Defensive Driving Courses: Why Every Driver Should Take One

Australia may have some of the safer roads compared to world standards but this doesn’t mean one is ever safe from a collision. Because, of course, collisions can happen at any time. There are so many factors that can cause you to be on the other end of a collision: driver fatigue, drugs and alcohol, a simple lapse of judgement and the weather can all cause another driver to accidentally swerve in your unfortunate direction.

We don’t mean to scare you off the road but you just never know what is going on with the driver next to you! Hence the recent popularity of defensive driving, a set of skills, strategies and techniques you can enlist to avoid collisions with even the most erratic of motorists.

The course essentially exists to raise your awareness of dangerous situations and avoid them before they can become a risk to you, your passengers and your vehicle.

Here, we are going to talk you through the benefits of this most beneficial training that goes far beyond your basic licence course:

1. It increases your skills

A defensive driving course is designed to increase your skills on the road. After all, the best driver is a safe and alert driver, and not one trying all kinds of wild manoeuvres just to get ahead of their fellow motorists only to be caught at the same red light as them. Through learning strategies and techniques like fellow driver awareness, increased mirror usage, information gathering and weather changes you will increase your skills which will, consequently, make you feel safer on the road.

2. Increase your confidence

Many motorists find driving to be incredibly anxiety-inducing. This is especially if they have experienced a past accident or near-accident that has left them weary of other drivers. This anxiety can leave you without the confidence behind the wheel that you might have had before the unfortunate event. Thankfully, this training exists to reinstall any confidence that you may have lost in an unfortunate incident. You will feel far more comfortable on the road as you will have a heightened awareness that will increase your risk avoidance skill.

3. Reduce risks

Following on from that last point, one of the key benefits of this training is risk avoidance. Sometimes, it can be hard to spot threats to our safety on the road. Whether it’s a driver coming up in a blind spot, a change of speed or sudden weather change, risks can come out of nowhere and this is often the cause of unwanted accidents. Thankfully, this training will help you spot risks before they have the opportunity to really present you with danger. The training will not only help you spot risks but will also teach you how to avoid them as they develop.

4. Avoid costly accidents

If you are in an accident that damages your car alone then you can expect to pay some hefty fees at the mechanics or panel beaters. Thankfully, this training exists to help you spot any human made or natural threats that could cause you to accidentally damage your own vehicle and pay a large sum for something that could have been avoided if you had only undergone defensive driving training!

So, as you can see, this training is essential for motorists who want to avoid the myriad threats posed to us on the Aussie road. It will increase your skills and confidence whilst making you far more aware of other drivers and their potential pitfalls behind the wheel.