• Practicing courtesy, common sense, cooperation
• Understanding the hazards of conditions and
behaviors around you
DDC Collision Prevention Formula
• Recognize the hazard /
scan
• Past, present, and future
• Understand the defense
• Know what to do to avoid
a hazard
• Use the what If
strategy….
• Know the consequences
of your choices
• Know the defense
– What if that car does
not stop, what will I
do?
• Scanning
DDC Collision Prevention Formula
• SLOWING DOWN
• Safe Following Distance
• Act correctly, in time…
• Be alert, pay attention to
driving
• Concentrate on hazards
Driver Actions you Witness
• Eating, drinking meal
• Reading
• Fail to yield
• Driving aggressively
• Speeding
• Tailgating
• On cell phone
• Sleeping
• Signal kept on
• Did not use signal
• Stopping
• Passing on right
• Passing
• Poor vehicle condition
• Too fast for conditions
• Too fast for vehicle
Road and Driver Conditions
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Road
Snow, ice, fog, rain, sand,
leaves…
Traffic
Construction
School zone
Motorcycles
Too much light
Not enough
Glare
Driver
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Angry
Upset
Rushed
Stressed out
Under influence of
drugs, alcohol
• Under influence of
peers
Road and Driver Conditions
• Control your emotions
• Control your emotions
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Leave late be late
Get calm, wait
Time is the only way to sober up
Driver is responsible
Road and Driver Conditions
• Snow, ice, fog, rain, sand,
leaves…
• Traffic
• Construction
• School zone
• Motorcycles
• Too much light
• Not enough
• Glare
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Reduce speed
Increase following
Reduce speed
Reduce speed
Following distance
Glasses, slow down
Slow down
Slow down
Dealing with other Driver Actions
• Followed to closely • Speeding -
Let them go
Let them go
• Passing • Failure to yield • Rolling Stops -
Ask yourself why
Watch for them
Bad habit, eye scan
Jeff Gibson
Accident vs. Collision
• You run a yellow turning to red light and hit a car is it
an accident?
• You fail to reduce your speed when it is raining and
skid off road, is it an accident
• You fail to pay attention and rear end the vehicle in
front of you is it an accident?
• 90% are driver error
• Less then 10% acts of God, mechanical failure
No, No, and No
These are preventable collisions where the driver did
not take reasonable actions to reduce the potential for a
crash.
• Is it reasonable to slow down approaching an
intersection?
• Is it reasonable to slow down in rain, snow or other
weather hazards?
• Is it reasonable to focus attention to vehicles around
your vehicle?
An Accident is an Unplanned Event
• We know we should not run lights, follow too close,
and that we should slow down in poor weather.
• Why don’t we… Its not me I am worried about, it’s the
other guy….
• We think it won’t happen to us
• Other reasons!
• Drive to save lives, time and money
At Intersections
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White lines
Signal
Cover the brake
Point wheels straight
Right on red
Right of way
40% of all traffic crashes occur at intersections
How NOT to Get Hit at an Intersection
• Look Left
• Look Right
• 30% of drivers reported
they ran a red light
• Look ahead
• Look Left Again
• If the first car don’t jump
the light
• Window down, look and
listen
• Be able to see tires of
vehicle in front on ground
At an Intersection…
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Next to a bus or large truck
Light turns green, do you go immediately?
Can you see the intersection completely?
Don’t pull up stop, and then roll closer to the car in
front of you.
• Get boxed in, hit from behind, hit vehicle
in front
Intersections - Fail to Stop
Play the what if game….
• What if the vehicle does not stop…what will I do?
• Reduce your speed by covering the brake
• Cover the horn with you hand
• Last -- don’t count on them stopping
Rail Road Crossings
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They are intersections too
Expect a train any time
Never drive around gate
Never stop on tracks
Never race the train
Don’t rely on warning
signs
• If you are stuck or
stalled – GET OUT
• Run toward the train not
from it
• Never get into middle of
intersection if you can
not get all the way
through regardless of
light
Unsafe Behaviors
• Passing – why do we pass?
• What will I gain from this pass?
• 3 types of crashes- head on, side swipe, run off the
road…
• # of vehicles on the road today
• Next intersection, stop light, sign, or construction site…
who do we see?
Passing
• Is it safe to speed to
pass?
• Is it legal to speed to
complete a pass?
• Remember DDC
• Safe and Legal
• Save time, money, and
lives
• What do you think?
The Sinister Six
• 6 unsafe driving habits we just discussed
• Speeding
• Right of way errors or violators
• Improper turning
• Driving left of center
• Improper passing
• Following too closely
Speed Kills
• Every 10 mph over 50 the
risk of death is doubled
• When there is a car
accident that makes the
newspaper what are some
of the comments in the
paper concerning the
cause?
• What are the common
causes listed in the
paper?
• Why do you think
drivers speed?
Speed Kills – is it Worth the Risk?
Speed
Time to go 10
miles
Time saved
Risk of death
50mph
12 min
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X
55mph
10:54
1:6
1.5x
60mph
10 min
2 min
2x
65mph
9:14
2:46
3.0x
70mph
8:34
3:26
4.0x
75mph
8 min
4 min
6.0x
80mph
7:30’
4:30
8x
85mph
7:3
4:57
12x
Is it Safer to Speed with the “Flow of
Traffic,” or do the Speed Limit?
• Risk of Death
• Save, Time, Lives and Money
• Tickets
• # of vehicles on the road
• Using a 2 second following distance 150 cars would
have to pass you to lose five minutes of time
Drinking and Driving
• Check you local paper, all ages of drivers affected or
caught
• Don’t do it
• Don’t follow charts weight/time/# of drinks
• Chose a designated driver
• Medications can have same effect
• Time is the only thing that sobers one up, NOT
COFFEE
Collision Prevention Formula
• Recognize the hazard: by scanning
• In front, behind, on sides
• Check mirrors every 3 to 5 seconds
• Use the “What If” game…..
• What if that car does not stop, get back into their
lane, complete their pass,
• What will I do?
Collision Prevention Formula
What if that car does not stop, get back into their lane,
complete their pass...
• What will I do?
• Read the road (recognize hazard)
• Reduce your speed
• Ride to the Right
• Ride off onto should or more if have to
Understand the Defense
• See hazard….
• Ask what can I do to avoid this
• Reduce speed as soon as possible
• Increase following distance
• WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED FOLLOWING
DISTANCE?
• 2,3,4, or 5 seconds
Following Distance
• 4 seconds on clear dry day good road light traffic and
following like vehicle (car) 5-bus
• Add a hazard, add a second to the 3”
• Motorcycle 4 + 1= 5
• Have a tailgater behind, add several
• Poor weather add several
• Traffic add several
Act Correctly in Time
• Be alert focus on driving not other actions
• Being alert allows the most response time possible
• “The car stopped quickly, I did not have enough time.”
In reality the driver did not see the vehicle stopping
and lost valuable reaction, action and stopping
distance
Passing, Avoiding Head on Crash
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The Four R’s….
Read the road ahead
Drive to the Right
Reduce your speed immediately
Ride off the road or to the far right of your lane.
NEVER GO INTO THEIR LANE
Gorham Maine – bus accident
Emergency Vehicles
• Scan mirrors every 3 to 5 seconds to see them.
• Be able to hear them
• Pull over and stop
• If can’t acknowledge and when can pull over and stop
• What is the following distance 500’, 250’ 3 seconds?
Aggressive Drivers
• It takes two….
• Don’t participate
• Stay calm
• Different time, different route
• Leave late, will be late (number of vehicles)
• Be courteous
What are Some Aggressive Driving
Behaviors you Have Seen?
• Speeding
• Tailgating
• Fail to yield
• Blocking traffic
• Lane changes
• Gestures
• Verbal
• Throwing things
• Slamming on brakes
• Others!
“Road Rage”
• Decisions –
Consequences
• Get emotions in control
• Your life depends on it
• Give other drives benefit
of doubt-wave
• Leave late will be late
• Call and let them know
you will be late – defuse
anxiety
• You make mistakes too
• Different route or time
Bad Driving Behaviors
• Blocking left most lane on highway
• Tailgating – 3 seconds or more
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Signal use, lack of it, forget to shut off
Horn use – for emergency
Blocking traffic at an intersection
Merging, allow other vehicles to merge
Save Lives, Time and Money in Spite of the
Actions and Conditions
• Take reasonable actions…..
• What if game
• Increase following distances
• Reduce speed
• Cover the break
• Drive at posted limit or below
• Make driving number one activity
Save a Life, Time or Money
• Be at your best, rested, awake, sober
• Check your vehicle before leaving on trip
• Check the weather
• Check traffic reports
• Check for construction projects
Area Road Hazards
• Name them
• Discuss what to do
• Determine best course of action
• Develop a solution
• Act on it
Driver Experience
• Turn a rounds
• Cul De Sacs (circles and telephone poles)
• Overhanging branches
• Obstruction in my lane, or other lane
• Cargo Security!
From my (you) Perspective
• An unsafe habit I have that I want to change is….
• The defense technique I am going to use…
• One thing I learned today is…
• Any questions you still have…
Thank you for Attending
• Drive Defensively
• There are others that want you around, need you,
depend on you.