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| Safety on the road is as easy as following the lessons you learned before you got your driver’s license. |
Traffic Safety
Starts with You
Traffic safety is a complex world of interactions among people, machines, roads, weather, time, light, animals, objects and geography. Changes to a single factor—say, a squirrel running across a telephone wire that distracts a driver for a few seconds—can set off a chain reaction of events that affects the safety of road users for miles around.
That’s why the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety pursues its mission by fostering a comprehensive safety culture where safety is a priority and paramount concern for all road users. As the safety culture improves, not only will people embrace the practices and tools that keep us all safe, but they’ll come to value safety more than any other aspect of driving.
Making this happen requires millions of people changing their attitudes and behaviors, but it all starts with just one driver: You. When you put safety first, you protect yourself, your passengers and all other road users. In fact, you already know how to build a stronger traffic safety culture:
Buckle up—Never put a car in gear unless you and your passengers are secure (and that includes using child safety seats).
Pay attention—When you’re driving, your only task should be operating your vehicle. Texting, talking on the phone, arguing with passengers, attending to in-vehicle technologies, and even eating can cause deadly distractions.
Never drink and drive—Use a designated driver, call a cab, or take advantage of AAA’s Tow to Go program offered in most areas during major holiday periods, but never get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.
Stay alert—Don’t push yourself when you’re drowsy. Get off the road and rest.
Slow down—Speed limits tell you the maximum safe speed under optimal conditions. If you’re speeding—or pushing the limit under bad road conditions—by definition you’re putting yourself (and everyone else on the road) at risk.
Forgive and forget—If some driver is doing something that annoys you, get out of the way and let him or her pass. You only increase your own risk by engaging or “policing” bad behavior.
Share the road—Driving around in today’s climate-controlled, entertainment-filled, high-comfort vehicles, it’s easy to feel like you’re in your own world, but never forget that you are sharing the road with other drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and others who have as much right to be there as you do.
Teach your children well—Kids see how you react and what you do, so reflect good practices. They’ll pick up your safe driving practices right from the start.
That should be a pretty familiar list to most drivers. These are practices you learn before you get a license, and they’re issues we all read and hear about on the news—all too often when ignoring them leads to tragedy.
In fact, that brings up one more rule to put on your safety culture list: Don’t fool yourself into thinking that the risks of unsafe driving don’t apply to you. If you believe that you can text while driving, drink and drive safely, stay under control while speeding, or demand that other drivers clear the way, you’re deluding yourself and putting all other road users at risk.