10 tips to help young drivers stay safe

The following 10 tips should help younger drivers stay safer:

1. Be especially careful late at night

Younger driver accidents in Essex peak between 6.00pm and midnight. Try to avoid driving late at night if you can – but if you have to drive at this time be especially careful.

2. Take responsibility for passengers

The more young people there are in a car, the greater the risk of a crash. Treat your passengers as your responsibility and avoid doing anything to put them at risk.

3. Resist peer pressure

If your passengers have had a drink or are keen to get somewhere in a hurry, resist any encouragement to drive faster or take risks. Take responsibility for your passengers even if they are acting irresponsibly.

4. Don’t show off

More young females die as passengers than as drivers. If you are a lad, don’t put your girlfriend’s life at risk by showing off, taking risks and driving too fast.

5. Maintain safe spacing

Leave plenty of space in front, behind and to the sides of other vehicles. Be an island – stay away from traffic as much as possible. This improves your visibility and gives you more time to react to situations.

6. Plan your escape route

Anticipate potentially troublesome situations, and know what to do when you encounter them. Analyse what other vehicles/drivers/riders are doing and try to predict the outcome. Then make sure you’re ready to avoid a bad outcome.

7. Take advanced training

No matter how careful you are, advanced training will improve the way in which you drive and increase your chances of staying safe and avoiding a crash or collision. (Link to relevant page(s) in training section in due course)

8. Don’t give in to road rage

Don’t try and ‘get even’ with another driver. It’s better to calm down, slow down and collect your thoughts before continuing with your drive.

9. Don’t tailgate or allow others to tailgate you

If someone is tailgating you, don’t accelerate unless you have a lane to move into. Ease up and drop back, or better still pull over and let them pass. And don’t tailgate the vehicle in front – if they stop suddenly, could you?

10. Maintain your car

Regular maintenance will help keep your car safe. Keep a record of when you replace tyres, clutch cables, batteries, brakes etc – you don’t want equipment failure to contribute to a crash.