Rules of Defensive Driving

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I'll head this off at the pass. This is in P&C because cycling vs. motorist apparently is a hot button issue. This thread is not about that. There is also the idea that rules of defensive driving should be used to blame victims when accidents occur. This thread is not about that, either.

Instead, this thread is about concrete personal driving rules and policies we can use to keep ourselves safe and accident-free. It is not about public policy. This is about personal practices. There is some overlap, of course. Effective personal driving strategies are affected by public driving rules and traditions, of course; but the focus is on discussing the personal, not the public.

Intersection rule #1: when approaching a corner or intersection, always take foot off the accelerator and put it over the brake. The half-second you gain from having your foot over the brake can literally be a life and death difference.

Positioning rule #1: always try to predict where a driver's blind spots are and do not stay in them. Trucks can have huge blind spots.

Turning rule #1: always signal before a turn or lane change. Always signal at least five seconds before turning the wheel. Always look before making the change, especially at your blind spot. Turn or change lanes as gradually as traffic allows.

Vehicle exiting rule#1: always alight sidewalk-side when possible. Always look behind before opening the door, whichever side I'm alighting. Open the door a small fraction, wait a second, then open fully, always looking behind.

Parking lot rule#1: stay away from vehicles with running motors or drivers. When venturing near idling vehicles, on foot or on a vehicle, always seek confirmation that the driver is aware of your presence before crossing.

Positioning rule#2: when in doubt of blind spot or driver awareness, honk lightly before collision is inevitable. Stay away from vehicles that are being driven aggressively or recklessly. It's worth 10 minutes extra travel time to avoid even a fender bender.

EDIT: these are my personal policies. I am not passive-aggressively suggesting that anyone else adopt them, especially since I am operating under very alien traffic rules. I am seeking critique to rethink or improve upon them. I hope to read more great ideas posted here on how to avoid accidents through defensive driving strategies.

I see nothing in your post that would even possibly be P&C territory. The op, sure, maybe, but the previous post is pretty basic and useful info.

Putting this thread here feels passive aggressive. Guess you can't win, Larry.

Dang. I was just trying NOT to do that. I really can't win. Help?

Stop expecting the usual cotorie of people to show and blow a thread up?

I wasn't actually thinking that. I just know empirically that the topic can be volatile. I wasn't thinking of any specific poster or group of posters.

My Rule #0 of driving, more of a tactical guide than a specific rule:

Never put yourself in a situation where you are dependent on the reflexes of another driver.

Malor wrote:

My Rule #0 of driving, more of a tactical guide than a specific rule:

Never put yourself in a situation where you are dependent on the reflexes of another driver.

I do this all the time, since my wife tends to do all of the driving. She also constantly drives on public roads with other people driving on them. DOUBLE BAD.

(Got what you were aiming for and deliberately went the other way, as is our custom. This will be a true P&C thread yet!)

Good tip! I should do that more. Ahehehe. I know I shouldn't. Gotta be more proactive about stopping the rage honks.

LarryC wrote:

Turning rule #1: always signal before a turn or lane change. Always signal at least five seconds before turning the wheel. Always look before making the change, especially at your blind spot. Turn or change lanes as gradually as traffic allows.

I was taught the basic sequence as "Mirror. Signal. Maneuver."

I try to observe other drivers' posture, expression, etc. when I am driving or cycling. Are they paying attention to what they are doing?

An old trick (that doesn't always work, but often does) is to meet the other driver's eyes to improve the chances of them noticing you on the road. Obviously that doesn't suit many driving scenarios, but it's good at intersections.

Lots of people drive/cycle/walk distracted by all sorts of stuff; if I can pick up on that somehow, I can take appropriate steps.

Recently I was driving on a residential road and an older child was cycling on the sidewalk. My intuition said, "He doesn't notice me and may try to cross the street in front of my car." So I made sure to slow down and so could brake easily when he did exactly what I thought he might. He hadn't noticed me at all until he started to cross and was clearly scared by what could have happened.

Cod wrote:
LarryC wrote:

Turning rule #1: always signal before a turn or lane change. Always signal at least five seconds before turning the wheel. Always look before making the change, especially at your blind spot. Turn or change lanes as gradually as traffic allows.

I was taught the basic sequence as "Mirror. Signal. Maneuver."

I've found that it pays to keep glancing back at the mirror after you signal. Just because you're signaling doesn't mean that drivers behind you will see or respect that. Motorcycles and bicycles filtering through traffic quickly on either side can swiftly come up between the signal and the maneuver. Cars, too, actually. People rapidly overtaking on the wrong side lane is a concern.

In particular, cars can have a blind spot on the opposite side of the driver and the A pillars can conceal two-wheeled vehicles. They assume you can see them, even when you don't. Got a few close calls that way, so I changed up my procedure.

(Got what you were aiming for and deliberately went the other way, as is our custom. This will be a true P&C thread yet!)

I realize you're kidding, but I did think about clarifying that, when I posted it, as 'non-routine reflexes'.

Maybe it would be better to say 'never voluntarily put yourself in a position where another driver has to do something unusual to prevent an accident.'

This might help.

Never honk at someone in anger (if they cut you off or something). Also be careful not to cut anyone else off yourself.

Why? I work in mental health, and I have lost count of how many times my patients have told me they got pissed at another driver and decided the thing to do was to follow them around until the driver stopped somewhere (such as their home), then get out and confront them. Luckily, it's harder to trail someone than it is in the movies and I think a few of them cooled down just enough to have second thoughts before provoking a confrontation. Still scary though.

How many of these people were exercising their constitutional right to bear arms at the time? Easily more than half... Which makes a scary situation far scarier.

I've found that for whatever reason, few common things produce anger and anxiety as much as driving in traffic and waiting in long lines.

concentric wrote:

I try to observe other drivers' posture, expression, etc. when I am driving or cycling. Are they paying attention to what they are doing?

An old trick (that doesn't always work, but often does) is to meet the other driver's eyes to improve the chances of them noticing you on the road. Obviously that doesn't suit many driving scenarios, but it's good at intersections.

Outside of obvious things like paying attention and not fiddling with electronics, this is probably my #1 rule. At least at intersections, which I've found to be some of the most dangerous places. Especially when I'm on my bike or on foot, but even when I'm in my car, I insist that I KNOW they saw me and are definitely going to behave predictably at an intersection. If I do this I find that even if I have to stop an extra 10 seconds they usually either see me and adjust, feel bad that they didn't see me or they've already seen me and we can agree on whose turn it is fairly quickly. I don't think I did this as much when I was just a motorist, though. So I'm not shocked that other people don't follow this as a rule. I think being really vulnerable on the road causes you to think this way, but it's a good rule once you think about it.

Malor wrote:
(Got what you were aiming for and deliberately went the other way, as is our custom. This will be a true P&C thread yet!)

I realize you're kidding, but I did think about clarifying that, when I posted it, as 'non-routine reflexes'.

Maybe it would be better to say 'never voluntarily put yourself in a position where another driver has to do something unusual to prevent an accident.'

I think this is accurate and is probably my #1 highway rule and #2 rule overall.

DSGamer:

I actually don't think that just being vulnerable on the road clues you in as much as being both a cyclist and a motorist (and a pedestrian) and figuring in an accident that requires major surgery. Or maybe it's just being old that does that. I see a lot of young folks engaging in truly reckless behavior locally. I do what I can, but it's difficult to get people to listen in my culture.

I pass by scenes of bloody motorcycle accidents more often than I care to count. It's estimated that 10 people a day die on the streets of Manila from traffic accidents alone.

Re: Blinker before turning. My personal policy is to have my blinker going before I touch the brakes or start slowing for a turn.
My understanding is that the lights are there to signal intent, and not the more common usage of providing visual proof to witnesses that the hard brake and direction change just executed were intentional.

This is a new one that I've recently formalized into a personal driving procedure. The routes I take for work will oftentimes be shared by convoys of trucks. There are a lot of hills so the chain of trailers form natural speedbumps as they crawl up some of the longer slopes. Regular cars are annoyingly aggressive when passing, often forcing the faster trucks to be trapped behind the slower ones on a long hill. My policy is to not start passing a truck while another vehicle is still beside it. If traffic is much faster than the truck then the lane should clear quickly. If traffic is moving slightly faster then I will keep the rear lights clearly in view until the car in front of me has reached a point where I can close the gap without leaving me beside the truck.
My reasoning is this... if the truck needs to maneuver he can see the first car, while the second car is trickier to spot. I can't see what is in front of the truck, so if he puts on his brakes or blinker I can see it without having to turn my head. Also, cars in my neck of the woods are terrible about maintaining safe distances on Interstates. This builds in a nice buffer. Oh, I also don't merge back into the right hand lane until I can see both headlights in my rearview. My favorite thing is when the car behind me is riding my ass and starts sliding into the gap. I like to pretend that the trucker and I share a little laugh when they have to go around me again.

Try to drive in the middle of the road when possible. Any object is a potential IED.

Be aware of patterns of behavior along your regular routes of travel. Changes in behavior, even small or subtle ones, may signal an attack.

When receiving small arms fire, do not stop to engage the enemy. Continue moving through the kill zone if possible.

Be aware that any attack can be a precursor to a larger, complicated attack. While the detonating device or number of attackers may seem small, your reactions (to include inaction) may trigger an even greater attack.

Does your Warlock work? If it doesn't, don't go.

"The box method" is never an acceptable answer to higher regarding PID of a PIED.

/convoyops

My personal rule is to make my intentions clear. A lot of prangs are due to people not being sure what someone else is going to do, either because someone was indecisive, or because someone did something unexpected. So I always stop at a give way sign or roundabout, I don't take the first gap because people may not have seen me yet, give music time to judge the speeds, decide where I'm going to move out, and commit to that manoeuvre.

TIL what prang means.

If you're waiting in a turning lane keep your tires straight until you actually go to turn to minimize the chance of a front end collision if you get rear ended.

Renji wrote:

If you're waiting in a turning lane keep your tires straight until you actually go to turn to minimize the chance of a front end collision if you get rear ended.

Does that work?

DudleySmith wrote:

My personal rule is to make my intentions clear. A lot of prangs are due to people not being sure what someone else is going to do, either because someone was indecisive, or because someone did something unexpected. So I always stop at a give way sign or roundabout, I don't take the first gap because people may not have seen me yet, give music time to judge the speeds, decide where I'm going to move out, and commit to that manoeuvre.

This makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of new drivers mistake being defensive with being timid or indecisive. Alternately, some mistake being asssertive for being aggressive. It makes sense to clarify to new drivers (for older, mentor drivers) that the best thing is to be obvious about our intentions and then to execute the maneuver in a regular, controlled fashion. This is as true for cyclists as it is for motorists. As a driver, I find nothing more worrisome than a weaving cyclist or motorist with unclear intentions.

As a corollary to this, I also observe the rule of following through with my signaled intention. I don't turn right when I indicated that I was going through, or turn left instead of right. Sudden changes in direction feels like it could directly lead into a fender bender. I once almost clipped a motorcycle doing that. It's worth even 30 minutes of travel time to me to avoid the risk of a fatal accident.

To add to the already great tips:
Always assume the other driver isn't going to stop when they could collide with you (blowing a stop sign, light, etc).
Always assume the driver in front is going to stop (yellow light) - this is where foot on brake and off gas at every intersection helps.
If you're sitting in multiple lane traffic, and the light goes green, and no one moves, DON'T MOVE - it's entirely possible a cross lane driver you can't see (but they do) is blowing the red. Saved me at least 2x. BLUF: Don't be the first to go at a green light unless you can see everything.
When pulling up on a stop sign or light slow down long and gradual. This will prevent the person behind you from assuming you're going through. It will also give them more time to stop if they don't notice your brake lights immediately (aka texters). Fast stops at intersections is a great way to get rear ended.
Especially in crowded urban areas, 3 rights is better than 1 left.

LarryC wrote:

Intersection rule #1: when approaching a corner or intersection, always take foot off the accelerator and put it over the brake. The half-second you gain from having your foot over the brake can literally be a life and death difference.

I drive an automatic. I like having one less thing to take my attention away from the wheel and what's in front of me (but that's just me). I also drive with both feet: gas with the right, brake with the left. I taught myself to do this years ago when, after another car pulled out short in front of me, my right foot got caught under the brake pedal for about a second or two when I attempted to brake quickly. Scared the sh*t out of me. Now I find that I can transition between accelerating and braking much, much faster and comfortably.

Does anyone else do this?

I actually tried doing that, but I figured that having no feet on the accelerator might be better for me in case I panic and jam both feet down.

Nicholaas wrote:
LarryC wrote:

Intersection rule #1: when approaching a corner or intersection, always take foot off the accelerator and put it over the brake. The half-second you gain from having your foot over the brake can literally be a life and death difference.

I drive an automatic. I like having one less thing to take my attention away from the wheel and what's in front of me (but that's just me). I also drive with both feet: gas with the right, brake with the left. I taught myself to do this years ago when, after another car pulled out short in front of me, my right foot got caught under the brake pedal for about a second or two when I attempted to brake quickly. Scared the sh*t out of me. Now I find that I can transition between accelerating and braking much, much faster and comfortably.

Does anyone else do this?

Yeah, it's generally not a good idea, but you have spent years training yourself to do it, but I wouldn't recommend others start doing it. It would also make learning a manual twice as hard, if you ever had to do so. You also have to be careful not to touch the brake AT ALL because even a slight touch that doesn't engage the brake will turn the brake lights on... Those lights combined with you not actually braking could cause an issue to another driver - possibly. And any driving with the brake depressed will heat and wear the brakes faster.

People do left foot brake when racing, but in limited and predictable situations. Typically it's used to set the front tires in a fast turn keep your speed up but increasing your handling. You would know a track well enough to know what turns to use this on. I feel throttle steering (lifting the accelerator 5% or so) does almost the same thing, shifts weight forward. I guess if you wanted to do a quick, hard left foot brake it would have a stronger effect. I'm still a racing newb, and these are advanced techniques I haven't fully mastered yet.

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, when a car slows suddenly the driver is retained in his seat by applying pressure with his left foot against the floor or the car or the dead pedal. You could test this yourself by driving across a parking lot with your left leg tucked under your bottom, hitting the brake pedals with your right foot hard enough to engage ABS, and then observing what happens. Make sure there’s nothing around for you to hit, of course, because chances are you’re going to slam against the steering wheel pretty hard and lose some or all of the control you have of the car. You’re certainly going to lose any ability you have to modulate brake pressure during the episode; the weight of your body will be transmitted through the brake pedal and you won’t be able to stop braking until you’ve come to a halt.

The above scenario is why your high-school driving instructor wouldn’t let you left-foot brake. It’s not a reasonable way to operate a vehicle on the street at any kind of speed. If you’re in a car as a passenger and you see the driver using the left foot to slow said car, you should speak up. It’s dangerous and not advised, period.

That's a good point. If you make a sudden stop, your weight will shift forward, and crush the brake pedal, until you stop completely. This is what the dead pedal on the left side is for, to keep you in the seat and allow you modulation control of the brake with your right.

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