2.1.7

We hope you can see how these myths are so easy to disprove. The odds of seatbelts protecting you and even saving your life are far greater than the odds of seatbelts trapping you and preventing your escape from a vehicle.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/4-seat-belt-myths-vs-truth-according-nhtsa/

Stopping: While it may not seem obvious,you can be seen as driving recklessly when you fail to stop or just don’t stop in the proper manner.

We hope that you remember the items on this partial list of reasons and circumstances where you must stop your vehicle:

• At a STOP sign.

• When coming from an alley, private driveway, or building within a business or residence district intending to pull out into traffic.

• At an intersection or crosswalk when traffic signal shows a red light or stop signal. Wait until the signal changes to green and the way is clear before proceeding. You may make a right turn after stopping for a red light if you are in the proper lane for such turn.

• At railroad crossing where STOP signs are posted.

• At a flashing red signal. This means the same as a STOP sign.

• When directed by a flagman or any traffic control device at railroad crossings.

• When ordered to stop by a flagman at a construction site, or at any time when directed by a police officer.

• After being involved in an accident; proceed only after complying with procedure defined by law.

• When an emergency vehicle is coming toward you or approaches from behind, displaying flashing red or blue lights and sounding a siren.

If you are in a hurry or simply not paying attention, it is easy for you to fail to stop in many of these circumstances. If it’s early in the morning and you feel that nobody is on the road, running that stop sign won’t do any harm, right? Or any time of day, you may feel that a stop sign just means to slow down a bit and then proceed. What about the railroad crossing where you don’t see any trains? All of these situations are examples of when someone may make the (poor) excuse that, despite the existing traffic laws, there is no need to stop. This again cannot be further from the truth. Regardless of the time of day, you can never assume who is or is not on the road. While no one is in sight at this moment, that can change in an instant especially if another driver has taken the same attitude as you and is driving like nobody else is on the road. You may not see a train that’s one hundred yards away from the crossing. You may not hear it because you have music blaring in the vehicle. If it’s a fast moving passenger train and the crossing has no lights or gates, will you suddenly realize there is an oncoming train and stop in time? Are you really willing to take that chance, especially if you have others in the vehicle who depend on you to keep them safe?

What about if a flagman directs you to slow down or stop? “Well, can they arrest me or give me a ticket?’ you might ask. “If not, maybe I’ll just sneak through. I have to be somewhere.” Here again, other drivers or pedestrians who see that you have been directed to stop will assume you will (we discussed how making assumptions is dangerous). Now maybe they proceed into your path because they expected you to stop….and you don’t.

One common situation where it is easy to cause a crash is when you pull out into traffic from a driveway, alley, or side street. If you just slow down a bit before pulling out or don’t slow at all because you think you can beat the car that is coming from your left, you are creating conditions for a serious crash. Again, are you misjudging the speed of the oncoming vehicle? Are you in a hurry? Do you care? Remember, approaching a roadway from a side street without stopping or at least giving the indication that you plan to stop by slowing down well before the intersection can throw off other drivers. You may give the appearance that you will, in fact, pull out in front of them forcing them to react. Now we have a situation where you cause other drivers to crash because of their reacting to you.

If you are approaching a place where you are required to stop, make it obvious that you plan to do so by slowing well before your stopping point.

Bicycles, motorcycles, and scooters: Operators of all of these vehicles have their own rules of the road like you. Most operators will obey those rules, but some will not. Never try to pass one of these vehicles (bicycles and scooters in particular) without the proper clearance between you and them. In Alabama, you must provide at least three feet of clearance between you and a bicycle when you pass it. Don’t try to squeeze by with less than that because you just want to get by the bike and continue on your way. One small pebble can cause a cyclist to lose control and fall out into your path. Remember also, it is OK for two cyclists to ride side by side.

On certain narrow roadways, you may have to follow a cyclist for a bit until the road widens or you have enough clearance to pass them safely. Reckless drivers won’t wait for enough space. So, they’ll pass the bike when they should not, endangering the cyclist as well as themself. Is there oncoming traffic around a blind turn? How about pedestrians or loose dogs? You may not know, so sometimes you just have to be patient. Traveling at the same speed as a bicyclist is certainly not desirable, but responsible drivers will put up with it until they can safely pass the bicycle; reckless drivers won’t.

Bicycle lanes are made for bicycle traffic. As a vehicle operator, you can enter a bike lane if you are parking in a legal area or making a turn and must cross the bike lane. Always yield to cyclists in a bicycle lane. Reckless drivers will try to beat a cyclist to a spot just as they would another vehicle. Now, though, you can cause serious injury to someone if you misjudge time or space.

With motorcycles you must be even more attentive and careful, because they can legally share the road with you. Reckless drivers will use part of a motorcyclist’s lane to pass in a place where they should not. Responsible drivers know that, even though a motorcycle takes up only a small part of a traffic lane, the entire width of that lane belongs to the motorcyclist. Inattentive drivers or those in a hurry may fail to notice a motorcycle mixed in among other vehicles and pull out in front of it to make a left turn, for example. If you are being followed by a motorcycle on a highway, you must remember that it is OK for the motorcyclist to drift back and forth in their lane. This is sometimes done to allow the cyclist to see what is happening up ahead. Be responsible and never assume a motorcyclist who was behind you is now gone because you cannot see him. Chances are that cyclist would have passed you if they were truly gone. Always consider that they may be behind you and off to one side of their travel lane (which is also YOUR travel lane).