As they say, driving fast is pretty easy but learning to navigate traffic in a safe and efficient manner is what real driving is all about. If you live in the city, you will need to learn to drive in traffic from the word go. And once you've done that or while you're about to learn it, there are a few tips that you can follow to make your drives through traffic better. Here are 6 tips that you should follow while driving in traffic.
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It's incredibly tempting to check on your notifications when you're stuck in traffic. Even when your car is stationary, refrain from picking up your phone as it will only lead to a lapse in concentration. Many a time, people ram their cars into the vehicles ahead when they are in slow-moving traffic as they are so engrossed in the messages on their phones. So, make it a golden rule to not touch your phone when you're driving.
The car ahead of you is almost always your biggest nemesis. Sometimes it may not move quickly leading to the traffic light going red again, or sometimes, it may prevent you from merging into the faster lane. Whatever the case, if you lose your patience and drive too close to it, not only will you lose opportunities to cut the time but also risk ramming into the vehicle ahead.
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Weaving refers to rapidly switching lanes to try and get ahead of the traffic. It may not be as dangerous as when you do it at high speeds but it may end up delaying you or causing damage to your car. That's mainly because the other drivers around you cannot predict your movement and may think of changing the lane themselves only to end suddenly end up in front of you, causing an accident or a clog.
Planning can help you avoid heavy traffic altogether. If it's a route familiar to you, you will already know the exact time periods when the road happens to be clogged. You can avoid that time period completely. Traffic also depends on a number of other factors like festivals or weather, so keep those in mind as well. Using Google Maps to see if there are construction projects happening on the road you intend to take is something that will help you a lot, as you can avoid that route and take a different one.
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This is a no-brainer actually. Using lower gears to move at slow speeds allows you to keep your car's engine efficient. Don't use the second gear to pick your car up from a stationary position. And if you know that you're going to have to slow down the vehicle to a stop just a few metres ahead, there's no need to put it in fourth gear and brake heavily once you reach there.
Rushing or getting frustrated at other drivers isn't going to help one bit when you're stuck in heavy traffic. Staying calm is the golden mantra when in such situations so always keep that in mind.
Get these 6 tips ingrained in your mind and you won't have to worry about driving in heavy traffic the next time.
