Tips on driving safely once you've passed your test

Knowledge and experience go hand in hand

There are two major causes of accidents that are very much underestimated. By learning about these, and compensating beforehand, you can avoid an accident or near miss before it becomes a problem.

Bad weather

Driving in bad weather should be avoided if possible. However, work, prior engagements, and necessity sometimes mean you have to deal with this situation. There are many kinds of poor weather, and they often come in combination. Knowing what to do in these instances can be a life-saver.

Heavy rain: This can be horrendous for visibility, overwhelming windscreen wipers and creating spray from the roads. Naturally a wet road gives less grip, and this combined with the reduced visibility makes for longer braking distances and reaction times.

The worst situation is where your vehicle hits standing water at a high speed, which causes it to aquaplane. Watch out for dark patches on the road surface at night, or puddles that look exceptionally large, and slow down to a speed that you feel comfortable, no matter how much the vehicles behind you disagree.

Snow and ice: Loss of grip on ice can be incredibly unpredictable and shocking. Where you are driving on an icy road slow right down for corners, and take account of gradients other drivers, and the road surface itself.

Use a higher gear to prevent wheel-spin, and make your driving smoother. No sudden braking, sharp turns, or fast acceleration.

Fog: Mist and fog are the classic vision-killers. The dangers of this seem obvious enough, but this loss of vision is not predictable. You might be driving through a slightly murky day in one moment, and then find yourself in a complete white-out the next.

Keep a gauge on how far you can see in front of you, and make sure you can stop before you reach that vanishing point. Also be aware that you will feel that you are driving more slowly than you really are.

High winds: Driving in a crosswind can be surprisingly hazardous. Winds like these can blow a small car, or a car with high sides, right off course. Places to look out for are bridges, where the crosswind can diminish and then come back again, and when passing lorries and busses.

The other danger of very high winds is the chance of falling trees, and debris being in the road. Remember, no one is forcing you to drive. If you are caught in an especially violent storm, find a safe place to pull over and wait it out.

Closing speed

Closing speed is a massively underestimated danger on the roads and it pays to be aware of this as you gain confidence on the faster roads.

This is particularly dangerous on motorways and dual carriageways if your speed is faster than the vehicle in front of you. It is not uncommon for this situation to occur, if you are travelling at the speed limit and a vehicle in the distance in front of you is travelling 10 mph slower.

However, if they brake suddenly, your additional speed means an extra 70 or 80 feet of braking distance. This can result in a catastrophe out of nowhere, as vehicles behind you also have to react in time.

Be especially aware, if you are closing in on a fast-travelling train of cars. One car braking at the front of the train will cause a chain reaction of harder braking further down, leaving any vehicle closing in on the group to their fate, if they are unable to take avoiding action.

Avoid this by making sure you can see past the vehicles you are approaching, and maintaining a safe distance of 2 seconds between yourself and the car in front.

Conclusion

As a driver, anticipation is everything. Being able to spot a dangerous situation before it arises means you can avoid incidents, near misses, and conflicts with other motorists. Below are some good driving habits to adopt as you take the transition from being a newly qualified driver to being a seasoned, experienced motorist.

I hope these lessons in particular see you safe in the years to come. Being armed with extra knowledge means when you gain driving experience, you can make sure it is good experience and not a bad experience.