Road Safety & Defensive Driving

Losses from traffic crashes have both social and personal impacts. Approximately 41,000 people die annually as a result of traffic collisions, with an additional 3,236,000 injuries. About 38% of all fatal car crashes are drugs/alcohol related with another 30% attributed to speeding.

The causes of these crashes, emotional impact and cost spent on vehicular crashes are typically covered in defensive driving courses. The goal of good defensive driving is to reduce the risk of these accidents by properly educating students to exercise caution and good judgment while driving.

What is Defensive Driving?

Defensive Driving is essentially driving in a manner that utilizes safe driving strategies to enable motorists to address identified hazards in a predictable manner. These strategies go well beyond instruction on basic traffic laws and procedures.

With defensive driving classes, students learn to improve their driving skills by reducing their driving risks by anticipating situations and making safe well-informed decisions. Such decisions are implemented based on road and environmental conditions present when completing a safe driving maneuver.

Benefits of Defensive Driving

The benefits of taking a defensive driving class can vary, but often include a reduction of traffic violations and the assurance that insurance rates will not increase. In some countries, taking a defensive driving course can mean a reduction of up to 10% in your insurance rates for a period of three to five years.