- What is defensive driving? Is it that I'm a good driver? Because most drivers would
agree with that statement regardless of where
they live in the world, religion or politics. Stick around, we're going to give you five defensive driving techniques that will make you a
safer, smarter driver. (upbeat music) The most important element
of defensive driving is space management. You need to manage space
around your vehicle, to the sides, to the
rear, and to the front. And you can always, always manage space in front of your vehicle. And I know there's drivers
out there that will say to me, "Oh, if I leave space in
front, drivers will cut in." Yes, they will, but if they're cutting in, they're going faster than you, and they will only be there
for a couple of seconds and then you can reclaim your space. Always, always manage space
in front of your vehicle, have your two to three-second
following distance behind other traffic. And when you're stopped in traffic, always stop so you can see the tires making clear contact with the pavement. And when you're moving slowly in a queue, again, also never get closer
to the vehicle in front of you so that, at all times,
you can see the tires of the vehicle in front of
you making clear contact with the pavement. If you manage space well,
you are rarely going to get into trouble when you're driving. It is the most critical
skill that you can have as a defensive driver, because the speed is going
to take care of itself. It's like right now, I have a two to three-second
following distance in front of me behind this truck, and I'm simply doing 50 kilometers an hour which is the posted speed limit, or 30 miles an hour for
those of you in the States. The Smith Space Cushion System developed and founded in
the 1940s by Harold Smith, indicated that if you manage space, you have a place to drive out of if you get into an emergency
situation, which is correct because it's faster to drive
out of an emergency situation than it is to brake. However, (chuckles) roads
are much, much busier than they were in the 1940s
when Smith founded that system. So it's now more important that you manage space
in front of your vehicle so that you can come to a
stop and not get into trouble in case something happens in front of you. The definition of defensive driving is is that you are making allowances, you have skills and strategies in place that are compensating for
the errors of other drivers. And also for when you make mistakes because we all make
mistakes when we're driving, we lose attention, we get distracted by something
on the side of the road or we're looking at something or whatnot. That's why it is so
important to manage space around your vehicle, to allow for the mistakes of other people and for your own mistakes that you may make when you're driving. So the most important
element of defensive driving is managing space around your vehicle. Tip number two is situational awareness. Where am I? What is it? Who is it? What's the
weather outside doing? What's the outside temperature? Where am I at the intersection? I have to do a little jig-jog here 'cause I can't see past
the traffic, there we go. So situational awareness, being
aware of what's around you, being aware of intersections, pedestrians right here
at the intersection, I was slowing down and
backing off for them. I've got somebody stopped
here at an alleyway. (chuckles) So there's a lot going on and you need to be aware of
everything that's going on. And of course this vehicle in front of me didn't have the signal on, but was waiting to turn into the alley, I didn't know that, but I stay back, I relax, I don't get too close. Again, even if that
vehicle stopped mid-block, I still stop back so I can see the tires making clear contact with the payment. That way I'm far enough away that I'm less likely to hit something. So it's observation, but
it's more than seeing, it's being aware of what's going on as you're moving through
the intersections. Tip number three is what I call MIT, mapping an intersection and tracking what's going on at the intersection. This dovetails well with
situational awareness. So I'm tracking, I've
mapped the intersection. It's a complex intersection
with left-hand turning lanes, advance lights, slip lanes, pedestrians, cyclists. I got a cyclist over here,
even in the wintertime we have cyclists riding around, so you have to be aware of that. The pedestrian's gone,
way up the sidewalk. Cross traffic is going through. Traffic has stopped,
there's nobody behind me. So I'm watching traffic
coming up behind me at the intersection. Slip lane over there, I
have a truck turning right, and I'm turning left. So I'm watching and I'm
tracking that truck. The truck is gone. I've got my advance green. So checking here, there's nothing here, there's no pedestrians. I'm tracking that car over there
because it's turning right. And of course the car is going
to turn right in beside me. So I was tracking that vehicle as I was coming around the
corner through the intersection and making a left-hand turn. Same thing here, I'm tracking the red car, moving up, the car's coming to a stop, pedestrian over here on my left, vehicles coming through, I'm
stopping behind the stop line. The pedestrian is gone. Traffic is coming through. I cannot see what's going on over there because there's a truck sitting beside me as you can see in the dash cam. Vehicle on the other
side of the intersection, pedestrian coming
through the intersection, I'm tracking that pedestrian to figure out where that
pedestrian is going. MIT, mapping the intersection
and tracking the road users around at the different
sections of the intersection. Especially those that are
crossing your path of travel as you're going to move left
through the intersection. So, clear, the pedestrian is gone. The vehicle has come through. I'm clear to go, shoulder check, and proceed through on the left-hand turn. Vehicles coming through, there's no road users at the intersection so I'm clear to go. I don't have to slow down, I just have to map and
track the intersect. Remember, it's important
to locate the intersection, map the intersection, and track the road users
that are at the intersection, especially those road users that are going to cross
your path of travel because 40% of crashes
occur at intersections. Tip number four, parking lots. If you can find a space which you can drive
through into the next space so that you can drive out when you're leaving the
parking lot, that is ideal. In parking lots, be sure that you go slow because there's lots of activity going on, especially this time of year with the holiday season and whatnot, track pedestrians, figure
out where pedestrians are. If you're the least bit unsure, simply stop and wait for
them to pass your vehicle. When backing out in a parking lot, be sure that you look
first out the rear window before you move the
vehicle, check your mirrors, check your backup camera if you have one, but make sure that you're
looking out the back window before you put the vehicle in motion. Most bingles, smashes and
bashes happen in parking lots because people put the vehicle in motion and then they look, and
by then it's too late. Tip number five, and probably
the most important tip, check yourself before you wreck yourself. You have to have an attitude
of defensive driving that, "I'm just going to let them go and have their crash somewhere else." because people are going to cut you off. There's going to be drunk drivers, there's going to be poor drivers,
there's going to be bad weather. All of these things are going
to happen when you're driving. They're not unpredictable. (chuckles) They are as predictable as that tomorrow we are
going to get weather. Because the top two
reasons for traffic crashes are failing to yield
and following too close. Those two driving actions, failing to yield, failing to give way, and following too close, are simply attitudes about driving, it's your attitude towards driving. And if you want to see the perfect film about Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Walker, a Disney character in the 1950s, that was about the very nature of the Jekyll and Hyde character
that we become when we drive, have a look at that up in the corner, I'll put a card up there for you, they become this (chuckles)
crazy creature, which is crazy, they follow too close, they
fail to give the right of way and they believe that
they have the right to go. For another video, click here
to subscribe, click here. And remember, pick the best answer, not necessarily the right answer. Have a great day, bye now - [Narrator] Mr. Walker owns a motor car and considers himself good driver. (Mr. Walker groaning) But once behind the wheel, a strange phenomenon takes place. (car engine spluttering)
Mr. Walker is charged with an overwhelming sense of power. His whole personality changes. Abruptly he becomes an
uncontrollable monster, (suspenseful music)
a demon driver. Mr. Walker is now Mr. Wheeler.
