What tips should drivers use in downtown traffic?

Question

HI im doing an 8th grade presentation for driving safe in towns.

What tips and cautions would you recommend to drivers in busy downtown traffic?

Thanks

Answer 1

Stay calm and be aware of your surroundings.

Answer 2

I took a motorcycle safety class to get my class M license, and I personally think everyone should be required to take such training, because it makes you incredibly aware as a driver (since the #1 downside of motorcycle riding is vulnerability, but that's offset by the #1 advantage, maneuverability).

The one thing they taught us that I use every single day, whether riding or driving a car, is "SIPDE".

It means:

Scan - Constantly SCAN the road ahead, to each side of, and behind you (using your mirrors).

Identify - IDENTIFY possible hazards that could interfere with your safety.

Predict - PREDICT what those hazards could or might do.  Always assume the worst.  That idiot will pull out without even looking, that person will make a left turn in front of you, that jerk will brake suddenly in response to a kid bouncing a ball 50 feet away.

Decide - DECIDE a course of action that will take into consideration all of those potential hazards and provide you with the safest course of action to avoid them, and

Execute - EXECUTE your course of action QUICKLY and without delay.  This is the most important step, because if you take too long executing decisions, the variables will change and you will actually get yourself into more trouble than you are avoiding.

I do this EVERY DAY.  In busy downtown traffic, it is almost exhausting sometimes... but absolutely critical.

When practiced a lot, you'll be surprised how many accidents you actually find yourself avoiding... things that WOULD have been accidents, but because you practiced SIPDE, you pro-actively avoided them.

I am even alive because of it.  One day, the light changed green and I was about to go through it... but my SIPDE kicked in and I spotted a dump truck barrelling down the road behind other cars.  I predicted he would not be able to stop and would rear-end those cars, so I waited.  INSTEAD, he quickly turned into the right lane and went through the red light at about 30 mph!  I would have been dead if I had blindly took off through the green light.

And that kind of thing happens all the time.  I am so thankful I learned to ride a motorcycle (and took that safety class!).

Drivers are incredibly distracted today, and cell phone usage while driving has been documented to be worse than driving while intoxicated (yet even police use cell phones while driving, which is totally insane).  So you really need to be extremely aware and ultra-assertive (decide and execute) when driving.

Assertive driving is NOT aggressive driving (even though the media and law enforcement want you to think so).  I'd rather pay a ticket than be killed by being a passive and meek driver.  My life is far more valuable than the price of any ticket.

Answer 3

Lower your speed, watch all around, and watch for pedestrians at all times.