What You Should Keep In Mind When Driving In Heavy Traffic

There are certain things that you should keep in mind whenever you are driving in heavy traffic. For instance, one of the main things that people fail to take into consideration is the fact that whenever you are driving, you should always try to keep a safe distance between you and the other vehicles around you. When you are driving in heavy traffic conditions and/or bad weather, this distance should be increased greatly between your front bumper and the rear bumper of the vehicle in front of you.

Ideally, you should keep at least two to three car lengths between you and the other vehicle in front of you. When you are driving on a highway and the weather conditions are bad, you should increase your car distance this way you are increasing the amount of reaction time between you and the other vehicle in front of you.

Regardless of the traffic conditions being heavy or not, you should always be aware of what other drivers around you are doing. For example, today, my colleague Rex was driving and noticed that the vehicle in the lane in front of him was driving within its lane. Suddenly, the vehicle in the lane beside this car drifted into its lane and knocked the vehicle's mirror off! I couldn't believe it.

For cities like Beijing, Mexico City and Johannesburg [top three of worst driving commutes in the world - Reuters by Belinda Goldsmith, 30 June 2010], where traffic conditions are always in a snail pace, drivers are recommended to give utmost importance to their surroundings while they are behind the wheel of their vehicle. Often times, people are under the misconception that other drivers need to be aware of them while driving. However, while many accidents are caused by driver error, many more can be prevented simply by being a more defensive driver. By being a defensive driver during heavier traffic conditions, you can see what other drivers are doing or not doing right and position yourself in such a way as to avoid any possible collisions or accidents.