Why preventive driving in winter in urban areas? Tips for avoiding road accidents
If there are people among you who have recently obtained a driver’s license, this article can help you to avoid inconveniences.
Defining the concept of preventive management
The concept of preventive driving is the road behavior of all traffic participants who want to avoid a road accident, by anticipating situations that may cause accidents and avoiding the actions of other traffic partners that may cause hazards. Adapting the speed of travel to the weather conditions, and the intensity of vehicle traffic are also part of preventive driving.
In the cold season, a driver has to face many challenges.
skill, vigilance, prudence, foresight, judgment, well this combination of these four elements should be met by any driver.
Preventive management in the following environment is based exclusively on 3 major risk factors that we will define below.
- The road factor
- The driver must take the roads into account
The multitude of intersections and heavy traffic put drivers, but especially beginners, to the test.
Traffic jams and the formation of car columns are one of the main reasons why drivers lose valuable time.
Due to the snow in the immediate vicinity of the road, it goes from multi-lane traffic to 2-lane or even single-lane traffic. This creates large traffic jams and large columns of cars.
Lack of sound insurance can lead to an unforeseen situation that can lead to a car accident.
Another extremely important thing in the next environment is the multitude of road signs that cannot be set in time and can be interspersed with advertisements.
- The technical factor
Drivers traveling in urban areas in winter must take into account a wide variety of old cars, cars, trucks, motorcycles, mopeds and bicycles as well as their large number in the morning and afternoon.
Installation of stress factors such as noise, and frequency of hazards. - The human factor
Find the most vulnerable category. The driver must be extra careful, especially in winter, when they frequently drive on the road. We have to take into account the very high pedestrian traffic, due to educational institutions, enterprises, shops, public transport stations, etc.
I remind you that caution is the word that must define every driver regardless of the season, but even more so must be increased in winter.
- Adhesion is low on snow, ice and braking doubles
- Low visibility conditions
- pedestrians can drive on the road because many sidewalks are snowy
- Skidding may occur
- Mrcajele, are unobservable due to the snow covering the road
- Even if there is sun in the shadow cone of the buildings, the icing persists, which can lead to extremely dangerous situations for the driver.
- Not turning on the traffic lights, whether we are talking about us or other road users is a real danger.
(Cf. art. 114 of the Road Code 2016, any traffic participant is obliged at dusk and until dawn to turn on the headlights (short beam) or when it is raining or snowing) - Before going on the road, check the level of the antifreeze and the tire pressure.
To be sure that we will not experience unforeseen situations, we should take into account some useful tips.
Tips for winter driving, - Avoid roads if they are not needed
- Avoiding crowded routes
- Get ahead of time before you leave home and use applications such as waze and Google Maps with confidence.
- Avoid heavily circulated arteries, use detours
- Make sure you have the shovel in the trunk for snow removal, the 2 reflective triangles, the first aid kit and medicines, especially if you have people suffering from various ailments or children on board.
- Use public transport as much as possible. It is a good idea to streamline road traffic, especially in winter when traffic is extremely high.
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