How to Be a More Confident Driver in Florida with Defensive Driving Courses

Defensive driving is driving in such a way that you use safe driving strategies to predict and identify potential hazards. They go above and beyond basic instructions on basic procedures and traffic laws. Florida traffic school teaches students how to reduce their driving risks by making smart decisions and anticipating situations.

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The Benefits of Defensive Driving

The benefits of undergoing a defensive driving class can vary between states, but it generally includes improved driving confidence, having points on your license reduced, and reduced insurance rates. Much like the benefits of driving school can vary between states, so too can the requirements. Defensive driving courses in traffic schools can be between four and eight hours long and you may have the option of taking them online.

What You Learn With Defensive Driving Courses

The contents of a defensive driving course are regulated by each state. They tend to have similar information though. Here’s what you can expect to learn in a defensive driving course.

Traffic Crashes

Crashes can have both personal and social impacts. Crashes kill approximately 41,000 people a year and injure over 3 million. Around a third of these crashes are related to drink driving, and another third are related to speeding. Defensive driving courses cover the emotional, physical, and financial costs of these accidents.

Psychological Factors

Drivers deal with a number of factors that affect their driving. While drivers can’t control all of them, they can control psychological factors if they know what to look for and how to handle situations. Defensive driving focus on how to overcome negative psychological factors like stress, distress, fatigue, and road rage. They also encourage having a positive attitude about driving.

Human Factors – DUI

Thousands of American drivers will get behind the wheel while under the influence each year. While drugs can affect different parts of your body, the effects of driving while under the influence is always disastrous. One of the most common aspects of defensive driving courses is learning how drugs and alcohol affect driving. This includes the legal limits on blood-alcohol levels, how drugs and alcohol affect judgement, senses, motor skills, and inhibitions, and the potential consequences of being found guilty of a DUI charge.

The Dynamics of A Crash

Just about every car crash is preventable. A combination of speed, the size of an object being impacted and where the object is hit all determine the severity of a vehicular accident. The driver or passengers colliding with objects inside the car, such as seats or the windshield, can also be dangerous. Drivers will learn all about the dynamics of a crash to give them the knowledge to avoid a crash or, at the very least, mitigate the damage from one.

Safety Equipment

Around half of all car-crash related deaths could be prevented, if the person involved was wearing their seatbelt. Seatbelts are the most common safety equipment in a vehicle. However, they aren’t the only one. Items like air bags, head rests, and child safety seats, can all help protect drivers and passengers.

Crash Prevention Techniques

The key of defensive driving is understanding how to recognise hazards and avoid crashing before it’s too late. This is why defensive driving courses focus on crash prevention techniques.

State Traffic Laws

The last part of most state-sanctioned defensive driving course is to learn the specific driving laws for your state. This will likely be more of a refresher course for most students, but not every student understands the traffic laws for their state.

Tips For Selling Your Vehicle
Unfortunately, no matter how safe of a driver you may be, there is always a chance of being in an accident and even totaling your vehicle. If you decide to sell your vehicle, it is important for you to find the proper value of the vehicle no matter what condition it is in. Even if your vehicle is a total loss, it may be worth more than you think.

Learning the traffic laws for your state is especially important when you are mandated to attend the course after getting a ticket for speeding or a traffic violation. Getting a refresher about the laws leaves you a better defensive driver.

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post.