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Finding a Defensive Driving Course You Can Bet On |
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Written by Jerry Malcolm
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It is a fact of life that most people take a defensive driving course for a very short-term goal. That goal might be to get your insurance rates down, to get a ticket dismissed or to get a defensive driving course certificate to show your boss so you can operate the company vehicles. But if you are going to go to the expense and time of attending a defensive driving course, you might as well get all you can from it. A well designed course in defensive driving can literally save your life many times in the years ahead. That is why a lesson plan in driving well can become a defensive driving course you can bet on.
It is worth saying what should be obvious. But the real value finding a defensive driving course you can bet on are the skills and awareness you take out of the course and the ability to deal with some of the most dangerous situations you will encounter on the road. There is no sense trying to hide the fact that as much as we think it isn't so, driving is still a dangerous undertaking. Our society is tremendously mobile and a problem can develop very quickly on the road is you are not paying attention. A defensive driving course you can bet on will give you the tools to not only pay attention but to get out of those tough situations before they turn into a road emergency with a bad outcome for you, your car and your family.
A typical split second decision that can suddenly be upon you in a traffic emergency can change your life forever. Whether it is a drunk driver running a red light or a sudden blow out that puts your car or a vehicle near you in an out of control situation, if you let that emergency surprise you, it will result in an accident which could result in injury or death.
Defensive driving you can bet on gives you the skills to deal with emergencies that happen to the best of us. These are not classes to help you learn to deal with a high speed chase to run down a kidnapper or to deal with terrorist who put your life in danger. But there are a huge variety of emergencies that could happen to any one of us any day that call for a highly developed defensive driving skill set.
Such sudden crisis situations like a child dashing in front of you in traffic, the sudden appearance of a vehicle in your lane coming right at you or seeing objects fall off a truck into your path that will result in a serious accident happen all the time. Without good training in defensive driving, those situations will result in an accident or a disaster. With good defensive driving talents and training, you can be prepared for anything and even sudden dangers like these we have discussed can be handled well so you do not hit the child, have a front end collision or run over that sudden road obstacle.
There are numerous skills that we don't learn when we go through a basic driver's education class that are essential to handling very real road emergencies that can happen to anyone at anytime driving the streets and highways of your city. Those skills include…
· How to cope with a need to brake suddenly which includes knowing which way your vehicle will go in under extreme braking and accelerating that as part of your escape route.
· Dealing with skidding, sliding or spinning on ice or snow and how to handle that so you get control over the vehicle smoothly and without panic.
· How to maneuver the car using either acceleration or braking if a sudden obstacle appears in the road.
· How to avoid an accident that is happening right in front of you.
· How to compensate when your visibility is not perfect such as in fog or at night.
· How to get out of a sudden crisis at high speeds.
· How to anticipate a crisis by planning a route out and then how to take that escape safely if needed.
· How to deal with an aggressive driver so that he cannot pose a threat to you or your vehicle.
· How to evaluate risk in any situation and what to do to lower risk whether you are driving to the grocery store or at high speeds on the freeway.
It is worthwhile to find a defensive driving course that you can bet on that is based on real life driving situations and that are taught by instructors who know what they are doing. When you have that kind of expertise at your disposal, it is just a matter or getting a firm understanding of the main defensive driving strategies that a well designed driver's education course will give you and then putting them to work in your daily life. When you do that, the reward you will take away form a good defensive driving course will be far more valuable than getting at ticket reduced or your insurance rates down because defensive driving skills like that can and will save your life.
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