Benefits of Defensive Driving Courses

by Kevin Smith Author

Whether you're just beginning your driving experience or have years under your belt, you've probably heard about driving schools that offer defensive driving courses. Defensive driving helps you be more aware of your surroundings to ensure you're more aware of dangerous situations so that you can respond appropriately. Here are a few ways you may benefit from a defensive driving course in Wichita, KS, no matter your level of driving experience.

What's Defensive Driving?

Defensive driving simply means that the driver uses specific strategies to identify hazards that often arise while driving a vehicle. Rather than just covering procedures and laws that are important for safe driving, defensive driving uses these basics in conjunction with additional strategies to help make informed decisions in varying driving conditions.

What Are the Course Contents?

Defensive driving course contents cover a variety of subjects in order to address conditions that often occur while driving. Psychological factors like additional stress, emotional distress, road rage, and fatigue all contribute to a driver's tendency to make poor decisions that often result in accidents. Defensive driving helps drivers learn to deal with these psychological factors and to improve driving attitude in order to remain focused on safe driving. DUI and its effects on a driver's safety are also covered in the course to emphasize the importance of only driving sober. The course also explains safety equipment in a vehicle and the importance of using it to prevent injury or death in an accident. A vital component of the course is crash prevention techniques by recognizing and avoiding hazards. Some of these techniques include continual scanning, the two-second following rule, reaction distance awareness, road sharing, environmental hazards, right of way, and more. Understanding state traffic laws is also an important component.

What are Course Benefits?

The most obvious benefit of taking a defensive driving course in Wichita, KS, is that you'll be a safer driver if you internalize the information taught. But there are other benefits to think about as well. Drivers who have received a ticket can reduce the number of points on their license by completing the course, which usually means your insurance rates won't increase. Many people can actually lower their insurance rates by up to 10% for 3-5 years simply by completing a defensive driving course. When you adopt the accident prevention techniques, you're far less likely to be in an accident, saving you hundreds in vehicle repairs and replacement costs.