IMPROPER LANE CHANGE A Collision Countermeasures Presentation
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Statistics In 2004, lane change, merging, and sideswipe crashes accounted for 1,000 deaths and 730,000 crashes. - National Safety Council
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Introduction Failure to use turn signals, weaving in and out of traffic and improper passing can each be categorized as forms of improper lane changing.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Introduction Safe and professional drivers have the ability and choose to operate their commercial vehicles in a competent, safety-first manner. Safe drivers develop and consistently practice safe driving habits.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Details Whenever you enter traffic, signal and be sure you have enough room to enter safely. You have to share space with traffic already on the road.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Space to Pass? Avoid passing other vehicles, including motorcycles and bicycles, on two-lane roads. It is dangerous.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Space to Pass? Every time you pass, you increase your chances of having an accident. Ask yourself if the risk is worth the few minutes you will gain.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Space to Pass? Remember, whenever you pass another vehicle on a two-lane road you must enter a lane that belongs to oncoming cars.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Oncoming Vehicles At 55 mph, you will travel over 800 feet in 10 to 12 seconds. So will an oncoming vehicle. That means you need over 1600 feet (or about one-third of a mile) to pass safely.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Oncoming Vehicles It is hard to judge the speed of oncoming vehicles one-third of a mile away. They don’t seem to be coming as fast as they really are.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Oncoming Vehicles A vehicle that is far enough away generally appears to be standing still. In fact, if you can really see it moving closer to you, it is probably too close for you to start to pass.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Hills or Curves To pass safely, you must be able to see at least one-third of a mile. Any time your view is blocked by a hill or a curve, you should assume that there is an oncoming car just out of sight. This means you should only pass if a hill or curve is one-third of a mile or more away.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Hills or Curves You MUST NOT drive on the left side of a roadway when coming to a curve or the top of a hill where you can’t see far enough ahead to be sure it is safe to pass.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Space to Return to Your Lane Always signal before passing. Don’t pull out to pass unless you know you have enough space to return.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Space to Return to Your Lane Before you return to the driving lane, be sure you aren’t dangerously close to the car you have just passed.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Space to Return to Your Lane Don’t count on having enough time to pass several cars at once. Don’t count on other drivers making room for you.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 Summary Improper lane changes are a major cause of highway fatalities in the U.S. Drivers who habitually exhibit this unsafe driving behavior are at much greater risk of being hurt or killed in collisions of this type.
Copyright SafetyFirst 2007 THANK YOU! Thank you for participating in our program…. The decisions that every driver makes while behind the wheel lead to a specific result…let’s all try to make it a safe one!