You have a responsibility to drive safely on the road. As a driver, you have to condition your mind towards consciously and constantly trying to be better.
However, if your driving skills aren’t where you want it to be, you simply need to strive to improve it till you get to that point where you can confidently beat your chest to being a really good driver.
It goes without saying that there is always something to improve upon when it boils down to your driving skills regardless of whether you are an experienced driver or a learner driving a car for the first time.
Striving to improve your driving skills means paying conscious attention to safety issues and making smart decisions about your driving habits on a daily basis. Here are five ways to hone your driving skills:
1. Take a Defensive Driving Training Course
One of the best ways to improve your driving skills is to enrol for training in defensive driving techniques. Defensive driving is great for new and experienced drivers who want to sharpen their driving skills. The techniques you will learn will prepare you for the hazards piling on the roads you ply.
For learners, it is a great introduction to help them avoid danger. If you are an experienced driver, it is a refresher and that helps you combat bad driving habits that have been formed since they began driving. It could also be a chance to master those skills we failed to learn despite driving regularly.
2. Avoid Distractions
You don’t want to be distracted while driving and this is something that you should avoid once you take hold of the steering. Fine, you can eat while watching the television; you can check your Facebook feeds while frying some plantain in the kitchen, but never you pick that phone and text or try to chat when driving.
Most of the collisions and close calls are as a result of inattention and drivers who text are 23 times more likely to crash or come really close to having a car crash. Your driving skills will amount to nothing on the road if you are distracted. Therefore, if you would like to improve your driving skills, give up all your distractions when behind the wheel.
3. Observe Safety Rules
There is obviously no way you can be seen as a good driver if you continuously break safety rules. This point, therefore, seems obvious and redundant. Always put on your seatbelt. This requirement does not only relate to improving your driving skill but could end up saving your life in the event of an accident. There is no predicting when an accident will occur and having your seatbelt buckled up at all times gives you the chance to minimise the impact.
Besides, you could also be fined for not putting a seatbelt. You need to study the safety features of your car. Learn to use the key components, especially those which you will frequently engage with as you drive.
4. Master the Turns
Roundabouts are known to burden inexperienced drivers a peculiar shade of headache, especially those who find themselves in the midst of moving traffic. This is also true for roads where there are no traffic light signs to stop or coordinate the movement of vehicles.
Whether you are an experienced driver or a learner, you should know that there is no inherent difficulty in navigating roundabouts. It becomes simpler once you learn how to do it right and fast, and this can only be achieved through practice.
5. Learn How to Merge Lanes
Among the causes of road accidents and traffic jams on the highway is the case of inefficient lane merging. Many drivers just make the wrong turns and complicate the situation. When turning left, ensure that you use the S-turn manoeuvre.
Final Thoughts on Driving Skills
While observing all these ways of improving your driving skills, please ensure that your eyesight is good. Check the state of your eyesight as bad sight also contributes to road accidents. You should go for a vision test every once in a while as you get older regardless of whether you have used recommended glasses or not.