Have good driving habits. It takes focus to drive the speed limit, to follow a safe distance back, and to keep your eyes on the roadway. These good driving habits can help to counter the distractions associated with being stressed. Change the environment or situation that is causing the stress.
Having an appropriate attitude about driving is vitally important to being a safe driver. Drivers must act responsibly at all times as a crash can forever change the lives of the driver, the driver’s loved ones, and others traveling the roadway. Because many of us drive so frequently and have driven for so many years, it is easy to become complacent about the potential dangers that accompany driving. You should not drive if you are not physically and mentally able to safely operate a motor vehicle. Drivers should abide by driving laws and follow safe driving practices. They should stay focused on the task at hand, avoid driving if under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medications, and avoid driving if they are suffering from stress, fatigue and/or emotional upset. Also, drivers need to drive defensively, always being alert for and taking actions to avoid or reduce potential dangers. A big part of being a safe driver is following the Golden Rule and treating other drivers the way that you would like to be treated. 4
Sometimes a little honest introspection can lead to changes in behavior that can reduce the stress in our lives. For example, if you are frequently late to appointments, meetings, or family gatherings, you might find that leaving early, so that you can arrive on-time, would reduce stress.
Crack your window for air, but lock your doors. Have another person, who stays awake, drive with you. Share driving with another person. Drinking caffeine may help, but only for a short time (15-20 minutes). Don’t overextend. Once you have reached a reasonable driving distance, stop for the day. 2,4.
Emotions can have a great impact on a person’s ability to drive safely. Emotions like anger, grief, anxiety, worry, excitement, fear, and depression affect the way we drive , can cause a driver to be upset, and can distract a driver from the job at hand. Also, emotions can affect a person’s thinking, reasoning, and judgment and can affect the way a driver perceives and processes information. These problems can and do result in crashes. An angry driver might act out irrationally against another driver who makes a small driving mistake. An anxious or frustrated driver might pass in a no-passing zone or in an area where there is inadequate room to safely pass. Finally, a grief-stricken or depressed driver might totally miss a traffic light or stop sign. 2,4,7
If preparations for your trip have taken longer than expected and it is getting late in the day, consider spending another night and starting your trip in the morning. Stop periodically for rest, light exercise, and if needed, a nap.
The harmful or potentially harmful circumstances that cause stress are called stressors and may include things like: the death of a spouse or family member, marital problems, parenting problems, financial concerns, or health issues. Because these are serious issues, the resulting stress can go on for months, if not years.
Normally, following 4 or more seconds back on a higher speed roadway would provide a safe stopping distance for most stops if the road is dry and in good condition.
b. If you decide to leave the highway in an emergency, going left is usually preferred.
Alcohol and speeding are major contributing factors in fatal crashes.
To reduce injury caused by air bag deployment in a crash, safety belts must be worn.
a. Standing water on the road. Raindrops bubbling up on the roadway indicate standing water
Drivers exercise judgment and skill when they are behind the wheel. Of these two capabilities, driving skill is by far the most important.
Provides for two car lengths of following distance when traveling at 60 miles per hour. A. If you are surrounded by bumper to bumper traffic, you can protect yourself by following a safe distance behind the vehicle ahead of you. a.
While only a small percent of vehicle occupants don't wear safety belts, they make up more than half of vehicle occupant fatalities. C. Most Americans do not wear safety belts. while only a small percent of occupants do not wear safety belts, these occupants account for about half of vehicle occupant fatalities.
The second collision is the human collision that occurs when the occupants of a vehicle come to a stop against the interior of the vehicle they were traveling in. b. The third collision occurs when the internal organs of the occupant strike the skeletal system and other organs in the stopped body of the occupant.
If you are able to reduce your speed by half before crashing into a concrete post, the kinetic energy experienced in the crash will be reduced by four times .
a. If you triple your speed your force of impact will be three times greater
a. It is better to steer right instead of toward oncoming traffic to prevent a crash
You are eligible to take a Driving Safety Course if you are charged with a moving violation and have not taken a Driving Safety Course within the past 12 months and did not commit any of the following:
You must submit a completed Driver’s Safety Course application, copies of your driver’s license and proof of insurance and payment for court costs, in person or submit by mail on or before your appear by date. To qualify for a Driving Safety Course, you must complete the following:
The person will be required to present a uniform certificate of course completion as written evidence that after the alleged violation the person successfully completed a Driving Safety Course approved by the Texas Education Agency and to present a certified copy of their driving record from the Texas Department of Public Safety by the given 90 day due date.
Juveniles (persons 16 or under when the offense occurred) and all provisional license holders must contact the court for instructions.
The most commonly listed techniques by these participants included exercise, breathing techniques, meditation, and sleep. Following the training, 85.2% of participants reported learning a new stress management technique from the training course. The percentage of trainees reporting each stress management techniques as new is as follows: progressive muscle relaxation (44.1%), rational self-talk (39.8%), mindfulness (30.5%), compartmentalization (29.7%), journaling (28.0%), diaphragmatic breathing (21.2%), good sleep hygiene (14.4%), meditation (9.3%), and regular exercise (2.5%). Additionally, trainees were asked to report which of the stress management techniques they planned to use while at the FAA Academy. The percentage for each technique is as follows: good sleep hygiene (66.1%), regular exercise (50.8%), diaphragmatic breathing (50.0%), rational self-talk (45.8%), compartmentalization (43.2%), mindfulness (37.3%), progressive muscle relaxation (35.6%), meditation (33.9%), and journaling (7.6%).
The stress management training was 1.5 to 2 hours in length. The instructional content consisted of three main sections: stress and stressors, lifestyle tips, and stress management techniques. The first section on stress and stressors provided background information on stress, including acute and chronic stressors, internal and external stressors, career-specific stressors, and the physiological and psychological consequences of stress. This section also included information on positive stress, or eustress, and the role of resilience in responding to and recovering from stressful events. The second section included lifestyle tips and the role of daily habits in managing stress. This section focused on the positive benefits of healthy sleep and exercise habits. The third section focused on specific stress management techniques, which included demonstrations and/or practice opportunities for each technique. The stress management training included information on several cognitive-behavioral and relaxation-based techniques to provide ATC trainees a diverse set of coping strategies. In addition to the lifestyle tips, the specific techniques presented were diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, rational self-talk, compartmentalization, mindfulness, meditation, and journaling (see Table 1 for definitions). Participants were provided a training manual, which included information about each of the stress management techniques covered in the course as well as additional scientific information on stress.
While workplace stress cannot be eliminated completely, stress management training can reduce workplace stressors and assist employees in managing the negative outcomes of stress (Richardson & Rothstein, 2008). Ivancevich et al. (1990) developed a conceptual model of stress management interventions and described that these interventions can target three different components of the stress cycle: the intensity or number of stressors, the employee’s appraisal of stressful situations, and the employee’s ability to cope with stress. Interventions aimed at reducing the number of stressors employees face on the job include job design and selection practices. These practices focus on redesigning the job so that it is less stressful, or hiring individuals who are better able to handle stress (Ivancevich et al., 1990). Alternatively, interventions aimed at the latter two components of the stress cycle involve individual-level training interventions that focus on improving the knowledge and skills of employees dealing with stress (Ivancevich et al., 1990).