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Top 10 Driving Tips

Pro driver advice for avoiding accidents

Virtually all Americans think they are "above average" or "average" drivers. (The four percent that are "below average" are everywhere!) Most U.S. males think they should be in NASCAR instead of Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It's nice we have such positive self-images.

Since you don't need the following driving tips, how about passing them on to your friends? Guys, send them to Jeff Gordon.

10. Don't Back Up

Backing accidents happen far out of proportion to the small amount of time spent in reverse. Injuries are few but tragic—frequently a child related to the driver. Choose parking spaces that you can drive straight into and out of. Or CAREFULLY back in so you can drive forward out of the space. Walk around your vehicle before you get in. Limit your backing to the shortest distance in order to restrict your exposure. Also, look out the rear window while backing: Some driving instructors require students to come to a stop when they check mirrors or front clearance.

9. Work Smarter

Only a fool (or a teenager) closes his eyes while driving 70 mph on the freeway. Yet, you do essentially the same thing whenever you look over your shoulder before changing lanes. With properly adjusted outside mirrors you'll need to look no more than about 50 degrees away from straight ahead. That way, your peripheral vision can keep tabs on the traffic ahead and clear blind spots. Your mirrors are improperly adjusted if you can see the sides of your car. To correctly adjust your left outside mirror, rest your head against the side glass and move the mirror out until you can no longer see the side of the car. Then lean your head as far to the right as the seatbelt will allow and move that mirror out until you can no longer see sheetmetal. You don't need to see the car's sides—they always follow obediently along. Your "reference" is now the slightly overlapping images on the inside and outside mirrors.

8. Go Right

Almost half of all left-turn crashes in urban areas result in injury. And if you're the one making the left, you'll also receive the insult of a traffic ticket—even if the straight-through driver ran the red light. Plan your route to limit intersections without a left-turn arrow. Rather than turning left out of a parking lot, take a right and go around the block. While two wrongs don't make a right, three rights make a left.

7. Learn Your Car

Humans who haven't practiced for an emergency often lock-up like a virus-infected computer, or a deer blinded by headlights. Many—if not most—car crashes would be avoided if the drivers had employed the timely and proper combination of additional braking and more steering. With anti-lock brakes, it's easy to experience your vehicle's ultimate stopping power: Find a vacant stretch of road (or parking lot) and "Stomp, Stay, and Steer." Stomp the brake pedal to the floor. Stay hard on it. (Other than slightly accelerated brake pad wear, it won't hurt the car.) Finally, steer around the obstacle. (Understand: A little bit of steering goes a long way.) Practice before the emergency.

6. See And Be Seen

Regularly scan out to the limit of your vision. (Measure how far ahead you look: With a dry-erase marker, make a thin line at pupil height. See how often you look under the line.) Use only your peripheral vision to position your car laterally within your lane. Apply a rain-shedding product to the exterior surfaces of all windows (and the outside mirrors, too). Replace windshield wipers twice a year. Engage the air conditioner and fresh air (not recirculation) setting when windows fog over. Turn on your headlights—not just the parking lights—well before sunset and in rainy or foggy weather. Use your turn signals.

5. Figure Out The Clues

Other drivers regularly tell you things. Brake lights on a straight section mean there's a ladder in the road. Oncoming cars burning headlights during the day mean a rain shower ahead. Out-of-state plates or car rental agency stickers tell you to expect sudden stops and turns. Rusty dents says, "I have so many wrecks, I don't bother to fix them." A can of orange juice on the dash means there's possibly a bottle of vodka under the seat.

4. Prep Your Ride

On under-inflated, mismatched, or worn-out tires, Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher can drive no better than a chimp. With worn-out brakes, his Ferrari will stop no shorter than the Flintsone-mobile. Many of the new safety features, such as electronic stability control, cannot perform their magic without top-performing brakes and tires.

3. Sober—And Hang—Up

Despite two decades' worth of education, enforcement, and harpy nagging, a third of fatal accidents involve a drunk driver. Sadly, cell phones are replacing alcohol as a driving impairment. Hang up and drive. And a spilled soda is several times more distracting than a "What do you want for dinner?" phone call.

2. Anticipate

Fans often marvel about racers' lightning-fast reactions. The truth is that racers can't afford to react. Instead they anticipate. At 160 (or 60) mph, if they wait until their car's rear tires start to slide, there's little hope of avoiding a spin. But if they can anticipate the loss of traction—either by knowing a section of track is slick or by feeling the incipient slide—they won't lose control or even much time. On the highway, you need to do the same thing. Anticipate that the light rain shower has filled the wagon-wheel ruts with water. Anticipate that the driver on the cross street is not going to stop. Anticipate that the little old man in the car ahead will brake for no apparent reason. Anticipate that a crash in the southbound lanes will mean a backup in the northbound lanes. Anticipate that one driver will turn without a signal and the next will go straight with his signal on.

1. Pay Attention

A recent study found that in about three-quarters of crashes, the driver was inattentive within three seconds of the wreck. Investigating officers far too often hear" "I never saw the other car until right before we hit." If you're not looking, you won't see the other car until it lands on your hood.