Driving requires you to observe and focus, especially when you are driving at high speeds like a motorway would require. Sometimes spending several hours on the same road each day can begin to get boring, and you let your guard down. Bad behaviours begin to appear when you start to feel bored while driving. It is necessary for you to keep alert assessing situations because they can change quickly, even dangerously, which requires quick reaction from you.
Not surprisingly the incorrect speed for road environment is the largest cause of accidents on the highway. Drivers with an excellent car going 70 miles per hour need 20 metres to react to a change in road conditions, and another 50 metres to bring the car to a stop. This example is based on having the tyres and brakes in perfect working order. Total it takes 70 metres or more for a car to be stopped in an emergency.
These increased stopping distances at motorway speeds demonstrate the need to maintain at least a two second gap between you and the vehicle in front. To gauge your distance, pick out a roadside marker and then count how long it takes your vehicle to reach it after the car in front has passed it by.
Sadly there will always be an inconsiderate driver who uses your two second safety gap to pull in, in front of you, and they may even undertake you to do this. However, whilst their foolhardy driving is no doubt annoying and frustrating you need to protect your own safety by maintaining the safety zone.
Tailgating by another driver is a potential hazard you want to avoid. Whenever possible you should pull off the road and let the tailgater pass. You should not allow them to draw you into the same behaviour. The chances are the reckless driver will eventually cause an accident, and you do not want to be in the mix when that happens.
Traffic on a motorway can change suddenly. A traffic jam can occur before you are aware. To protect yourself from dangerous situations you should make sure you are looking ahead. By glancing as far ahead as you can you can spot hazards, thus you can warn other drivers, by switching on your hazard lights, of the issue.
If you have been driving on the motorway for a while it can be easy to feel quite bored and inadvertently let your mind wander, especially as very little driving input is required in terms of steering or gear changes. Ideally you need to aim to stop every two hours at a service centre to combat this fatigue and give yourself a chance to relax and refresh before continuing on your journey.
If you still have some distance to go before you have the chance to pull off of the motorway and rest, then there are a few things you can do to help fight the fatigue. Consider turning the air conditioning down to cold or opening a window to get some fresh air onto your face. Turn up the radio or start a conversation with your passenger and switch off any driver aids, like cruise control, to sharpen up your concentration and awareness levels.
It is very easy to become complacent when driving on the motorway in a nice warm car listening to your favourite music. However you need to maintain your concentration and observation levels throughout the journey and be ready for any potential hazards when they occur, because when accidents happened on a motorway they happen very quickly and often with fatal consequences.
To help improve a driver’s night time vision and safety on the motorway many cars now come fitted with D2S Bulbs as standard. For cars fitted with normal headlights a new xenon range of upgrade bulbs, like the H1 xenon bulbs, are designed to quickly and easily replace ordinary halogen bulbs.
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