If you drive for a long time, you might experience a car accident or more than one. Sometimes, even if you’re an excellent driver, you might encounter someone who isn’t one. They may plow into you out of nowhere, even if you broke no laws and drove defensively. You can avoid many car accidents if you follow certain rules, though. You can do this in a rural area or a much larger city. Car accidents happen in built-up areas or smaller communities. For instance, St. Louis saw 15,092 car accidents in 2021, but you might also have a drunk driver hit you if you’re out in the middle of nowhere. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the practical and easiest ways to avoid most car accidents. If you follow this guide, maybe you can get through your whole life without ever going through these unpleasant events.
Avoid Driving Whenever You Can
One of the best ways you can avoid car accidents might seem obvious, but some people never consider it. You can prevent car accidents if you’re seldom out on the road. Maybe you have a job where you must drive constantly. If you’re a food delivery driver, for instance, or a trucker, you must drive and make money that way. If you have a job where you can avoid driving, though, or if you only drive when you have no other choice, you’re seldom on the road. You can avoid car accidents altogether if you’re not out there presenting careless drivers with a possible target.
Work from Home
You can also work from home. If you do this, you won’t commute every day. Your commute might take an hour each way or more. If you’re in heavy traffic on the highway, you’re a possible car wreck victim in waiting. If you’re not out there, though, a wreck can’t happen. Look into whether you can stay home and do your job. If you can’t, think about changing careers. Many professions allow a work-from-home lifestyle these days. Avoiding the commute and possible car wrecks makes this a much more appealing option.
Have Services Deliver Your Food and Supplies
You can also avoid driving by staying at home and ordering your meals and other supplies. If you drive every time you need groceries, hardware store tools, pet food, and so forth, other cars can hit your vehicle. Again, if you stay at home, you’re not a potential target. You can use DoorDash, Grub Hub, Uber Eats, and similar services. You can also snag an Amazon Prime membership and have the delivery giant send you any household items you require. Maybe you’re not supporting local businesses this way, but at least you’re staying off the road. If you get Amazon Prime, you can also watch the shows and movies this massive conglomerate offers. That’s a nice bonus you should at least consider.
Avoid Night Driving
Let’s say you’re avoiding driving as much as you can. That’s a good way to prevent car wrecks, but you still need to get out on the road sometimes. When you must get out there, select the time when car wrecks don’t happen frequently. For instance, you can avoid night driving whenever possible. Night driving doesn’t guarantee accidents, but it makes them more likely. At night, you might have your lights on, and you can drive the speed limit, but that doesn’t mean everyone else does the same. You may encounter someone who doesn’t exercise caution at night, and that person might hit you if they’re not the most careful night driver.
Avoid Bad Weather Driving
You can stay off the road when bad weather strikes as well. Look at the weather forecast if you’re planning a trip. If you see there’s rain, snow, sleet, or something else coming your way, think twice about the excursion you have planned. Must you go out, or can you put it off? Can you go some other time? Only the most urgent matters should get you out and driving around in bad weather. If you must do it, you can also turn your headlights on and slow down. Driving slower and more carefully in bad weather makes an accident less likely.
Don’t Speed
Speeding makes vehicle accidents more probable. If you go the speed limit, some drivers might not like it. They may honk at you or make a rude gesture when they pass you. However, you will likely get where you’re going safely. If you don’t speed, you also can’t get a ticket. The police won’t hassle you if you’re not breaking the law.
Don’t Consume Alcohol or Other Drugs Before Driving
You can also avoid car wrecks when you cut yourself off from driving when you consume alcohol. You might feel like you’re under the legal limit if you’ve only had one beer, glass of wine, or cocktail. Perhaps you can still legally drive in that condition, but you probably shouldn’t do it. If you imbibe, you can stay at home, or you can have a designated driver take you somewhere if necessary. You can always call a Lyft or an Uber. You should also never ingest any drugs and get behind the wheel. You should certainly not take any illegal drugs and drive, but some legal drugs can also impact your motor skills. If you take something like a high blood pressure medication that makes you dizzy, you should stay in and not drive.
Don’t Use Your Smartphone While Driving
Distracted driving causes many car wrecks, and this trend will likely continue as the years pass. Something like a clever billboard can easily distract you, but your smartphone certainly will if you use it while you’re behind the wheel. Keep your smartphone in your pocket when you drive. Even if it vibrates and lets you know someone’s texting you, don’t look at it till you reach your destination. All these practices can help you avoid car wrecks.
