- Always wear a seat belt, and wear it correctly so it can offer you the best protection in a crash. You are twice as likely to die in a car crash if you do not. Even on short journeys, familiar journeys and at low speeds, not wearing a seat belt can be fatal.
- Put your phone away before driving so you won’t be tempted to use it – make the glove compartment the phone compartment. Pull over if you need to adjust a hands free device or check your map.
- Driving too close to the car in front, undertaking and failing to signal are widely accepted as examples of bad driving. However, driving too fast is also poor driving. It is a contributory factor in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries every year. Consider the emotional consequences of injuries and deaths caused to others due to driving at excessive speeds and crashing. If you cause a crash you will have to live with these consequences.
- If you are aged 14 or over you are responsible for wearing your seat belt and can be fined if you don’t wear it. Drivers must make sure passengers under the age of 14 are wearing seat belts or child restraints, depending on their age, height, and weight.
Look out for vulnerable road users:
- Look out for cyclists, pedestrians, motorcyclists and horse riders. Make eye contact where possible to show you have seen them. Use your indicators to signal intentions and look out for their signals.
- Give cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders plenty of space when overtaking them. Don’t accelerate rapidly, sound your horn or rev your engine when passing horses and watch out for sudden movements by the horse.
- Always check for cyclists and motorcyclists when opening your car door, pulling out at a junction, or when doing a manoeuvre.
- Advanced stop lines at lights allow vulnerable road users to get to the front and increase their visibility. You must stop at the first white line reached if the lights are amber or red. When the green signal shows allow the other road user time and space to move off.
Learner drivers
The DVSA’s ‘Ready to Pass?’ campaign has tips for learner drivers about:
- finding an approved driving instructor
- how to monitor and check progress of your driving lessons and private practice
- when to take a mock test
- how to manage your test day nerves
It also includes a checklist that has all the things that learners should do before taking their driving test.
Visit the Ready to Pass? website to find out more.