WESTSIDE — Safe driving involves more than just abiding by traffic laws and not being at fault yourself; safe driving demands watching out for the other motorists out there so that you can prevent and avoid accidents when others make mistakes.

And speaking of mistakes - not seeing an approaching vehicle and changing lanes or turning in front of it, not stopping before a light turns red, wandering a little in a lane of traffic, making a last-minute decision and not signaling in advance, and the list goes on - how many experienced drivers can honestly say they’ve never made a mistake which could or would have caused an accident if someone else wasn’t watching out for them? I try to watch out for the other guy, but I have to say I’m glad the other guy has been watching out for me, too, because I’ve made mistakes and probably will continue to do so even though I try my best not to do so on the road.

Because we all make mistakes and none of us wants those mistakes to cause crashes, injuries or deaths, another safe and sensible thing to do in order to prevent accidents, regardless of fault, is to keep a safe and sensible distance between your car and other vehicles on the road.

Safe and Sensible Space

Safe and sensible space is simply keeping enough space between your vehicle and other vehicles and objects around you to give yourself room and time to react, steer, brake and whatever else is necessary to avoid acollision. Following are a few safe and sensible rules about space:

1. Never follow other vehicles so closely that you could not react and stop should they suddenly stop or have a collision. This involves reaction time and braking distance.

Again, a good rule to follow is to never follow closer than 4 seconds behind another vehicle if you are in a car on dry roads and 7 to 8 seconds if you are in a large truck. Poorer road conditions - such as wet, icy, loose gravel, and the like - will require an even greater following distance because of decreased friction where the rubber meets the road.

In city traffic, cars and even trucks may often cut in front of you and fill that safety zone ahead of you; but if you drive at a slightly slower speed than the rest of traffic, you will find that you will quickly get your space back and will not need to brake as often or start and stop as often as the rest of traffic. This saves fuel, as well as wear and tear on your vehicle and yourself, and will really not cost you much at all, if anything, in time.

1. Never continue to drive with another vehicle immediately beside you, and especially avoid driving beside big trucks. If you drive with another vehicle at your side, you will have no way out if traffic suddenly stops ahead of you or can't stop behind you.

If you drive beside a big truck, the driver may not be able to see you in his mirrors. Then, not only are you boxed in, the truck driver may decide to move into your lane, not knowing that you arethere. Either situation can lead to a crushing experience.

And for those who like to drive beside big trucks, have you ever seen a truck tire blow out? The explosion - and, yes, I do mean explosion - sends large chunks of rubber and tire tread everywhere. If you are driving beside a truck tire when it blows, chunks of rubber could damage your car or come through a window and do some serious damage to you or a passenger.

1. Don't take a chance with a tailgater. If someone else is driving too close to you, encourage him to pass by slowing slightly or pulling over. Tailgaters may be frustrating, but it's not worth risking your life to stay in front of them.

2. Give room to motorcyclists. Don’t follow too close and don’t continue to drive beside them. If one should take a spill, don’t be so close you run them over. If a passenger should fall off - I was behind a motorcycle once when this happened; a bump in the road is all it takes - don’t be too close. Don’t drive with a motorcycle in your blind spot and then cut it off or run it over when turning or making a lane change.

3. Much the same can be said regarding bicyclists on the road. Give them lots of room. Don’t make a spill which could cause cuts and bruises into a fatality because you were driving too close. Remember bicyclists are slower than most motorized traffic. Slow down before getting too close. Even if a cyclist does not move over to the right side of the road, that’s no excuse to get within inches, or even a few feet, when passing.

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by email at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 6 on 08/22/2012