Annually, the holiday season claims plenty of lives due to road accidents.<\/p>\n
Before you hit the road, detect, address and manage your bad driving habits warns Arrive Alive.<\/p>
Bad driving habits have two main causes, ignorance and apathy.<\/p>\n
Luckily for motorists, ignorance can be rectified by training.<\/p>
Apathy, however, is a little bit more complex but arises over time when drivers have continually taken risks without experiencing any negative consequences, making the short-cutting of proper procedure an established routine.<\/p>\n
Over-confidence is a common outcome of apathy.<\/p>\n
Therefore, all motorists should have refresher training at least every two to three years according to Arrive Alive.<\/p>\n
The training will help point out any areas in which you\u2019ve lost your edge and ensure that innate human apathy does not lead to short-cutting of procedures which might eventually kill someone.<\/p>\n
Over-confidence in driving allows for the platform for potential danger.<\/p>\n
This is a major contributing factor in accidents.<\/p>\n
Many drivers have the attitude that they know everything and would not need to be trained or checked up on.<\/p>\n
This may lead to other bad habits like insufficient following distances.<\/p>\n
Thinking that a vehicle will stop in short distances when it is physically impossible to do so.<\/p>\n
It also leads to speeding, as most people don\u2019t realise the effects of speed and how it varies in different conditions, causing a lot of road deaths annually.<\/p>\n
This is evident when drivers have engaged in an activity such as skidpan and they begin to think that they\u2019re skilled.<\/p>\n
Which often results in doing things and practising things which are not as yet ingrained.<\/p>\n
How do you detect and address or reduce these bad driving habits, you may ask. Simply start educating and training at an early age.<\/p>\n
Attend a reputable defensive driver training six-week course, so you can benchmark your ability against a credible standard.<\/p>\n
Professionals assisting you during the course will not only show you what bad driving habits are but how these habits could affect us in our daily lives.<\/p>\n
Automate your application of these habits.<\/p>\n
You should be able to continue to drive defensively without additional effort in the face of adverse conditions, severe distractions, unexpected situations, and the incorrect actions of others.<\/p>\n
Attend refresher training every couple of years to stay sharp, and learn new techniques needed to drive modern vehicles effectively.<\/p>\n
Have a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor)\u00a0<\/span>germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor)\u00a0<\/span>leighh@caxton.co.za<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Kgotsofalang Mashilo (journalist)\u00a0kgotsofalangm@caxton.co.za<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Remember to visit the Germiston City News on the following social media platforms:<\/p>\n Facebook<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Twitter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Instagram<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n YouTube\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Or add the GCN on\u00a0<\/b><\/span>WhatsApp 079 406 1181<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0BBM (BBM Pin: 7F102137)<\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>today, to get all the latest news.<\/p>\n Catch-up on more local news with our sister newspapers\u00a0<\/span>Bedfordview Edenvale News<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>Alberton Record<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Kempton Express<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n