Rules of driving

[JamisJockey]

Okay, these come up frequently in threads, but I've not seen it posted as a primary question. Staying safe means being able to E&E an attack. Obviously many of us are vulnerable during a drive. You can choose where you hang out and who you hang out with, but often not where you drive to get to work, shop, etc.
So how do you stay safe behind the wheel?
Me?
Never stop too close to the car in front of you. You should be able to see thier wheels.
Never sit out of gear. I've always got the vehicle in gear, even in stopped traffic.
Check your mirrors, even when sitting still.
Maneuver to an open lane, if possible, when approaching a red light.
Lock your doors. Roll up your windows. Some vehicles have automatic locks, that will lock the doors when you put the vehicle in gear. Putting it in park often unlocks the doors, be aware of this.

Circle your vehicle in a parking lot. If you're not comfortable walking right up to your car for some reason (shady characters hanging out, etc), take a circitious route to your vehicle to see if anyone is hovering too close to it, or following you.
If you find yourself in a bad spot, remember to aim for corner-to-corner contact with another vehicle. Never hit one dead on, especially in a broadside situation.

Anyways those are my random thoughts.

 

[TallPine]

Never sit out of gear. I've always got the vehicle in gear, even in stopped traffic.

That will ruin your throw-out bearing.

And then probably leave you broke down in a bad neighborhood.

 

[WayneConrad]

For most people, the danger when driving comes from themselves. Be sure your driving skills and judgment are razor sharp first. Then you'll have taken care of the greatest risk. That's strategy. After that, it makes sense to be tactical.

Nobody is as good a driver as they think they are. Be critical. Every close call should cause you to ask yourself what you could have done different to prevent it. "It was the other driver's fault" is not an adequate answer to this question.

 

[Flak_Jakett]

"It was the other driver's fault" is not an adequate answer to this question.

What do you mean!?!?! Don't you know that all the other drivers out there are idiots but me!!!

 

[hcddog]

Never sit out of gear. I've always got the vehicle in gear, even in stopped traffic.

As mentioned before, that's a good way to burn up your clutch or ruin a throwout bearing in a manual transmission. If you're stopped at a light, keep it in neutral with the clutch out, but become proficient at putting it in gear and taking off very quickly.

 

[Navy joe]

It is said Aviate, Navigate, Communicate in aviation to remind pilots of task priority. Same as in a car.

#1, drive. Think about driving. Not everything else.

#2 Navigate. Know where you are going, alternate routes, and your immediate and anticipated surroundings.

#3 Communicate. Not a priority unless you are already in an emergency and it still comes after #1 and #2. Turn off the cell phone, the DVD player, Crackberry, etc and pay attention.

A good scan pattern is essential to any driving, the same scan is needed when stopped in traffic. Whether rolling or stopped have a pre-planned exit route.

Be polite in your driving actions. If confronted on the road and cannot de-escalate, look for the first chance to use your vehicle as the first weapon.

If your sidearm is loose in the car, it will be loose somewhere else in the car after the first impact, only you won't know quite where.

 

[benEzra]

Also, don't provoke people; you never know who might go all road rage on you. Don't cut people off, don't pull out in front of people, don't drive in the passing lane of a multilane highway if there's somebody behind you that wants to go faster, don't follow somebody closely if you have those #$@&! hi-beam daytime running lights (and if you drive a pickup or SUV, stay off people's bumpers at night; your headlights are at car rear-view-mirror height). In other words, drive courteously.

Keep the car in good repair, and know what it can do WRT handling (dodging stuff in the road) and braking. By far the biggest danger on the road are accident hazards.

As far as security goes, though, the suggestions in the OP are very good.

 

[YammyMonkey]

If you keep your windows cracked just a bit you'll be able to hear what's going on outside the car. Easier to pick up on everything from ambulance sirens to a street corner fist fight.

 

[gregthehand]

If you carry in a holster do so with a thumb strap strapped! I had a friend who carried his 1911 in a holster that had a thumbstrap but he left it un strapped. He got into an accident involving a steep ditch and his car rolled. He was totally fine except that his 1911 left the holster and cracked him right in the head. He said it hurt like hell for days.

 

[benEzra]

If you carry in a holster do so with a thumb strap strapped! I had a friend who carried his 1911 in a holster that had a thumbstrap but he left it un strapped. He got into an accident involving a steep ditch and his car rolled. He was totally fine except that his 1911 left the holster and cracked him right in the head. He said it hurt like hell for days.

The 1986 Miami shootout is another example of why an unsecured gun in a car is a bad idea. When the FBI agents stopped Platt/Matix's car, there were some collisions involved. At least two of the agents lost their primary handguns in the mild crashes (having unholstered them for "quick access") and had to go into the shootout with their backup snubbies.

 

[Navy joe]

Unsecured gun in car cautionary tale. In my early carry days I open carried in the car a lot since that is perfectly legal in my parts. Given just the right conditions a condition 3 1911 on a rag on the dash will slide across the dash, hit the passenger door post with the slide causing it to cycle a round as it lands in the floorboards cocked and unlocked. Going 60 into a 25mph left hander also helps it do this. I will often clip a tek-lock holster to a secured seatbelt if I want the gun off of me in the car.

 

[boomer1911a1]

High Beams

benEzra:
Please excuse motorcyclists from the high-beams wrath. In the MSF Basic Rider Course, we teach riders to ride with the brights on during daylight hours due to the fact that we're invisible otherwise. At night, no, but during the day, yes.
We need every advantage we can get, even if it means momentarily annoying the cage drivers. Better to be frowned at than not seen at all.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

amen boomer.

I either ride a bike or drive a GM G-body wagon (no it's not hotrodded) and find that both require some thought.

The wagon isn't a speedster with a Buick V6 pushing it around. The bike is quite the opposite. In the wagon, I try to watch everything happening around me, thanks to all the glass. I even added a passenger's side mirror so I could see more.
The bike tends to come to rest on the outside of the lane so that if someone has trouble braking, they won't run up my six and so I can see oncoming clusteryouknowwhats. And, so I can hit the grass and get away from anyone who wants to be mean to me.

A lot of non motorcyclists don't believe it, but riding a bike will do wonders for your situational awareness, if you let it.

 

[benEzra]

benEzra:
Please excuse motorcyclists from the high-beams wrath. In the MSF Basic Rider Course, we teach riders to ride with the brights on during daylight hours due to the fact that we're invisible otherwise. At night, no, but during the day, yes.
We need every advantage we can get, even if it means momentarily annoying the cage drivers. Better to be frowned at than not seen at all.

Motorcycles w/bright lights I can live with. It's when the SUV tailgating me is shining a pair of 250,000 candlepower searchlights in my mirror, or when I'm meeting a line of oncoming cars that are all shining bright lights in my face, that I get annoyed. I also don't mind the amber turn-signal-type running lights on cars and trucks; it's the white high-beam lights that are so annoying.

Bright lights and loud exhaust have a place on bikes. I've personally seen a clueless driver run right into a biker in broad daylight (bike was going straight in front of me, clueless car driver was turning left from a side street on the right).

Stay safe!