How to Keep Safe Whilst Driving

When you’re on the road, your main priority is safety; whether you’re driving alone or with passengers. With hijackings and distracted driving on the rise, it’s vital to know how to prevent becoming a victim to either of the above.

Here are 4 tips to help you keep safe whilst driving and avoid finding yourself in an unwanted situation.

Remain alert

The cornerstone of safe driving is alertness; it is one of the most important things to master when on the roads. One of the biggest mistakes you can do whilst driving is to let yourself become distracted – this is when mistakes happen. As we all know, mistakes have no place on the road.

Practice devoting 100% of your attention to the task at hand, even if this means eliminating micro distractions (such as turning off your radio, closing your windows etc.) until you have a better hold on managing distractions.

If you feel like someone is following you, drive to the nearest police station or public place. Don’t stop.

Be red light aware

Getting stuck at a red light alone at night is a situation you want to avoid as this makes for the ideal opportunity for hijackers.

To prevent finding yourself in this situation, anticipate red lights. You can do this by slowing down long before you reach the traffic lights, giving them a chance to turn green before you need to come to a complete stop.

Drive familiar routes

Although it can be good to deviate slightly from your usual route just to avoid forming a visible pattern to potential hijackers, there is a time and place where you need to avoid unfamiliar routes.

Driving at night is one of those times. During the day, visibility is higher, there are more cars on the road, and you generally have a better understanding of what’s going on. At night, things are riskier and as such, you want to stick to routes you know where you won’t encounter dead ends.

If, however, you are forced to use an unfamiliar route, plan your route beforehand and understand:

• Where you’ll be going.
• Which roads you’ll be taking.
• Dead-end/dangerous roads.
• Busier roads and quieter roads.

By equipping yourself with the above knowledge, you can arm yourself with the knowledge to prevent an unfortunate situation from unfolding.

Know who to call

When you’re in a dangerous situation and panic sets in, your decision-making ability won’t be as sharp as it would be if you were calm. This is where knowing who to call comes into the equation.

Regardless of how amateur or experienced a driver you may be, knowing who to call in an emergency is something every driver should know.

Although you may have list of emergency contacts on your phone, there will be times where these people may be unavailable or unable to help. Luckily, technology has equipped us with safety advantages through software. One of the best investments you can make for you and your family is a crisis response app. This equips you with one single panic button that is used to coordinate the relevant emergency services. HelpMe offers Hijack Tracking which uses data from your vehicle’s tracking data to locate your vehicle and dispatch help.

Driving can be intimidating, and the roads are far from a perfect place. But if you remain alert, be aware of your surroundings and drive with thought, you can give yourself the best chance of avoiding running into issues on the road.