Do you want to live the rest of your life without ever getting into another car accident? I sure know what I do which is why I've prepared a presentation here with the Top 10 Safe Driving Tips to avoid car accidents.
Based on my experience of driving over 200,000 miles which is over 300,000 kilometers. The only car accident I've ever been in I was violating or not doing at least 8 of the things on this list. Therefore, if you can even just stop doing or start doing one of the things on this list, you can avoid car accidents.
Car accidents are one of the most destructive things that can possibly happen in your life from the loss of life all the way to being disabled, inconvenient, and expensive. So let's get right into this and look at the Top 10 Safe Driving Tips with which you can prevent car accidents.
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Tip #1 is Sober.
Now, some of these will be extremely obvious, others of these that you will be surprised by. That means not under the influence of anything intoxicating that will impair your ability not only to drive in terms of your reactions but also in your decision making where you could end up doing things because of drinking or being under the influence of something else you wouldn't do otherwise.
I would suggest applying this to anyone you are driving with also. I'm amazed at how many times I got away with not following this one and yet the one-car accident I was in, I was heavily under the influence and thankfully it was just a car accident with me and my car.
I literally ran over a curb at 40 miles an hour, totaled my car and nobody was hurt miraculously. So do anything it takes to drive sober enough. For me, I ended up getting sober because I realized I could not stop drinking and driving.
That was going to cause some serious damage in my life and that's what got me to go to Alcoholics Anonymous and keep me going every day to stay sober because that's the most dangerous thing I could do in my life is to drink and drive.
There are more drinking and driving fatalities than from almost anything else. These are totally preventable. So drive sober. This is tip #1 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
Tip #2 is Safe Routes and Turns.
This means that if you know there are certain spots that are very crunched where you have to say make a left turn between a bunch of lanes of traffic, avoid that route whenever possible.
There are often ways you can make a right turn and make a u-turn for example. If you're on the other side of the road, make a left turn and then make a u-turn. There are often ways you can avoid some of the worst spots for car accidents.
For example, I had a co-worker once who made a left turn out into 6 lanes of traffic and got in a car accident. What she could have done instead of taking that left turn is she could have taken a right and made a U-turn at a light.
There are often little things like that you can do driving that can give you a greatly decreased chance of getting in a car accident. What you can do is simply get to know the area you're driving to whenever possible and look around for the easiest and safest maneuvers to make.
If I see that I'm going to need to make a left turn to get out of a place, I will look for alternatives. Often, you can go down the block and get a traffic light instead of making a turn across several lanes of traffic.
Therefore, this little tip can save you getting in a car accident by itself and I consistently apply this when I drive to take the safest routes and turns. This is tip #2 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
Tip #3 is Well Rested.
This is another very simple thing. Many of these things are so basic. You might think, “How can you make a video about this stuff? That's so basic”.
When I got in my one-car accident, I was drinking and driving at 7:00 a.m. after being up all night. I was very tired as well as under the influence which is why I made this video to help prevent you, give you the tools and the motivation to never do that.
It's ideal to be well-rested whenever possible. Just being tired by itself can get you in a car accident even if you're following all of these other ones. If you are pushing the limit and thinking you can get away with driving tired, it only takes once to be wrong and to pay a huge price for it.
Therefore, I am sure I am well-rested whenever I'm driving. I stop and get out and walk around if I'm getting tired and I plan every driving trip I'm doing so that I will be well-rested throughout the trip.
This means, take some extra time in hotel rooms. You might think, “Oh, I don't want to pay the money to stay somewhere. I'll just drive through the night”.
If you get in a car accident, it really looks like a good deal to have slept somewhere for maybe a hundred dollars in a hotel versus having a car accident because that could be a lot more expensive and inconvenient. This is tip #3 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
Tip #4 is At Ease.
This is a huge one, especially if you’re already applying the first 3 tips. Being at ease means not road-raging.
I got into lots of road rages in my life and I'm amazed that I didn't get into a car accident from getting in so many Road rages. I literally ran people off the road multiple times driving. I had people try and run me off the road and try and get me to pull over and thankfully I didn't do that.
This comes from being in pain yourself. I am at ease now. I don't attract people who are getting crazy with road rage into mutual engagements even if I accidentally make a maneuver.
I accidentally cut off a truck the other day. We both pulled into the same gas station. The guy got out and started cussing at me. He said, “You know how stupid you are?” and I said, “Maybe, you're right about that”.
It totally put his fire out. He had nothing else to say to me after that. He just literally walked off and when he walked back by me, he didn't say anything. This is what you can do when you're at ease. It's when multiple people get into a crazy road rage situation that accidents happen. The key to that is being relaxed and peaceful.
I will provide some tips that will help us synergize together but if you are in pain, if you're really frustrated, if you're really miserable, if you're really hurting, the law of attraction dictates that you are more likely to attract a car accident. Yes, attract a car accident.
Now, you might be in a very distressed state. You might not be thinking, “I'd like to get in a car accident” but if you're in miserable pain, you're beating yourself up about something that just happened, you're going crazy, you're getting really frustrated.
Then you go out and drive, it makes it so that when somebody else is driving in the same state, both of you are likely to run into each other and just by being at ease, you are likely to avoid getting into some of those situations by itself.
I'll give you some tips if you have a hard time relaxing or knowing what it even feels like to be relaxed, this is a huge one, especially when combined with the other ones. This is tip #4 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
Today, I ensure when I'm driving that if I'm getting in that car, I'm in a peaceful place where if somebody cuts me off, I'm not giving them the finger. In fact, I'll immediately forgive the whole situation and be glad that I didn't wreck.
Road rage is something that can lead to loss of life and everything less severe than that. It all starts with having an honest evaluation before I leave the house. I look at it and say what kind of state is in my mind right now.
If I'm in a lot of pain, I will stay at home and wait until I feel better before I drive because the safest place for me to be if I'm upset and I'm in pain and I'm hurting is at home. As soon as I get out on that road and I'm in pain, I may attract someone else who's in pain and we may reckon. I have no interest in doing that.
Tip #5 is Follow Laws.
This one again is really obvious to follow the traffic laws.
When I wrecked my car not only was I under the influence, tired, not at ease, I also was speeding. The speed limit was something like 20 or 25 miles an hour and I was going at 40 miles an hour around a turn that was intended for 10 or 20 miles an hour.
Because of violating several of these other things here, I wrecked my car.
A lot of us think that we can get away with speeding and I've been pulled over for speeding at least 10 times in my life and somehow I've only got one ticket probably because I was a police officer before.
I used to speed at work. I would drive my car around off-duty speeding also. If something happens, I just show my badge and I have a gun. That's because I was a police officer and I got out of it every time until I got pulled over after I was a police officer and got a ticket.
It's very important to follow the traffic laws no matter who you are because slowing down and respecting the traffic laws in most places is giving you the ability to have more time to react. The faster you drive, the less time you have to react.
I pay very close attention so much that sometimes people I'm riding with me make fun of me, “Oh Grandma, going to the speed limit here”. Yes, I'm going to the speed limit because I'm not interested in wrecking my car today. I'm not interested in ruining someone else's life potentially by getting into a car accident.
I will get there 5 minutes later and have a nice peaceful drive the whole way instead of speeding and yelling at cars to get out of my way. It goes for things like stop signs and watching crosswalks, traffic lights. This is tip #5 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
Now, I understand in some parts of the world it's total anarchy and chaos. If you live in an unsafe part of the world and all of this seems ridiculous, you might want to move. You might think about moving to somewhere where people do follow the traffic laws and respect the lives of the other people driving around them.
I've been to some places like, “Oh my God! This is insane”. If the people where you're at don't follow the laws and they don't respect human life, you can move to where they do.
Tip #6 is Sunlight.
This is another simple suggestion. Make sure you get out and drive whenever it's light.
It's a lot easier to see and a lot of the worst traffic accidents I saw as a police officer were at night. When I wrecked my car, it was at night. The sun was about to come up but it was at night and the sunlight helps you to see what is going on more clearly.
When you're at night and you're having to drive with your lights on, it's a lot easier for things like animals to jump out in the road, especially if you're driving in a rural part of wherever you are and when the sunlight is out, people tend to not be as tired.
When you're driving at night, you often are dealing with lots of people who are under the influence and tired even if there are just 2 cars on the road. It's easier for those 2 cars to run into each other. Thus, I aim to drive in the sunlight as much as possible.
In the sunlight, I realize that you may need to drive. For example, I will probably be driving for 30-minutes at night tonight which is unusual for me. This is tip #6 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
The key is that I plan my life around these things. I avoid driving at night whenever possible even though I'm 35 and plenty young enough to drive at night so to speak. I aim to drive into sunlight most of the time.
Tip #7 is Off-Peak Times
This may seem to conflict a bit. You might think, “Well, you tell me to drive in the sunlight which is often when most people are on the road and then you want me to drive off-peak times”.
Let me explain. When I'm referring to Off-peak times, I mean avoiding those times where people are often rushing to work and rushing home from work, for example, where I live, people are often in the biggest hurry to go into work around anywhere from 7 a.m. to 9 am.
If you can avoid driving during times where everybody else is driving, for example, one of the worst times to drive where I am around is 5:00 p.m. There are a lot of people getting off work. People are in a hurry. They are rushing to get home or to go meet friends.
Anytime you can avoid these peak times where there are a lot of other stressed-out people who are in a hurry driving on the roads, you can potentially save your own life or save a car accident. This means to try it whenever you can to set your schedule up if you've got to drive to work.
If you can get any flexibility to try and drive during the times that are not peak times, for example, I've known lots of people who have a job that requires a commute and what they are able to do living in very heavy traffic areas is to come into work earlier and leave later or the opposite come into work later and leave later.
This way they're not in the worst of rush-hour traffic. There are fewer people on the road. There are fewer stressed-out drivers. This can also be a big lifesaver. This is tip #7 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
Tip #8 is Hypnotherapy
If you’re like, “These all seem like a good idea but I don't know if I'm going to do that". One practice is hypnotherapy, which can help you put these into practice and get down to any issues.
For example, if you look at the “At Ease Tip” and you realize that you just have a lot of road rage and that just is the way you are. Something like hypnotherapy can be extremely helpful to get down into these issues and make some lasting changes.
You may have had parents that had road rage and you just think, “Well, this is how people drive. This is how they are”. With things like hypnotherapy, you can get into a reprogram.
Hypnotherapy is basically just a guided meditation with a therapist that talks you through things in a normal state of consciousness. Then you work with them to do an active meditation where you tap into your highest wisdom and spirit guides or divine energy.
Hypnotherapy helps you reprogram some of the things in your brain that are not ideally programmed. It can help you a lot if you're struggling to program some of these other things and to promote a sense of relaxation to get more of a spiritual point of view.
I used to rush around before I did hypnotherapy on a regular basis. I'd be speeding and not at ease rushing to go get to the gym. Then I'd rush home and I pushed the limit and got in several near car accidents.
For what? Because I wasn't thinking properly and it's critical in life to try and think properly and to get help thinking properly. That means putting first things first, especially if you're a parent and you're rushing around.
You're risking your life and other people's lives for what? Get to the gym a few minutes earlier. Get to work a couple of minutes earlier to avoid your boss yelling at you. This is tip #8 out of the top 10 safe driving tips.
Hypnotherapy can help you remember who you are as a spirit to let go of some of these crazy mental inconsistencies that we get. I'm very grateful for my hypnotherapist. I go see her every week and this is helping me to just deepen my spirituality, to be at ease and to apply all these other tips.
Tip #9 is Massage.
Get regular massages. Massages also help you with a lot of the same things that hypnotherapy does, especially if you get a great massage therapist.
These are things that help you change how you think, help you relax more and you'll notice when you get in a habit, you know what it feels like to be really relaxed and really at ease, you'll also know what it feels like to not be relaxed and not at ease and how to get back to that place.
Massage also helps physically relax a lot of the muscles in the body. If you find it very easy to get mentally stressed out and then you look in the body and the body's all tense and tight, it's easier to reinforce that cycle.
The mind says, “Oh, I'm stressed out about the money” and then it looks at the body.
The body says, “Look, all our muscles are tense. The body is stressed out too”.
The body suggests, “We're all stressed out. We need to be afraid and do something”.
If the body is relaxed, it's hard for the mind to get stressed out.
The mind thinks, “Oh my God! We're so stressed out. This is bad”.
The body is like, “Chill dude. Chill”.
The mind is like, “Chill? Okay, I guess we're not stressed out”.
That's the miraculous power of massage and since I've been getting massages, I've found it a lot easier to apply all these tips. In fact, massages and hypnotherapy have been essential to me applying all the rest of these tips on a consistent basis.
The Final Tip is Divine Guidance.
I probably should have put this first but it's the last. For you that's most devoted and read all of this, you get the best one. There is divine guidance available.
That means you can literally be saved from a car accident or you can avoid a car accident just by divine guidance. For example, you might drop your keys on the way out of the house and that might shift the timing just enough so that you don't get in a car accident that day.
I'll give you a more direct example of divine guidance. When I was about 7 years old, my mother, father & brother, were on our way to the zoo. We were driving on a 2-lane road where the speed limit was maybe 50 miles an hour or so.
We were all having a great time. Now hear this. We were all having a great time. We were not stressed out or frustrated. We were all at ease. We were obeying the traffic laws. We were driving sober. We were following many of the things on here.
My dad was not getting massages or hypnotherapy by any means but we were doing the rest of the things on here. For some reason, my mother all of a sudden says in the middle of them having fun. My mother looks over and says, “Gerald, you pay attention. Put both hands on the wheel”.
For some reason, my father instead of disagreeing with her giving her crap about it immediately does it. At the moment, there is no reason that this was needed based on what they could see. She just said that out of nowhere.
He puts both hands on the wheel and almost right after he does that, a car starts swerving into our lane directly at us and runs us off the road. I would imagine they were either intoxicated, tired or distracted.
They were not applying the things I’ve just told you. What was miraculous was the exact timing of that. We were all blown away that my mom had said that. My dad had done that and right when the car came and almost hit us head-on, we probably would have died if that had happened.
Right when it almost happened, my dad was perfectly ready. My dad was an amazing driver and as soon as the car came swerving at us, he swerved off the road and we missed it. If it had happened a little bit at a different time, if the timing had not been just what it was, we would have been on this bridge and we wouldn't have been able to swerve.
If my dad hadn't been paying perfect attention when that happened, we might have got hit and we were all blown away at how exactly that happened. It felt like we had some guardian angel that had given up my mom a tap on the shoulder and my dad a tap on the shoulder to not to listen to what my mom said and to perfectly avoid that car accident.
All the 4 of us in the car felt like something amazing had just happened. We were all filled with gratitude that we had not all just wrecked and died. Therefore, there is divine guidance available. It is possible. I've read several more stories of people saying the same kinds of things.
For example, I remember reading a story of a woman who was driving and they were running off a car and she yelled Jesus or something like that and somehow the car fixed itself and they made it through the accident.
I remember reading “Unbroken”, they crashed a plane in World War II in the ocean and the guy was underwater tangled up and all of a sudden the next thing he knows, he doesn't know how this happened. He just went untangled and was floating up to the surface.
There is divine guidance. There are miracles that are possible and I keep that in mind. That's what helped give me peace of mind today to see that if I'm in my game on the other 9 points, I will often pray to arrive alive. I'll pray for everybody and I set the intention that I intend to arrive alive today.
I intend to arrive safely today and I pray for everyone else to arrive safely around me. Thus, divine guidance really puts all of these other 9 steps or 9 things together.
I hope this makes a huge difference for you today because when you put all these things together, I'm imagining that you reading this may be able to avoid a car accident. You may be able to avoid a lot of hours of misery and suffering as a result of applying these 10 tips.
I've learned a lot of these the hard way. My intention sharing this with you today is to help you learn it the easy way or to take the hard way you've already come across and to put those fully into action so you don't need to learn the hard way again.
You may also like to read this post: Get What You Want Meditation
I love you. You're awesome. Thank you for giving me the chance to serve you today with these Top 10 Safe Driving Tips. I appreciate the chance to share my experience with you and I hope this is helpful.
Love,
Jerry Banfield
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