Accidents - Tips on how to avoid them (traps for young players)

[Doogstar]

When I was a young driver I had many accidents that were avoidable, due to my bad driving habits and inexperience. Over the years I have learnt (sometimes the hard way) to avoid getting myself in unsafe situations. I think the majority of minor collisons could be avoided if some common sense driving tips were common knowledge. Please give us the benefit of your experience and post your tips.

Keep your eyes on the road:
It is easy to get distracted by your surroundings and forget that you are actually driving. If looking at something on the side on the road (like a nice pair of legs, for instance) or for something in your car, take your foot off the accelerator and hover it over your brake. That way, when you look forward and see the rear of the car in front of you coming towards you rapidly, your braking reaction time is increased and you have a better chance to stop in time. Better yet, pull over to the side of the road and have a proper look.

Don't tailgate:
Give yourself enough space so you can stop if the car in front does.Why is this so hard for some people.

When the lights turn amber:
Don't assume the car in front has the same idea as you, that Red means stop, Green means go and Amber means go faster.
If they decide to brake when the lights turn amber and you are up their ar$e, you will be exchanging details in no time. Saw one of these accidents yesterday.

When looking to make a turn:
There is a car in fornt of you as you are coming to a roundabout or you are going to turn into a major road. Watch the car in front of you not the traffic. Just because you can see a gap in traffic big enough for you both to turn, doesn't mean the car in front thinks he can make it, if he brakes and you are looking at the traffic, BANG.

When the roads are wet:
Roads are the slippiest when there has been a light shower and it hasn't rained in a while, because of all the oil and grease on the road. Slow down in the wet. You can't corner safely in the wet at the same speed that you would normally.

Indicate BEFORE you change lanes, not AS you change lanes:
Take a couple of seconds to check in your rear mirror and your side mirror. Then take a extra couple of seconds to indicate you are changing lanes, take another couple of seconds to check your rear mirror and your side mirror. That way if a car is sitting in your blind spot, you give them plenty of notice of your intentions.