A defensive driving course, besides helping you remove a ticket from your record and/or decrease your insurance rates, is designed to help you become a more informed and safer driver. There a lot of things to learn, but here are some of the most useful and important techniques to keep in mind if you want to steer clear of accidents or hazards on the road.

Anticipation

It’s essential to know what is going to happen before it actually happens. Sometimes it’s obvious, like when a fellow driver signals that he or she wants to change lanes. Other times it’s more subtle, like when a ball rolls into the street, indicating that there will probably be a child right behind it. This is why traffic school online emphasizes that anticipating what will probably happen in a few moments can give you some extra precious seconds with which to react appropriately.

Smart Following

As you will see when you take a driver improvement course, when driving behind someone you need to be extra careful about your driving. If the other car slams on their brakes, then you it is absolutely your responsibility stop quickly before the situation turns into an accident. Besides the fact that a rear end collision could seriously injure someone, insurance companies always find the rear vehicle at-fault in a rear end collision, so it can cost a lot of money in hiked insurance premiums.

The 2 Second Rule

Traffic school teaches the "2 second rule." That is, you should allow yourself at least two seconds of distance between yourself and the car. To measure this distance, just find a fixed point on the road. When the rear end of the car in front of you passes that point, start counting off seconds. If you reach "2" by the time your car reaches that point, then you are following at the minimal safe distance.

Constant Scanning

A well informed driver is a safe driver. That’s why defensive driving means you should be constantly scanning your surroundings in all directions. Pay attention to potential hazards, like other cars or unexpected changes in the road, as well as any traffic signs that can inform you of your current road’s speed limit or anything else you should know. You should also periodically glance at your rear view mirror just to be sure you have a clear picture of the area around your car.

Don’t Assume

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is just assuming that conditions are safe. People usually make this error on routes that they travel very frequently. An online traffic school teaches that road conditions can change dramatically, and when you are driving fifty miles per hour, the road might catch you by surprise and force you into an accident. Defensive driving means always staying alert and focused on the road, even ones you have travelled several times before.