Vehicle Design
Defensive Driving
According to the US. Department of Transportation,
utility vehicles have a significantly higher rollover
rate than other types of vehicles. Utility vehicles do
have higher ground clearance and a narrower track or
shorter wheelbase than passenger cars, to make
them more capable for off-road driving. Specific design
characteristics like these give the driver a better
view of the road, but also give utility vehicles a higher
center of gravity than other types of vehicles. This
means that you shouldn’t expect a utility vehicle
to handle the same way a vehicle with a lower center of
gravity, like a car, would in similar situations.
13uf
driver
behavior
factors are
far
more often.
the
cause
of a utility vehicle rollover than are environmental or
vehicle factors. Safe driver behavior and understanding
the environment in which you’ll be driving can help
avoid a rollover crash in any type of vehicle, including
utility vehicles.
The best advice anyone can give about driving is: Drive
defensively.
Please start with a very important safety device in your
vehicle: Buckle up. See
Safety
Belts:
They Are for
Everyone
on
page
1-22.
Defensive driving really means “be ready for anything.”
On city streets, rural roads or freeways, it means
“always expect the unexpected.”
Assume that pedestrians or other drivers are going to
be careless and make mistakes. Anticipate what
they might do. Be ready for their mistakes.
Fear-end
e-oiiisioris
are
aboit
the
most
piedentabis
of
accidents. Yet they are common. Allow enough following
distance. It’s the best defensive driving maneuver, in both
city and rural driving. You never know when the vehicle in
front of you is going to brake or turn suddenly.
Defensive driving requires that a driver concentrate on
the driving task. Anvthing that distracts from the
driving task
-
such as concentrating on a cellular
telephone call, reading, or reaching for something on
the floor
-
makes proper defensive driving more difficult
and can even cause a collision, with resulting injury.
Ask a passenger to help do things like this, or pull off the
road
in
a
safe place to do them yourself. These simple
defensive driving techniques could save your life.
4-3
To Next Page
Loading...
Need help?
General
