Best Ways to Prevent a Car Accident

December 31, 2015  |  Adriel B. Villarreal

You can’t control anyone else’s actions behind the wheel, but you can control your own. Prevention is the key. What should you do to prevent an accident?

1. Be Cautious of Blind Spots

Your side mirrors and rearview mirror can be adjusted to provide a panoramic view behind you, but there is always a chance a vehicle can enter your blind spot. This is the space where your side mirror and rearview mirror fail, leaving you with the inability to see the vehicle right next to you.
Other drivers will have these blind spots, especially when you’re driving right next to them or are coming up to pass them.
Looking over your shoulder before switching lanes will help you to avoid blind spot accidents.

2. Continually Scan the Road

The road in front of you extends well beyond the vehicle you’re behind. Scanning the road in front of you will allow you to have enough time to react to sudden vehicle stops, accidents, animals in the road, or other road dangers that could result in an accident.

3. Avoid Fast Lanes

There is a reason the fast lane is only meant for passing – there is nowhere to escape. Practicing defensive driving requires you to drive in the middle or right lane. When driving in these two lanes, you’ll have more options to turn into other lanes and escape potential accidents.

4. Drive With Both Hands on the Wheel

Many people drive with one hand on the wheel at the 12 o’clock position, or both hands on the bottom of the steering wheel. While you may have some control when driving in this way, you won’t have as much control as you would if you were driving with your hands at the 9 and 3 o’clock positions.

5. Be Aware of Other Drivers’ Driving

When you see a vehicle flying in and out of the lanes with dents all over it and recent body work, you might be wise to take caution.
The same goes for the person swerving in and out of the lane while looking at their cell phone.
Being cautious of other drivers’ actions and how they drive will allow you to avoid potential accidents. This may mean staying far behind these drivers so that you have plenty of time to react, or it may mean passing them and getting out of harm’s way.

6. Avoid Distracted Driving and Don’t Text and Drive

Don’t text and drive.  Your phone may beep and buzz with constant notifications but the driver’s seat of your car is not the place to check them. Not even at a stoplight.  No text or notification is worth a life.  And texting and driving is illegal in Minnesota.  
Practice attentive driving, be aware of your surroundings.  You might not realize the distance you can travel just looking for a new station on the radio or trying to hand your child something in the back seat.  By the time you look up at the road, it could be too late.  
 
These are just a few of the ways you can help prevent a car accident.  And remember, although you may be an excellent driver, accidents do happen.  If you or someone you love has been involved in a car accident and you need legal help, please contact the experienced legal team at BGS.