Safe Driving: Surveillance, Hazards, and Road Conditions

Environmental Awareness and Space Management

• Awareness of Surroundings: To drive safely, you must know what is around your vehicle at all times to make good decisions and react to hazards. The areas around a vehicle are categorized as follows:

  • Green: The area ahead of you.

  • Blue: The area next to you.

  • Yellow: Blind spots.

  • Red: The area behind you.

• Scanning the Road: Always keep your eyes moving to avoid last-minute moves and to identify hazards. You should scan the road at least $10$ seconds ahead of your vehicle to give yourself enough time to react.

• Safe Following Distance: Tailgating (following too closely) is dangerous because the forward vehicle blocks your view of the road and leaves you insufficient time to react to sudden braking.

  • The Three-Second Rule: Use this rule to maintain a safe distance and avoid collisions.

  • Handling Close Mergers: If a vehicle merges too closely in front of you, take your foot off the accelerator to naturally create more space.

• Creating Extra Space: Increase the buffer in front of your vehicle in these specific scenarios:

  • Tailgaters: When someone is tailgating you, maintain your course and speed. Merge right into another lane only when it is safe to do so to let them pass.

  • Motorcyclists: Provide extra space when following motorcycles on gravel or metal surfaces like bridge gratings or railroad tracks.

Managing Side and Rear Visibility

• Sideways Awareness: Maintain enough space to maneuver safely by avoiding driving directly alongside other vehicles and staying out of other drivers' blind spots.

• Right-of-Way and Merging: Make space for vehicles entering freeways, even if you have the right-of-way. Be prepared for rapid changes and monitor signals from other drivers.

• General Spacing Habits:

  • Keep space between your vehicle and parked cars.

  • Look both ways at intersections, even when you have a green light or the cross-traffic has a stop sign or red light.

• Blind Spots: These are areas that cannot be seen when looking straight ahead or using mirrors. For most vehicles, they are located at the sides, slightly behind the driver.

  • How to Check: Look over your left and right shoulders out of the side windows. Only turn your head; do not turn your whole body or the steering wheel.

  • When to Check: Check blind spots before changing lanes, turning at intersections, merging with traffic, backing up, leaving parking spaces, parallel parking, pulling out from a curb, or opening your car door.

• Rear Awareness: Check the traffic behind you frequently using the rearview mirror, side mirrors, and by turning your head. This is critical when you:

  • Change lanes or check blind spots.

  • Reduce your speed.

  • Turn into driveways or side roads.

  • Stop to pull into a parking space.

  • Pull up to or away from a curb.

  • Back up.

Driving Under Low-Visibility and Surface Conditions

• Darkness: At night, use high-beam headlights on open country roads or dark city streets, provided it is legal. Ensure you can stop within the distance illuminated by your headlights.

  • Oncoming Bright Lights: If an oncoming vehicle's lights are too bright, do not look directly at them. Instead, look toward the right edge of your lane and watch the vehicle out of the corner of your eye.

  • Headlight Etiquette: Dim high-beams for oncoming traffic. Do not retaliate by keeping your high-beams on; it makes visibility worse for both drivers.

• Precipitation: Use low-beam headlights when it is raining; never drive using only parking lights.

• Night Driving Reminders:

  • Pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcycles are significantly harder to see.

  • Highway construction often occurs at night; reduce speed in these zones.

  • Allow your eyes to adjust when leaving brightly lit areas.

  • If an oncoming vehicle has only one light, it could be a bicyclist, motorcyclist, or a car with a missing headlight; drive as far to the right as possible.

• Sun Glare:

  • Keep the windshield clean inside and out.

  • Wear polarized sunglasses and use a functional car visor.

  • Avoid driving during sunrise and sunset if possible.

  • Stay alert for pedestrians who may be hidden by glare.

Managing Skids and Brake Failure

• General Skid Recovery: If your vehicle starts to slip and tires lose traction:

  1. Slowly remove your foot from the accelerator.

  2. Do not use the brakes.

  3. Turn the steering wheel in the direction of the skid.

  4. Attempt to get a wheel onto dry pavement.

• Slippery Surface Skids: Caused by ice, snow, fast driving, or downhill travel. Prevent these by slowing down for curves and intersections, avoiding fast turns/stops, and shifting to low gear on steep hills.

• Locked Wheel Skids: Caused by braking too hard while traveling too fast.

  • Four-wheel ABS: Apply firm pressure to the brake pedal.

  • Rear-wheel ABS: Ease up on the brake pedal to allow front wheels to roll for steering, then stop braking and turn into the direction of the skid.

  • Front-wheel ABS: Remove your foot from the brake to unlock wheels. Steer where you want to go and straighten the wheels as the vehicle begins to align.

  • Non-ABS Vehicles: Quickly pump the brakes until a safe speed is reached. If the pedal sinks to the floor, pump it gently. If pumping fails, downshift to a lower or neutral gear and use the emergency brake.

• Wet Brakes: Dry wet brakes by lightly pressing the accelerator and brake pedals simultaneously until they function correctly.

Hazardous Road Conditions and Weather

• Speed Adjustments for Slippery Roads:

  • Wet road: Reduce speed by $5-10\,mph$.

  • Packed snow: Reduce speed by half ($50\%$).

  • Ice: Reduce speed to no more than $5\,mph$.

• Slippery Hotspots: Roadways are most slippery at the start of rain (due to oil and dust). Areas that freeze first include bridges, overpasses, and shaded spots near trees or buildings.

• Heavy Rain/Snow: If visibility is less than $100\,feet$, do not drive faster than $30\,mph$. Use windshield wipers, low-beam headlights, and the defroster. Carry snow chains in snowy areas for traction.

• Hydroplaning: This occurs when tires lose contact with the road and ride on a layer of water.

  • Prevention: Drive slowly, steer around standing water, and slow down if you hear sloshing sounds.

  • Recovery: If hydroplaning, slow down gradually and do not use the brakes.

• Stuck in Snow or Mud:

  1. Shift to low gear and keep front wheels straight.

  2. Gently accelerate without spinning wheels.

  3. Rock the vehicle by driving forward, then shifting to reverse and backing up, repeating until free.

  4. If deep, place boards or branches under the tires while the vehicle is stopped.

• Flooded Roads: Dangers include road collapse, vehicle malfunction, being swept away, and electrocution from fallen power lines. If you must drive through deep water, go slowly and test your brakes immediately after exiting.

• High Winds: Hazardous for large vehicles or trailers. Reduce speed, maintain a firm grip on the steering wheel, stay alert for debris, and do not use cruise control.

• Fog or Heavy Smoke: Avoid driving if possible. If necessary: drive slowly, use low-beam headlights (high-beams cause glare), use wipers/defrosters, and increase following distance. If it is too thick, pull off the road and use emergency flashers.

Law Enforcement Traffic Breaks

• Purpose: Officers use traffic breaks (weaving across lanes with emergency lights) to slow or stop traffic for hazard removal, heavy fog, or to prevent collisions during unusual conditions.

• Driver Response:

  • Activate emergency flashers.

  • Slow down to match the officer's speed.

  • Keep a safe distance from the patrol vehicle.

  • Do not drive past the patrol vehicle until the officer turns off the emergency lights.