Safe Driving Tips

Now that you're aware of the lines that regulate traffic flow; you need to abide by some general rules of the roads that insure smooth and safe trips for you and other drivers. First, never ever drive faster than the posted speed limit, regardless of how fast surrounding vehicles are traveling, its dangerous and illegal. Conversely it's also unsafe to drive too slowly. Some roads have minimum speed limits posted, which you must follow. If you're traveling at a very slow speed on a too lane real road for any reason, you must pull over to let traffic pass, if 5 or more cars are behind you. If you don't see a posted speed limit, here is some general speed guidelines to follow on. When driving in an alley the speed limit is 15 miles per hour. The speed limit for school zone traffic is typically 25miles per hour. The speed limit in residential areas unless otherwise posted is also 25miles per hour. Finally expressway speed limits are generally 65miles per hour. It's very important that you check your states driving manual to find out speed regulation specific to your state. These limits vary slightly from state to state. No matter what speed your driving; you always need to use your turn signal to alert other drivers that you've intension to turn. The general rule is to signal about 100feet prior to each turn. Beyond signaling when making turns; it's also necessary to signal when pulling over to the side of the road and when making a lane change. When making a right turn intersected by a bicycle lane; you must merge into the bicycle lane before completing the turn and never travel in a bicycle lane for more than 200 feet. That would be extremely dangerous for bicyclists, not to mention illegal. While we're on the subject to right turns; you should know that you can make them at a red light, after coming to a complete stop; you can turn right, if it is safe to do so and as long as there isn't a no turn on red sign posted at the intersection. Making left turns tends to be little trickier and slightly more dangerous than making right turns; however if you know the ride of way rules and pay attention to oncoming and surrounding traffic, you'll have no problem making safe and successful left turns, when traveling on a multilane road; you must make left turns from the left lane, also on a multilane road it is illegal to pass a vehicle on the right if they're slowing or stopped to make a left turn. If you wish to make a left turn on green; you may do so only after yielding to any oncoming traffic. If you happened to have a green arrow then you have the right of way to make a left turn as oncoming traffic has a red light, the center turn lane provides you with a place to begin and end left turns. These are usually found in areas with a lot of oncoming traffic, so you must be extra cautious when turning from one of these lanes. Unless specifically disallowed with a no U turn sign; it is also illegal to start U turns from the center turn lane. In addition always stay in your original lane all the way through a turn when there are multiple turn lanes. Be sure to avoid driving in other driver's blind spots for any period of time. They won't be able to see you and could accidentally run into you or unknowingly attempt a maneuver that causes you to crash. When driving on multilane roads, position your car ahead or behind other vehicle in order to avoid their blind spots. In passenger cars like this the blind spots were found almost directly next to it and on both the left and the right sides. When sharing the road with a large truck keep in mind that there are four large blind spots for truck drivers. These four blind spots are called no zones and truckers can't see you at all if you travel inside these areas. That brings us to the related topic of following distance. In order to be able to break and steer out of potential problems ahead of you; you should maintain a following distance of at least 3 seconds. As your speed increases so too should your following distance. It's a good idea to maintain at least a four second gap when traveling on an expressway. You should also increase your following distance when the roads are wet and slippery, when towing heavy loads, when being followed too closely by trailing vehicles, when traveling behind large vehicles such as trucks and buses and when following motorcycles. The recommended safe following distance varies from state to state. So be sure to check your states driving manual to get the most accurate information for your state. Now let's take a look at some basic ride up way rules. When more that one car has stopped at a four-way intersection, the car that arrived first has the ride up way. If two cars come to a stop at a four way intersection at the same time, the car on the right has the ride up way. If two cars come to a stop at the same time at T intersection the car on the through road has the ride up way. If you encounter an uncontrolled intersection that is an intersection without signs or signals, be prepare to stop for others vehicles, because you never know if they will stop or not. Never forget pedestrians always have the ride up way at an intersection; weather there are cross walks or not. Another ride up way rule is that traffic already traveling on an expressway has the ride up way over vehicles merging on to the expressway. Traffic exiting the express way has the ride up way over traffic entering the expressway. While we're on the subject of expressway driving you should try to merge at the same speed as traffic already on the expressway. Never stop while merging unless traffic is so backed up that you can't get over. If you approach a stopped vehicle along side the road; slow down a little and pass them with caution. If you're ever in a situation where you have to tow another vehicle on the expressway; only use the too far right lanes, which are generally geared towards slower traffic.