Blue Ribbon Driving
  Top 10 Rules Of The Road

Stay safe on the road, whether you're out for a quick trip to the grocery or on a long cross-country haul.

People are afraid of Becky Mullen* -- or at least afraid to be in a car with her. "I'm really an awful driver," says the 24-year-old Chicago resident. She is so bad, her boyfriend won't let her behind the wheel when he's around. Her dad recently told Becky he'd never ride in her car again. In fact, printed next to her photo in her high school yearbook are the words "Worst Driver."

Becky once caused a traffic jam because she decided that slow-moving bumper-to-bumper traffic was the perfect place to program her hairdresser's number into her cell phone. During one of her four accidents, she rear-ended another vehicle. "There were helicopters and reports on the radio," Becky says. "I had to call my dad to come get me. He just had to listen to the traffic reports, and he knew exactly where I was."

The scary part is this: Becky isn't an unusual driver. Like lots of folks, she plays with the radio. She rummages around in her purse. She puts on her makeup. She devours lunch from the drive-thru. She tailgates, randomly changes lanes and cuts people off. "It would be great to think all drivers are cautious, alert and courteous on the road, but that's just not the case," says Kristin Backstrom, president of Safe Smart Women, a nonprofit organization that promotes driver safety.

Now is the time to trade in your NASCAR tendencies for a more cordial persona with these safe-driving tips that put you in the winning lane.

1. Get comfy
Where you plant your backside doesn't seem like a safety hazard, but Backstrom says it's a serious issue. "We see it in all ages and both genders: There's not an awareness of where you need to sit to be in control and safe," she says. Most people either sit too close to the steering wheel, or they treat the driver's seat like a recliner. Either way, the results are the same: Both scrunched or overextended arms can't react as quickly as those in the correct position. So keep your hands at "10" and "2" on the wheel. The bottom line is your second-grade teacher was right: Good posture can actually save your life.

2. Get the lead out
These days, speed limits are seen as little more than suggestions -- and ones to be ignored, at that. A 2002 Texas Department of Transportation study found that 85 percent of drivers routinely travel 7 to 9 miles per hour over the speed limit. And while those folks may think they're making time, they're really just making things more dangerous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that speeding is responsible for a whopping 30 percent of fatal crashes. That's more than enough reason to slow down. And here's another: Changing your driving habits can increase your fuel economy by 37 percent.

3. Back off
Unless it's the kind that involves a hibachi and rabid football fans, tailgating is more annoying than a flat tire. Yes, traffic is tight. Cars are crammed into the fast lane. Sometimes it just happens. Yet, tailgating dramatically increases the chances of a serious accident. According to Del Lisk, vice president of safety services at DriveCam, it generally takes us one second to react in a driving emergency. When you're tailgating, you don't even have that, let alone the time to come to a stop safely. "To be safe you need to have three or four seconds between you and the car in front of you, no matter what speed you're traveling," he says.

4. Keep up the pace
There's always that one turtle car inching along in the left lane when you're desperate to be the hare. But Backstrom says slow drivers are more than a severe annoyance; they're dangerous. There's a big difference between someone legally doing 70 mph and someone going 45 mph. "When someone is going markedly slower, that's hazardous," she says. "Cars do need to move with traffic." If you're the snail, move into the right lane and out of the way. If you're the cheetah, slow down and wait for the driver to move to the slower lane. Passing on the right can be precarious. And the couple of seconds it takes the slower car in front of you to change lanes won't mean you'll lose the race.

5. Find your mellow
Road rage has turned driving into a contact sport. Truly aggressive drivers weave, tailgate, randomly brake and consider themselves the educators of the road while ignoring all the rules themselves. "Anger has always been on the roadway," Lisk says. "Emotion can affect how we drive, and if you can't control your emotions, then how are you going to control several thousand pounds of steel?" His advice: Don't treat driving as a form of anger therapy. Plan ahead, give yourself plenty of time and try to relax. "Aggressive driving generally only gets you to your destination a few seconds faster while greatly increasing your chances for an accident," Lisk says. "It's not worth the trade."

6. Click it
Yeah, it's the law. And yeah, it's common sense. Yet, for some reason, buckling your seat belt isn't second nature. NHTSA found that roughly 20 percent of folks still don't use their seat belts. And most of the 80 percent who did use them regularly admitted they hadn't worn their seat belts at least once in the last week. But a quick buckle will cut in half the likelihood of being fatally injured in a crash.

7. Wake up
This statistic should startle you out of a slumber: According to a 2002 Gallup Poll, 37 percent of people admit they have fallen asleep at the wheel at least once in their lives, and it was usually during the middle of the day and while moving at a high speed. The reason: Over half had been at the wheel for more than five hours straight. To keep your senses sharp, follow the simple "10 for 2" rule: Take a 10-minute break for every two hours of driving. Also try a quick stretch. The best option, though: Let someone else take a turn so you can grab a little sleep.

8. Keep your eyes on the prize
It seems almost silly to say: Keep your eyes on the road. But with cars now more than ever resembling mobile offices, massive entertainment centers, telephone booths and lunch counters -- well, the road is sometimes the last thing we're looking at. It's much more interesting to jabber away on the cell phone or toy with your iPod -- but those distractions can cut your reaction time in half. And with most accidents occurring within a few seconds, you need all the time you can get. So hang up, find a radio station you like and keep looking forward.

9. Don't flip-flop
"I call it open-lane syndrome," Lisk says. You're in one lane. Traffic suddenly stops. But the next lane is as open as a meadow. You crank the wheel, gun the engine and make a run for it. The only problem: You can't always see what's coming up from behind. "You're going from slow or a dead stop to a lane that's moving at the posted speed. Or you're in the fast lane and a car pops out in front of you. Either way it's dangerous," Lisk says. The solution: Slow down and be patient. "Inevitably, the lane you move into will start to slow down as well. So don't worry about it," he says.

10. Look out
After watching video footage of nearly 200 crashes, Lisk discovered something: the worst place on the road. "Eighty percent of the accidents happened in intersections," he says. And a large portion of those were caused simply by drivers failing to do what every kid knows to do: Look both ways before crossing. "We all trust that no one is running a red light," he says. "We shouldn't."

• Find an Agent
• Auto Insurance
• Home Insurance
• Building Financial Freedom
• Choosing a Bank
• Creating a Budget
• Life Insurance

Quick Links

• MetLife Bank
• Planning Services
• eSERVICE