Defensive Driving Technique

DEFENSIVE DRIVING TECHNIQUE
PREAMBLE
Nobody knows driver safety training like the people who pioneered it more
than 52years ago, the National Safety Council created the first defensive
driving course in 1964 and has been the leader in driving safety training
ever since .
.
DEFINITION
According to National Safety Council ; Defensive driver
can be seen as a set of skills that allows you to defend
yourself against any possible collisions caused by .
Example are bad drivers , drunk drivers or bad weather .
If you look ahead and keep moving you will spot
potential hazard more easily once you have identified a
potential hazard and decide what to do / act immediately
.
Six adverse conditions to look out for in Driving.

• Light,
• Weather,
• Road ,
• Traffic ,
• Vehicle
• And the Driver himself .
• LIGHT;
• Light from the sun can dazzle the driver when he faces the sun either
in the morning or at
• evening the driver should slow down and put on the sun visor or
better still wear Sunglasses.
• And when the sky is dark due to rain clouds, when roadway is covered
with smoke or dust in such situation turn on your low beam lights and
reduce your speed
DEFENSIVE DRIVING
• At Night; light from oncoming vehicle or the one behind you can
dazzle you .what you can do is to adjust your rearview mirror. so that
the light rays does not strike eyes directly. While from the light
oncoming vehicle , communicate twice to the driver by flashing your
light s. if the driver fails to turn his light to low beam kindly defend
yourself by being blinded by doing the following ;
DEFENSIVE DRIVING - TECHNIQUE
• Turn your eyes from the bright lights to the right and down a little bit
for the road edge marking to guide you , never retaliate by giving the
other driver full beam.
• Reduce speed
• Increasing following distance if there is a vehicle ahead
• Watch for pedestrians cyclist and obstructions if you are blinded
before you could turn away , stop and recover . it takes 4 – 7seconds to
recover sight don’t drive while blinded by on coming headlights . do
not override your headlights always keep them clean and well aimed
DEFENSIVE DRIVING - TECHNIQUE
• WEATHER
• The adverse weather conditions a driver may encounter include rains ,
dews, and high winds during rains and heavy dew do the following ;
• 1 . reduce speed
• 2. Increase following distance
• 3. Put on low beam headlight
• 4. park in open space if the rain is very heavy or when wind is very
strong , put on hazard lights if you park by the roadside .
• ROAD SHAPE ; straight , curved , flat or hilly observe the road sign for guidance ,
when approaching curves reduce your speed .
• ROAD SURFACE ; can be concrete , asphalt ,gravel , dirt or laterite , it can even be
dry or wet, smoothly or bumpy . adjust your driving to suit your conditions
• SHOULDER ; Check weather the road has shoulder and if it is safe to drive on
during emergency , if shoulder looses gravels or covered with wet leaves or mud
be careful at such surface can cause skidding watch for road signs and be careful
in road construction areas .
TRAFFIC
• Which means everything using the road , they have the right to use the
road just like you though many of them don’t use the road properly .
the defensive driver should realize that the greater the amount of
traffic on the road the more the chances for conflicts and collisions
DEFENSIVE DRIVING – TECHNIQUE
WHAT YOU CAN DO .

• Avoid the rush hours and congested routes whenever possible
• Always yield right of way pedestrians
• Treat motorcycles as equals to full –size vehicle
• Travel at the same speed with other traffic.
• Be considerate ; don’t claim right if this is necessary to prevent a
collision
VEHICLE MAINTANANCE
• The vehicle must be well maintained . all the parts must be in good working
order . every morning starting your vehicle , check all fluids level , brakes ,
trafficators, hazard light ,tyres including spare tyre, horn , headlight etc.
DRIVER
• Driver account more than 70% collisions a driver should determine

weather is physically or emotionally fit to drive ;
WHAT TO CHECK ? .
• AGE ;
• ATTITUDE ; aggressive or me first attitude personalities frequently leads to

collision
• DROWSINESS OR FATIGUE ; don’t drive when tired always take “ ten from two
“ don’t rely on coffee either to keep you awake.
• PHYSICAL IMPAIRED ; vision and hearing problems , muscle

weakness , epilepsy , heart disease , diabetes all these increase driving
risk – consult your doctor .
• EMOTIONS ; anger , worry , frustration , joy and excitement reduce
concentration . control your emotions before driving
EXPERT JUDGEMENT ?
WHAT ARE FACTORS THAT CAN LEAD TO THIS ACCIDENT ?.
AND THIS ?
TO PERFECT TRIPS ;
A defensive driver aims at making perfect trip always . a perfect trip is one
completed without any of the five driving error
• Collision
• Traffic violations
• Vehicle abuse
• Delay schedule
• Discourtesy to other road users
ELEMENTS OF DEFENSIVE DRIVING
1. KNOWLEDGE; A driver must know the traffic regulations of the country

and any edits , by-laws and other requirements of various local government
areas . He must know the correct procedures while behind the wheel, hazards
and how to avoid them.
2.ALERTNESS ; A driver must be attentive awake and

aware of what is happening around
him should not be distracted as driving requires 100%
concentration he is alone operator
3.FORESIGHT ; Ability to anticipate immediate and long

term eventualities and plan for them , the driver he
predicts the action s of other road user and prepare to avoid
them
,
• 4.EXPERT JUGEMENT ; need to be pragmatic , experience and

intuition to choose wisely from a number of choice in any traffic
situation .
• 5.SKILL ; Driver need s to handle the vehicle effectively in basic and

emergency conditions either braking
DEFENSIVE DRIVING - TRAFFIC SIGNALS .
DEFENSIVE DRIVING - TRAFFIC SIGNALS .
( SOURCED FROM RADIO NIGERIA FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21ST

2014 )
• Traffic rules in Nigeria are primarily designed to prevent and reduce
road accidents and clear obstructions on the highways to ensure free
flow of traffic. But a recent study conducted by the federal road safety
commission (FRSC) revealed that more than 80 percent of all road
accidents which cause serious injuries, loss of properties and lives
were attributed to poor knowledge of traffic rules and regulations by
.
• Manifestations of violation of road traffic rules in Nigeria include :

Failure to use seatbelts, over-speeding, reckless driving, dangerous
overtaking, driving without authorized number plate, lack of fire
extinguisher, making phone calls while driving, failure to obey traffic
light, traffic signs and overloading amongst others.Private and
commercial motorcyclists are not left out of this malaise.
• Most drivers on our roads do not obey traffic wardens whenever they
are asked to stop and many do not even take notice of the directive
given by streetlights. Overloading of both passengers and luggage by
motorists has also been a cause of fatal accidents on our roads.
• However, to ensure that road users comply with safety rules,

government /
management at all levels should embark on aggressive enlightenment
campaign to educate people on the importance of obeying traffic rules
and also on the consequences of violating such rules.
• The federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) operatives should

intensify enforcement of traffic rules on the roads and highways to
reduce carnage on the roads. The FRSC must complement this by
educating motorcyclists, motorists and other members of the public on
the proper use of the highways.
• The special marshals should also assist the FRSC by being more
proactive in the task of traffic control on the roads particularly on the
major cities.
As some states like Oyo and Ogun , Rivers and Lagos have created
traffic aids to assist in decongesting roads and maintaining road safety,
they should also be involved in educating and sensitizing road users
on the need to obey traffic rules.
REQUIREMENT FOR DEFENSIVE DRIVING.
•You must operate a vehicle in such a way that you avoid being involved
in a preventable accident or contribute to others being involve in accident
•You need to know and observe all application traffic rules and regulations
•You should maintain constant alertness for the illegal acts and driving
errors of other drivers .
•You must intelligently adjust your driving to the special hazards presented by
abnormal changing conditions in; road, weather traffic , your state of mind .
•You need a thorough knowledge of the rules of right of way and the
willingness to yield to other drivers regardless of these rules whenever
necessary to avoid an accident.
•You should have an attitude of confidence that you can drive without ever
having preventable accident
DRIVER SAFETY TIPS
• As a Professional Driver think Safety , Drive Defensively.

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DEFENSIVE DRIVING TECHNIQUE

Six adverse conditions to look out for in Driving.

WHAT YOU CAN DO .

• Driver account more than 70% collisions a driver should determine

• ATTITUDE ; aggressive or me first attitude personalities frequently leads to

• PHYSICAL IMPAIRED ; vision and hearing problems , muscle

1. KNOWLEDGE; A driver must know the traffic regulations of the country

2.ALERTNESS ; A driver must be attentive awake and

3.FORESIGHT ; Ability to anticipate immediate and long

• 4.EXPERT JUGEMENT ; need to be pragmatic , experience and

• 5.SKILL ; Driver need s to handle the vehicle effectively in basic and

( SOURCED FROM RADIO NIGERIA FRIDAY FEBRUARY 21ST

• Manifestations of violation of road traffic rules in Nigeria include :

• However, to ensure that road users comply with safety rules,

• The federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) operatives should

• As a Professional Driver think Safety , Drive Defensively.

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