Everyday Driving Skills

Mr. Gravine

Driver Education

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Introduction

• This PowerPoint presentation begins by highlighting common vehicle collisions and major crash types among new drivers in PA. In addition, the safe driving skills listed below are described in this presentation.

Managing Space

Managing Speed

Negotiating Intersections

Negotiating Curves

Turning, Merging, and Passing

Negotiating Freeways and Interchanges

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The Facts

• Most crashes result from human error.
• Either they fail to:
• Control the Vehicle
• Road system
• Distraction
• Poor decisions

According to Penndot, drivers less than 5 years experience are most likely to make errors that lead to crashes.

• For 2011, one (1) out of ten (10) 16 year old drivers were in reportable crashes.

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The top 10 reasons new drivers in Pennsylvania� (16- and 17-year-olds) ended up in crashes in 2011.

Driving too fast for conditions

• Proceeding without clearance after stopping
• Improper or careless turning
• Improper driving
• Inexperience
• Tailgating
• Speeding
• Over or under compensating a curve
• Distractions
• Sudden slowing or stopping

Common Major Crashes

• Major crashes types
• Single vehicle run off the road 1,2

• Crashes at intersections 2

• Head on crashes 1 2 3

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• Rear end crashes

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Major types of crashes that affect new drivers� (16 and 17-year olds)

• 1) Hitting a stationary object
• 2) Crashes where roads intersect, like driveways, entrance ramps, and in Intersections
• 3) Rear-end collisions
• 4) Head on collisions.

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• About 92 percent of all crashes and 93 percent

of the deaths resulting from crashes are associated with just these four (4) crash types.

What Went Wrong!!!!1

• In this next clip please identify the crash type and why the crash occurred.

GO

Managing Speed

• What is a safe speed?
• How fast is too fast?

There are no simple answers to these questions because there is not a single speed that is safe at all times, ie.visibility, road and traffic conditions.

Managing Speed

• TEEN CRASH FACT
• “Driving too fast for conditions” is
• the No. 1 reason 16 and 17-year-old
• drivers are involved in crashes
• Video Clips

Managing Speed

POSTED SPEED LIMITS

• Posted speed limits indicate what the maximum safe driving speed is under ideal road, traffic and weather conditions.
• Highway, 55-65mph
• Urban Areas, 35mph
• City/Residential 25mph.
• In school zones, 15 mph

Managing Space

Why do we need to manage space?

If another driver makes a mistake, you will need time to react.

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Managing Space

• Space Cushion?

What is a safe following distance?

4 seconds

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• Sometimes you will need extra space:
• Driving on roads the are slippery or not paved
• Bad weather, raining, snowing, sleet, ice

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Turning, Merging and Passing

Teen Crash Fact

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Improper or careless TURNING is a common cause of crashes among new, young drivers. In 2005 improper or carless turning was the cause of 260 crashes involving drivers age 17 in Pa.

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Turning

• When making a turn you must concentrate on a few factors:
• Speed is one of the most important factors.
• When turning slow down to a speed that allows you to maintain control of your vehicle, allows you to stay in your lane during the turn and allows you to react to unexpected situations.�

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Turning

To complete a turn safely

1.Signal before you turn

2.Position your vehicle in the proper lane

3.Control your speed

4.Complete your turn in the proper lane

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Merging

MERGING WITH TRAFFIC

• Merging with traffic also demands good driver judgment. Whether you are changing lanes on a highway or entering a highway from a ramp, you need enough space to move safely into the traffic stream.
• Entrance ramps for highways often have acceleration lanes. These lanes run beside main traffic lanes and should be long enough to allow you to accelerate to the speed of traffic before you enter the highway itself..

Merging

• Follow These Three Steps to Merge with Traffic from an Acceleration Lane
• 1. Look for an opening in traffic.

check mirrors�use turn signal�check blindspot

• 2. Accelerate up to the speed of traffic.
• 3. Merge into the opening in traffic�

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Passing

• Passing is an important part of driving; if not done properly, passing can be a very dangerous or even fatal maneuver.

Passing

• 1. Look for signs and pavement markings that tell you when you can or cannot pass safely under normal driving conditions. (Examples of these can be found in Chapter 2.)
• 2. Look ahead carefully before you start to pass and check for any dangers in the passing area, such as driveways from which a vehicle could enter the roadway during your passing maneuver.
• 3. Look in your side and rearview mirrors and quickly check your blind spots to make sure there are no vehicles about to pass you when you start to pass.
• 4. Before passing, make sure the passing lane is clear and give the proper turn signal to show you are going to change lanes. Signal early enough so others will know your plans in advance.
• 5. After passing, signal your plan to return to your lane.
• 6. Before you move back into the lane, make sure you can see both headlights on the front of the vehicle you passed in your rearview mirror.

NEGOTIATING INTERSECTIONS

• TEEN CRASH FACT
• Intersections are places where teenage drivers have a high percentage of their crashes. In over one-third (1/3) of the crashes involving 16-yearold drivers in Pennsylvania, the teen driver was pulling out from a stop sign or turning left across traffic

NEGOTIATING INTERSECTIONS

• 1. Drivers must yield to pedestrians.
• 2. Drivers turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles going straight ahead.
• 3. Drivers entering a circular intersection (or roundabout) must yield the right-of-way to drivers already in the circle.
• 4. A vehicle entering a public highway from an alley, private road or driveway must wait until the main road is clear.
• 5. At a four-way stop, all vehicles must stop. The first vehicle to reach the intersection should move forward first. If two (2) vehicles reach the intersection at the same time, the driver on the left yields to the driver on the right. If facing one another both can proceed with caution, watching for possible turns.

NEGOTIATING INTERSECTIONS

• APPROACHING INTERSECTIONS

Negotiating Curves

TEEN CRASH FACT

• The most frequent crash type for 16-year-old drivers in Pennsylvania is a single-vehicle, run-off-the-road crash. From 2007 to 2009, there were 2,969 crashes and 28 people killed.

Negotiating Curves

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN SAFELY DRIVE THROUGH CURVES:

• 1. The sharper the curve, the more you need to reduce your speed.
• 3. Look for traffic coming from the opposite direction. A speeder could easily stray into your lane.
• 4. For guidance about how to steer your vehicle, scan ahead and look at the inside edge of the curve. If there are multiple curves, look at the inside edge of each curve as far ahead as you can see.

Negotiating Curves

Physics of Speeding

Parking

• If the street you are on has a curb, park as close to it as you can, but no more than 12 inches away. If it has no curb, pull as far off of the roadway as possible

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The End