New Year is traditionally the time we list all the things we would love to do in order to improve our lives and feel better about ourselves, but more often than not we come up with a whole host of aims that we fail to follow through with...
Now is the time to buck that trend, here are some valuable tips to improve your driving style, hopefully they won’t be consigned to that long list of forgotten resolutions!
Here we take a look at just three New Year’s resolutions, so you won’t have too much to work on. As these guidelines should already be part of your daily practice, they should be easy to maintain.
1 – Pay attention to speed
Excessive speeding is not part of a good driver code of conduct, it is not safe and, not only is it against the law, it does not help your fuel economy. It is a risky activity that can be devastating to you, other drivers, as well as pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. It can also cost you a lot in fines, and your insurance rates could be affected by frequent speeding violations.
So pay attention to the speedometer, to speed limits on the road, and plan your travel in advance. Speeding to be on time, is not a sensible or professional attitude. Try to begin your travel in advance, as speeding won’t realistically save you that much time anyway.
2 – No penalty points
If you drive safely, you will significantly minimise the possibility of getting penalty points.
As a reminder, in Ireland the RSA (Road Safety Authority) states: “Any driver accumulating 12 penalty points within any given three-year period will be automatically disqualified from driving for six months. A lower threshold of 7 penalty points leading to disqualification applies to any driver taking out a first learner permit on or after 1 August 2014 while he or she drives under any learner permit and subsequently during the first two years while he or she is driving under a full driving licence.”
Penalty points remain on the licence record for a period of three years.
Referring back to the New Year’s resolution and speed reduction discussed previously, there are actually two offences regarding speeding, that can result in a fine and three penalty points:
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Using any vehicle not equipped with a speed limitation device or using a vehicle equipped with a speed limitation device that does not comply with the requirements specified in the regulations
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Speeding—as in failure to observe temporary or permanent speed limits.
3 – Pay attention to your driving
Distracted driving is one of the top causes of car collisions. There are three types of distracted driving: visual (taking your eyes off the road), manual (doing something that requires drivers to remove their hands from the steering wheel) and mental (thinking hard about something other than driving). Texting while driving involves all three.
Whenever you get behind the wheel, take steps to eliminate whatever distracts you from driving. Eat before you get into the car. Let the phone call go to voicemail. Give the kids something to keep them entertained that isn’t distracting and allows you to focus fully on the road. Don't be shy about asking your passengers to tone it down for a minute if you need to concentrate.
If any of this seems like a time-consuming inconvenience to you, or a bit dull, imagine just how inconvenient or deadly serious a car crash can be.
