Defensive Driving: The Short Course

1. Defensive Driving:The Short Course [Company Name]

2. Defensive Driving • Driving to prevent accidents, in spite of incorrect actions of other drivers and adverse conditions

3. Road Adverse Conditions Light Weather Driver Vehicle

4. Road The conditions can be a result of weather but can also be uneven, pot holes, etc. Day vs. Night Cloudy Facing the sun Light

5. Drivers mental and physical state Drivers have decisions to make in this regard Good maintenance, Pre-trip inspections, etc. YES, vehicle defects cause accidents Most obvious Adapt driving to weather conditions Weather Driver Vehicle

6. Incorrect Actions of Others

7. Traveling everyday… • Overcrowded roads • Inexperienced drivers • More new drivers • Lack of driver training • People trained by parents, etc.

8. Lack of Driver Training • On-ramps • Merging • Ever notice some drivers entering the highway never look until they are at the end of the ramp?

9. Reasons People Tailgate Speed up the vehicle in front of them Keep the gap close to prevent others from coming between Don’t realize how dangerous it is

10. Discussion: Avoiding Accident Involvement Driving to prevent accidents, in spite of incorrect actions of others and Adverse Conditions. Do you always drive this way?

11. Fault vs. Preventability “Fault” Preventable One in which the driver failed to do everything reasonable to prevent the accident or to prevent involvement If we can avoid involvement we WIN • Settle damages & injuries—you do not want to be at fault • Difficult to assign “fault” • State Statutes • Percentage of fault

12. What is your biggest frustration in trying to avoid a collision? Or other ‘frequent’ type of situation?.

13. Reminder: Any type of accident can result in major damage, injuries or fatalities. In example, backing accident.

14. Accident Investigation • Start with last event and attempts to follow back to the initial “cause”

15. Make the first mistake & chance alone determines the outcome.