featured-blog

09

Aug, 2022

10 Great Ways to Improve Your Driving Skills

If you are still at a learning stage of driving a car your only motive should be to become a safe and responsible driver. Driving responsibly means while driving you are giving importance to both your safety and the safety of others. This is why apart from learning the basics of driving you must try hard to know how to improve your driving skills.

By knowing the ways to improve driving skills, you can adopt responsible driving behavior and at the same time reduce accident-prone behavior. Accidents mostly happen due to some kind of error or inattention from the driver’s end.

A good driver is one who is skilled enough to handle any situation on the road. Also, he or she has other qualities like proper knowledge to handle the car, self-discipline, patience, alertness, proper mechanical skills, and a sense of responsibility.

If you’re a learner driver it is obvious to wonder as ‘How can I improve my driving skills?’ Well, becoming a safer and better driver is not rocket science and with the help right knowledge, anyone can become a good driver. There are many simple tricks, tips, and small ways to improve the driving skills of a pro driver or a learner who just received a licence.

All you need to do is remember the tricks and tips and implement them at the right time to improve your driving skills on the road.

Here Are the 10 Great Ways to Improve Your Driving Skills

1. Master the Art of Parallel Parking.

Master the Art of Parallel Parking

In any driving school, most learners find it difficult to master the art of perfect parallel parking. Perfect parallel parking is one of the 10 great ways to improve your driving skills.

Parallel parking means you need to park a vehicle in a smaller space as compared to the space you get in forwarding parking. In parallel parking, one must give importance to the position and angle to avoid any collision.

You must try not to park too close to the next car and your car should face in the same direction as the traffic on that side of the road. As initially, parallel parking can be tough, practice is one of the best ways to improve driving skills.

During practice, take your vehicle to an empty lot and set up two traffic cones near a curb. Pull up parallel to the front cone and see it as an imaginary vehicle, then turn the steering wheel all the way to the curb. The next step is to straighten out by turning the wheel in the opposite direction while reversing once. Parallel parking will be perfect when the rear curb-side wheel is even with the curb-side wheels of the “imaginary vehicle” in front of you.

2. Obey the Traffic Rules

Correct Ways to Improve Your Driving Skills and confidence

No matter how much good control you have in your vehicle, not obeying the traffic rules is a sign of an irresponsible driver. The list of 10 great ways to improve your driving skills will be considered incomplete without mentioning the importance of following traffic rules.

Traffic rules and regulations are made with the purpose of the safety of the commuters in mind. Hence it is very important to know about the traffic rules and follow them without fail. Safety should be your goal when you are on the road.

Always abide by the speed limit, regardless of how empty the road is, and do not ignore the traffic lights. Always wear your seatbelt and avoid any kind of distraction to ensure safe driving.

Each place has its own set of road rules and regulations and you must know about them and follow them without fail.

3. Slowly Turn While Braking and Accelerating

If you are wondering ‘How can I improve my driving?’ make it a habit of turning slowly, especially when you are braking and accelerating.

Whether you are making a left-turn or right-turn try to do it slowly and be as smooth as you can. No matter how late you are to reach your destination avoid heavy braking or accelerating while turning as such an action can cause your car to become unstable.

Accelerate evenly as you get up to speed and use the brake as slowly as you can when making a turn. Do not make any abrupt turns or movements without giving the right indications. Right indications help other drivers around you to respond correctly according to your actions on the road.

Follow this tip always to improve your driving skills and especially if it is raining or snowing. Always maintain the ideal turn speed which may change according to the width of the road, degree of the turn, and weather conditions.

4. Know How to Use Roundabouts

Know How to Use Roundabouts

If you are interested in becoming a responsible driver, it’s important to understand how to safely use a roundabout. In fact, learning to use the roundabouts correctly is one of the best ways to improve driving skills.

Roundabout means a circular intersection with a central island and it does not have stop signs or traffic signals. As a general rule, traffic in a roundabout flows counterclockwise.

As you approach the roundabout, you must make it a habit to slow down and watch for signs to help you select which lane you need to be in. In case of a multi-lane roundabout, follow the signs and markings on the road to choose the correct lane.

In the case of a two-lane roundabout, left-turning vehicles should be in the left lane and vice versa. Here, vehicles heading straight can be in the left or right lane.

Keep moving while you are in the roundabout and when leaving the roundabout, give the right signal just before you exit.

5. Know the Safety Features of Your Vehicle

Tips to improve your driving skills

When it comes to tips to improve driving skills, it is important to learn about the safety features of your vehicle.

Most of the cars manufactured nowadays are equipped with plenty of safety features. There is no benefit to safety features if you do not know how to use them. So, before you get comfortable behind your wheels and take your car on the road independently, it’s advisable to take some time to know about the safety features of your car and how to operate them.

Safety features are designed keeping in mind the safety of the driver and the passengers. But when using the safety features, you must try to understand their limitations. It has been found that drivers overestimate the capabilities of safety features like blind-spot monitoring systems, automatic emergency braking, and adaptive cruise control.

By knowing the limitation of safety features one can help prevent crashes and crash-related deaths.

6. Take an Advanced Driver Training Course:

Learn Advanced Driver Training Course

In the list of 10 great ways to improve your driving skills, one important tip is to learn from an expert. In fact, you should look for a good driving school in your area and enroll yourself in an advanced driver training course. Their experts can give you both practical and theoretical training in ways to improve your driving skills.

With professional driving instruction, you can address your specific driving mistakes and learn ways to rectify their mistakes. With proper training, you can learn more about safe, defensive driving techniques.

There are different types of advanced driver training courses in a reputed driving school and you can choose one depending upon your current driving knowledge. With the right training, nothing can stop you from improving your driving skills, especially on the defensive side.

It is always better to keep yourself updated regarding the new road rules and regulations and the best way to do this is by taking an advanced driver training course.

7. Take a Vision Test Regularly

With age, it is obvious to have some kind of eye problem. Driving a car with poor vision is not recommended as here it is the question of your safety as well as others on the road.

Some people are quick at noticing a deficiency in their sight as they age and see a doctor resolve the issue. But there are many who ignore the vision problem and continue driving. This mistake should be avoided at any cost if you are looking for ways to improve your driving skills.

It is highly recommended to go for a vision test once in 2-3 years and more often if you are finding it difficult to look clearly. Anyone who is above the age of 60 must go for a vision test once a year as they are more prone to suffer from cataracts and other age-related eye problems.

You can easily correct poor vision by wearing glasses or contact lenses.

8. Avoid Being Blinded by High Beams 

learn to avoid being blinded by high beams

When it comes to the top 10 great ways to improve your driving skills, you must learn to avoid being blinded by high beams. This is one of the most important tips to improve driving skills and is mainly applicable when driving at night.

Driving at night becomes a daunting task for almost every driver mainly due to the glare from the headlights of a car coming from the other side with high beams. A bright light coming from the opposite direction when falls directly on the eyes can lead to blurriness and the chance of making a mistake becomes high. This temporary blurriness is one of the main reasons behind road accidents at night.

When driving at night towards an oncoming vehicle with high beams, do not stare into the high beams. Instead, you must try to look to the right side of the road and follow the painted edge line.

At the same time, do not forget to keep the headlights on at low beams to avoid creating problems for the other road drivers. Use high beams only when driving on rural roads or open highways with less or no traffic at all.

9. Move Your Eyes Constantly

If you are still wondering ‘How can I improve my driving?’, then make it a habit of moving your eyes constantly when driving, especially on a busy road.

For safe driving, there should be strong coordination between your eyes and the brain. This can be only possible when the eyes of a driver move constantly and pick out the appropriate spots at the right time and send the right information to the brain at the correct time.

It is true that safe driving depends on your ability to notice many things at once. Do not make the mistake of staring at one thing for several seconds when driving on highways or long straight roads. This can cause target fixation and it will become difficult for you to realize how close you are getting to a vehicle in front of you.

A responsible driver is one who has the habit of checking the rear-view mirror every 5 seconds and scanning all the other cars on the road. Building this habit is one of the best ways to improve driving skills.

10. Be Aware Of the Movements of Other Drivers:

Aware Of the Movements of Other Drivers

When it comes to how to improve driving skills, it is very important to anticipate the moves of other drivers around you.

You are practicing safe driving when you develop the ability to anticipate correctly what is going to happen before it actually happens. There is no need to be a solely reactive driver but you need to be aware of the tell-tale signals that other drivers make when they are about to make a mistake. This can help avoid accidents on your end.

Learn to know about the behavior of drivers around you to understand what they are thinking. This is not something that you can learn in a day but when you drive with full concentration you will be able to judge the behavior of other drivers. For instance, if a driver two lanes over keeps switching lanes then such a driver can become more aggressive if you get too close. In such a situation it is better to maintain a safe distance.

Well, it is not possible to control what other people do but from your end, you can avoid being in the wrong situation.

More Tips on How to Improve Driving Skills 

  • There should be enough space between your car and the car in front of you
  • Try to keep your hands in the proper position, so that you get to respond properly to any on-road situation.
  • Practice driving at night and during bad weather like rain or fog on an empty road first.
  • Know how to merge lanes
  • Try to learn the right way to lane merging to avoid heavy traffic.
  • Before starting the car, always adjust your mirrors to the correct angle.
  • Make it a habit to check the mirrors first before you make a u-turn, left-turn, or right-turn.

Summary

The above-mentioned article on 10 great ways to improve your driving skills helps to become a safe and responsible driver. Now, all your doubts regarding ‘How can I improve my driving?’ has been answered and all you need to do is implement all these tips and tricks in your everyday driving. With the right attitude and confidence level, nothing can stop you from becoming a good driver.

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