What is it called when you are able to see cars or other activity approaching from the side while your eyes are on the road ahead?

As a defensive driver, you can avoid crashes and help lower your risk behind the wheel.

If you've been out on the roads, you know that not everyone drives well — but most people think they do. Some drivers speed aggressively. Others wander into another lane because they aren't paying attention. Drivers may follow too closely, make sudden turns without signaling, or weave in and out of traffic.

Aggressive drivers are known road hazards, causing one third of all traffic crashes. But inattentive or distracted driving is becoming more of a problem as people "multitask" by talking on the phone, texting or checking messages, eating, or even watching TV as they drive.

You can't control the actions of other drivers. But updating your defensive driving skills can help you avoid the dangers caused by other people's bad driving.

Skills That Put You in Control

Before you get behind the wheel of that two-ton frame of glass and steel, here are some tips to help you stay in control:

Stay focused. Driving is primarily a thinking task, and you have a lot of things to think about when you're behind the wheel: road conditions, your speed and position, observing traffic laws, signs, signals, road markings, following directions, being aware of the cars around you, checking your mirrors — the list goes on. Staying focused on driving — and only driving — is critical to safe driving.

Distractions, like talking on the phone or eating, make a driver less able to see potential problems and properly react to them. It's not just teen drivers who are at fault: People who have been driving for a while can get overconfident in their driving abilities and let their driving skills get sloppy. All drivers need to remind themselves to stay focused.

Stay alert. Being alert (not sleepy or under the influence) allows you to react quickly to potential problems — like when the driver in the car ahead slams on the brakes at the last minute. Obviously, alcohol or drugs (including prescription and over-the-counter drugs) affect a driver's reaction time and judgment. Driving while drowsy has the same effect and is one of the leading causes of crashes. So rest up before your road trip.

Watch out for the other guy. Part of staying in control is being aware of other drivers and roadway users around you (and what they may suddenly do) so you're less likely to be caught off guard. For example, if a car speeds past you on the highway but there's not much space between the car and a slow-moving truck in the same lane, it's a pretty sure bet the driver will try to pull into your lane directly in front of you. Anticipating what another driver might do and making the appropriate adjustment helps reduce your risk.

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Eight Secrets of Super Driving

When you drive defensively, you're aware and ready for whatever happens. You are cautious, yet ready to take action and not put your fate in the hands of other drivers. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 90% of all crashes are attributed to driver error.

Following these defensive driving tips can help reduce your risk behind the wheel:

Think safety first. Avoiding aggressive and inattentive driving tendencies yourself will put you in a stronger position to deal with other people's bad driving. Leave plenty of space between you and the car in front. Always lock your doors and wear your seatbelt to protect you from being thrown from the car in a crash.
Be aware of your surroundings — pay attention. Check your mirrors frequently and scan conditions 20 to 30 seconds ahead of you. Keep your eyes moving. If a vehicle is showing signs of aggressive driving, slow down or pull over to avoid it. If the driver is driving so dangerously that you're worried, try to get off the roadway by turning right or taking the next exit if it's safe to do so. Also, keep an eye on pedestrians, bicyclists, and pets along the road.
Do not depend on other drivers. Be considerate of others but look out for yourself. Do not assume another driver is going to move out of the way or allow you to merge. Assume that drivers will run through red lights or stop signs and be prepared to react. Plan your movements anticipating the worst-case scenario.
Follow the 3- to 4-second rule. Since the greatest chance of a collision is in front of you, using the 3- to 4-second rule will help you establish and maintain a safe following distance and provide adequate time for you to brake to a stop if necessary. But this rule only works in normal traffic under good weather conditions. In bad weather, increase your following distance an additional second for each condition such as rain, fog, nighttime driving, or following a large truck or motorcycle.
Keep your speed down. Posted speed limits apply to ideal conditions. It's your responsibility to ensure that your speed matches conditions. In addition, higher speeds make controlling your vehicle that much more difficult if things go wrong. To maintain control of your vehicle, you must control your speed.
Have an escape route. In all driving situations, the best way to avoid potential dangers is to position your vehicle where you have the best chance of seeing and being seen. Having an alternate path of travel also is essential, so always leave yourself an out — a place to move your vehicle if your immediate path of travel is suddenly blocked.
Separate risks. When faced with multiple risks, it's best to manage them one at a time. Your goal is to avoid having to deal with too many risks at the same time.
Cut out distractions. A distraction is any activity that diverts your attention from the task of driving. Driving deserves your full attention — so stay focused on the driving task.

If you're interested in taking a defensive driving course to help sharpen your driving knowledge and skills, contact your local AAA or your state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Many states keep a list of approved defensive driving course providers, and lots of these offer online programs. In some states, you may be eligible for insurance premium discounts, "positive" safe driving points, or other benefits. These courses do cost money, but it's worth the investment to be a smarter, safer driver.

Safe driving!

There is a lot to learn when you start driving, most experienced drivers do a lot of things quite naturally and so don't think to pass that on to their "L"earner driver children. Here are some basic hints and tips to help you out.

Look high and far, not down at the road. The further ahead you look the more notice you will get of an upcoming problem. Once seen you can take control of the situation sooner and smoother rather than a last minute emergency reaction.
Watch every vehicle, person, animal and even tree around you, looking for indicators and brake lights and things hidden behind obstacles. This will give you the ability to plan ahead and you'll start to be able to predict what's coming.
Keep your eyes on the move. Unless there is a serious obstacle ahead of you keep your eyes moving, this will prevent tunnel vision setting in and keep your peripheral vision engage. When your peripheral vision is working you'll notice very quickly if something is out of place.
Watch the traffic lights, if it's red or yellow take your foot off the accelerator, this slows you down gently and will save your brakes. You'll also find you actually have to stop less often. Even if it's green, ease up a little just in case it changes on you.
Look past the car in front of you to see what other traffic is doing. You can do this by gently moving closer (but not over) the dividing line or by looking through the windows of the car in front to see what's going on further ahead.
Keep an eye on your mirror and the traffic behind. You'll be able to see dangerous drivers approaching and can then move out of their way to keep yourself safe.
Don’t forget to check the side streets. A quick look to see if there are any cars that don't look like they are going to stop, you should do this at level crossings, traffic lights and roundabouts as well.
Make sure you watch for people NOT stopping or giving way when they should, stay out of their way. It's not worth risking an accident to claim your "right of way". I have seen too many cars and trucks continue through a red light after the others have already turned green.

Know your surroundings: The more you know what is going on around you the less likely you are to be involved in a crash when it happens. Think about it; accidents that involve 2 cars don't need both drivers to be at fault. So always watch for that other driver and you're less likely to be involved.

Speed signs are a MAXIMUM limit, NOT a requirement. If the conditions are bad; raining, foggy, or the sun is in your eyes; then you should be going slower.
Unless sign posted otherwise the speed limit is 50 in a built up area or 100 in a rural area. Speed limits are a not just a guide, they save lives.
Do not drive faster than the car in front. It sounds like common sense driving but you'd be surprised how often the other driver will do this.

3. Road Position:

Ideally the car should be in the middle of your lane. If you want to look past the vehicle in front then move over to the right, but do not cross the line, don't forget to come back to the middle though.
- Too far to the left will have the wheel going in the dips where the drains are or loosing traction on loose gravel at the side of the road. You also leave yourself with no way out, if another car is too close you can't move over if you are already on the edge.
- Close to the dividing line put's you too close to traffic coming the other way and prevents the car behind from looking around your car.
REMEMBER you are now in the driving seat; you are used to seeing things from the passengers point of view. It is normal (though not health for your passenger who is probably used to the driving seat) when first getting in the driving seat to drive too far to the left, try to be aware of this and adjust your position accordingly.

4. Positioning the seat and mirrors.

First sit in the car and move the seat so you can fully push the clutch without fully extending your leg (keeping your leg bent will help reduce muscle fatigue).
Stretch your arms out and rest them on the steering wheel, ideally you should have your wrist resting on the wheel with a bend at your elbows, you can use the seat tilt to adjust this or you can move the seat back and forward, but remember this changes your legs on the peddles position.
Now look into the rear view mirror, the one on the windscreen. Adjust this so you can see straight out the back window, you should be able to frame the window just inside the mirror.
Check out the little switch underneath the rear view mirror, flick it and have another look out the back window through it. At first you may think you can't see now, but if you have a closer look you'll notice that you can still see except it looks like it's tinted. At night time this will stop the following cars headlights shining in your face, yet dark vs light, you'll be able to see quite clearly.
The side mirrors are bit harder; you need to be able to just see the side of your car, but not much. The less of your car you can see the smaller the blind spot, but it is good to see your car to better judge what you are seeing. As for the vertical positioning you need to be able to see the road behind you in the bottom 25-30% of the mirror and see clearly into the distance behind you in the rest. One trick is to try setting the mirror so you can just see the rear door handle in the bottom corner closest to the car.
REMEMBER to adjust your mirrors after you have positioned the seat, if you move the seat afterwards the mirrors will be out of place. You also need to make sure you are adjusting the mirrors with your head in a natural driving position, I have seen many students move closer to the mirror when adjusting it, to see better, and when asked to check it again they realize it's in the wrong spot.
No matter how much of the blind spot you've eliminated it will still be there, you MUST always look over your shoulder when changing lanes, merging with traffic or are pulling out from the side of the road!

5. Improve visibility and be seen!

Firstly if visibility is poor you should drive according to what you can see, if you can’t see round the corner slow down a little. If you struggle to see much in front due to fog slow down a lot and use your head lights, if you have fog lights available use them as well.
- We put our headlights on in the fog and when it's raining, not just to help us to see better, but to help other to see us! In foggy conditions your head lights will reflect off the fog back at you making the fog brighter rather than illuminating the road ahead, though not helpful to you it is useful for other drivers to see you earlier.
- Fog lights are usually lower on the vehicle and so overcome the reflection issue and are somewhat more helpful at lighting up the road ahead.
- Make sure you turn the fog lights off once the fog has cleared; it is illegal to keep them on.
- High beam is good for seeing further ahead at night time, it will also give other cars more notice that you are coming, but don't forget to dip your headlights when other traffic is approaching.

One of the most important aspects of driving is your observation, if you don't see it you can't respond to it. So what should you be watching?

When in the car as a Pre-Learner or Learner in the passenger seat why not start learning and practice some important skills in a fun way that develops a natural skill? Pick a car ahead of you and ask see if you can guess what they're going to do BEFORE they even signal their intent.

Collisions only happen when Collisions only happen when someone is doing the wrong thing!

Think about it, if everyone on the road is doing the right thing collisions don't happen! So a collision on the road is always caused by someone doing the wrong thing. Sometimes no matter what you do that crash is going to happen and you're going to be involved; even though you did nothing wrong. But most of the time it requires a second person, YOU, to not be watching and paying attention.