Motorway Driving Tips

By Author: Foster Carr
Total Articles: 30
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By driving defensively, and observing the correct motorway etiquette, you can minimise the risk that you will be involved in an accident on the motorway, allowing you to hang on to your precious no claims bonus, as well as helping to avoid causing congestion problems.

Use the slip road to build up to the correct speed for the motorway before you try to merge into traffic, in order to minimise disruption and the need for sudden braking on the part of approaching cars, which can cause pile ups.

Unless you are actually in the process of overtaking the vehicle in front, you should drive in the leftmost lane at all times. Huge tailbacks can be caused by just one or two drivers obliviously hogging the overtaking lanes, leading to accidents and delays.

As a rule, you should always keep a two second gap between yourself and the car in front in dry conditions where visibility is good. If conditions are worse, you should double this to four seconds or more, to allow you some reaction time if the car in front should slow down or stop suddenly. In order to make sure that you are counting full seconds, try inserting ...
... a lengthy word, such as elephant, between each number.

Keep your speed constant, and avoid using your brakes unless you need to, as the motorist behind you may see an accidental or light touch of the brakes as a cue to slow down dramatically, which could cause an accident such as a pile up. If you leave a decent distance between yourself and the car in front, you will have less need of the brakes.

When you are changing lanes, be sure to turn on your indicator well in advance, and check your mirrors and blind spot before you make your move.

Avoid driving alongside other vehicles for any length of time, as not only does this mean you do not have an escape route for emergencies, but it also places you in their blind spot, which means they might try to change lanes without seeing you.

If you are approaching the back of a slow moving or stationary queue, turn on your hazard lights to warn drivers behind that they have to slow down. Keep your distance from the back of the queue, and check your mirrors regularly for fast approaching vehicles, as this will give you a better chance of avoiding, or at least minimising the effects of, a rear end impact.

When leaving the motorway, keep up your speed until you enter the slip road, although if the slip road is short or includes a tight bend, there may be no safe way to do this.

Keep an eye on the behaviour of the driver in front, as if they are gaining on the vehicle in front, looking in their mirrors, or drifting to one side of the lane, they may be about to overtake, and you should give them some extra room if it is safe to do so.

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