Defensive Driving

As a car accident attorney serving Montgomery County, Prince George’s County, D.C. and Northern Virginia, Stuart L. Plotnick, has helped many families get the benefits and monetary compensation they need to start putting the pieces of their life back together after suffering serious injury and loss as the result of a car accident. Tragically, many of these accidents were avoidable if the at-fault driver had been paying attention and driving defensively.

Auto Accident Statistics

Motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause of death for drivers and passengers between the ages of 2-39 and 50-72. For teen and young adult drivers in particular the statistics are staggering. According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study in 2006:

  • One teen died in a traffic accident every hour each weekend
  • Every two hours during the week, a teen died in an auto accident.
  • Each year more than 5,000 young drivers (16-20 years old) die in motor vehicle crashes.

Older drivers, also referred to as elderly drivers, are just as likely to be involved in a crash. During 2008, more than 5,500 older adults (aged 65 and up) were killed in car accidents and more than 183,000 were injured.  With respect to teens, you have driving inexperience and a sense of risky behavior coming together in many instances, and with our older population a decrease in abilities and perception skills play a role as to why these to age groups rank the highest in terms of auto accident injury and fatality.

Using Defensive Driving on MD, DC and VA Roads

Driving defensively can save you and your family from becoming a statistic. Not every accident is avoidable, but when you pay close attention to the roadway and your surroundings, you may be able to avoid a collision and serious personal injury.

Defensive driving is more than careful driving. It requires that you anticipate and plan for what could happen next on the roadway, and it certainly requires that you do not engage in behaviors that will take your primary focus off the other drivers and road conditions around you. Try these defensive driving techniques to keep yourself safer on the road:

  • Be constantly aware of the space around you so that you can keep an escape route in mind in case of an emergency.
  • Stay a safe distance from the cars and other vehicles around you.
  • Watch out for motorcyclists that may move through traffic more quickly than you.
  • Do not linger in trucker’s blind spots.
  • Look every direction to check for moving vehicles when you are crossing or turning at an intersection.
  • Exercise caution when you have limited sight distance, such as approaching a curve or nearing the top of a hill.
  • Slow down for erratic or aggressive drivers.
  • Be cautious of drivers in rental cars or with out-of-state plates who are likely unfamiliar with the area and may be distracted by a navigation device. This is especially important in areas of high tourist traffic, like Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
  • Keep your distance behind trucks with cargo that may spill into the road or fly at your windshield.
  • Obey posted speed limits and drive with extra caution in parking lots and school zones.
  • Be aware of slippery conditions, such as rain or snow, and how they can affect your stopping distance.

You can find defensive driving courses in almost every state. Many times these courses are mandatory following a traffic ticket or involvement in a car accident, but they can be very useful for any driver to learn good defensive driving techniques.

Contact An Auto Accident Lawyer Serving DC, MD & VA

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, please call 301-251-1286 today or contact the Law Offices of Stuart L. Plotnick, LLC for your consultation with an experienced Maryland car accident attorney. We represent clients throughout the Washington D.C. area including Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Silver Spring, Wheaton, Upper Marlboro, Bowie, College Park, Landover, Leesburg, Reston, McLean, Arlington, Tyson’s Corner and Fairfax.