According to many defensive driving course instructors, there are five vital rules of defensive driving. If everyone followed just these five rules, experts agree that car accidents would be reduced by at least 98%.

So, do your part to reduce the dangers of driving and to further protect yourself and your loved ones from dangerous and possibly fatal accidents. Read on to find out what you can do to be safer on the road, and don’t be fooled by the simplistic nature of these rules. You may think they are common sense, but we can guarantee that you or someone you know breaks at least two of these rules on a regular basis!

Defensive Driving Key #1. Pay attention and focus on the task of driving

Yeah, this one seems the most obvious! But how often have you been on your cell phone while driving? Or did she fiddle with a bag, papers, a map, or keep searching for something in his pockets? Dividing your attention from the driving process immediately puts your driving on autopilot. He is no longer consciously involved in the operation of his two-ton metal box: he discovers that he can’t remember what he saw, or that he changed lanes a mile back. More importantly, the response rate from him drops and deteriorates. You cannot react quickly to new stimuli because your conscious brain is not involved in actively receiving such information.

So how can you increase your ability to pay active attention while driving? Never chat on your cell phone: In some states like California, it is now illegal to drive and talk on the phone. Try not to daydream, and if someone else is in the car with you, don’t look at them while you’re talking, keep your eyes and attention on the road. Alerting your eyes, even for two seconds, while talking to a passenger, could seriously endanger both lives.

Also form good driving habits. For example, if you are taking a trip to a new destination, familiarize yourself with the map or directions before getting into your car. Make sure you can remember most of them by heart so you’re not forced to constantly flip through or look at your papers while driving. Also, keep up – if you’re hungry, stop and eat at the restaurant. Don’t drive and eat while you drive. If you are tired, stop and rest. Don’t risk your life and that of others just because you’re in a hurry or you think you’re not going to sleep. Driving is hypnotic: you will eventually fall asleep if you haven’t rested well.

Defensive Driving Key #2. keep your distance

This is particularly difficult for those of us who live in Southern California. We were practically raised on tailgating! However, following another vehicle too closely accounts for 40% of vehicle accidents. Also, in the event of a rear-end collision, the fault automatically falls to the rear, even if the driver honestly believes that the vehicle in front stopped too suddenly.

This is because, if you keep the proper distance, it is almost impossible to hit the vehicle in front of you, because you have allowed yourself enough reaction time to stop.

So what is the proper following distance? A good rule of thumb is the “two second” rule. You want to always stay a two second count behind the vehicle in front of you. However, the faster your speeds, the more space you should allow. At highway speeds, keep a good 4-5 second headroom.

If counting seems hard to measure while driving, consider car lengths…always have at least one car length between you and the car in front of you. At highway speeds, stretch that gap to about two car lengths or more. If you have to brake every time you see the car in front of you brake, then you are following too closely.

Defensive Driving Key #3. don’t speed up

If you love to drive, you hate the warning not to speed. However, driving too fast for road or traffic conditions exponentially increases your chances of being in an accident. First, your speeds leave you with less reaction time than necessary to avoid a crash, and the faster you drive, the longer it takes for your brakes to successfully stop your moving vehicle.

Yes, inertia is a witch. But it’s a law of physics and no amount of pouting will change that. So he works with the universe and watches how fast you go. The easiest way to manage your speeds is to keep up with the traffic around you. And most importantly, don’t change lanes or weave in and out of traffic when you’re speeding.

Defensive Driving Key #4. Don’t drive while intoxicated

If you have alcohol, you must wait two hours for each drink consumed before driving. And always follow the alcohol with an equal amount of water. It will allow you to keep your “buzz” going for a good period of time, but it will help bring your body back to full capacity when you start to wind down (as long as you wait the prescribed amount of time after drinking before driving).

And don’t be fooled. Just because you think you can walk in a straight line doesn’t mean you can drive properly. Just as talking on a cell phone affects your ability to drive defensively and safely, having any alcohol in your system while driving will affect your ability to react to road conditions or other drivers.

This also applies to being sick, tired or incapacitated. If you don’t feel like you have a clear head, don’t drive. If your eyes or head hurt too much, don’t drive. If you have trouble staying awake or have had to take medicine that makes you drowsy, don’t drive.

Defensive Driving Key #5. Buy and maintain safe driving equipment

If you drive an older model vehicle, find out what equipment your car has and consider upgrading. You want to make sure you have ABS (anti-lock) brakes, traction control systems, and airbags. Automotive engineering continues to impress: consider the latest in safety technology: flat tires, SOS systems that will automatically notify paramedics if your vehicle is in an accident, and active systems that help drive your vehicle safely, like Active Cruise Control that switches automatically your speed to match a slower vehicle in front of you and to maintain a predetermined distance behind.

Because upgrading an older vehicle to these new technologies can be extremely expensive, you may want to consider selling your used car for a newer model. If this is the case, we can help. We are the largest and most respected car buying service in Los Angeles and all of Southern California, having bought and sold over 50,000 cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. We guarantee that we will offer you more for your car than any other dealer and we will deliver that cash to you within 24 hours. Visit us at Cash4UsedCars.net for more information.