Every driver has a responsibility to drive as safely as possible. Dealing with traffic, adverse weather conditions, and other road hazards can cause damage to your car. To help reduce the risk to their vehicle and defer extra costs on their auto insurance, many people have discovered the benefits of taking defensive driving courses online. These courses teach drivers how to avoid accidents and reduce the possibility of damage to their cars.
In defensive driver courses, users get answers to online defensive driving questions. For example, you may wonder how to avoid accidents on the highway. Some municipal courts require drivers to take an online accident avoidance class after receiving a ticket for a traffic violation. Taking courses will often allow the court to reduce the driver’s legal charges and to avoid getting “points” on their driver’s license.
According to Ticket School, practicing these principles of defensive driving reduces accident occurrences for those who complete them. Although most people know the basics of driving safety, it’s never too late to learn some additional principles of driver safety. Some drivers see these classes as remedial driving courses online and benefit significantly from them.
No matter how polished or refined your truck driving skills are, you are never completely ready for aggressive drivers, unexpected obstacles, adverse weather conditions, or mechanical malfunctions when driving. It is, therefore, important to have defensive driving in your driver’s arsenal to know how to respond to these situations or avoid them entirely.
What is Defensive Driving?
Defensive driving is a set of additional driving skills, strategies, or methods to help you respond to unexpected situations for your safety and the safety of other drivers and passengers.
This type of training is especially important for truck drivers because they operate large commercial vehicles that are difficult to drive, and could cause a lot of destruction with many casualties or massive traffic disruptions in case of an accident. With over 3.5 million truck drivers employed in the U.S. by 2015, defensive driving training is becoming all the more important
What are the Benefits of Defensive Driving Training for Truck Drivers?
Defensive training is always important for drivers to supplement their CDL class and make them better drivers. Here are a few benefits of taking a defensive driving course.
1. Can Save You Money
In a bid to encourage safe driving, many states offer some incentives for completing a defensive driving course. A great example could be a reduction of insurance premiums by up to ten percent, especially for truck drivers. Ultimately, these incentives could save you a lot of cash that you could do for other important necessities like paying for your mortgage. You, however, have to check with your insurance agency and state authorities before demanding for that insurance premium reduction. There might be certain requirements you have to meet or other limitations to these incentives.
2. To Better Your Driving Skills
Those CDL classes might make you a skilled driver, plus you’ve traveled thousands of miles on your truck too with no incidents, but there’s always room to better yourself. Defense driving training is a great opportunity to refine and improve your driving skills. You’ll also be doing pedestrians and other drivers a huge favor by being a safe and responsible driver who can respond quickly in tense situations to save lives.
3. Reduce Fines or Points
If you have been on the wrong side of the law at least one time in your entire driving tenure or have some pending tickets, defensive driving training could erase these faults and give you a clean track record needed for trucking jobs.
Plenty of fines will always drain your bank account. Add a few accumulated points to the mix, and you could soon have your license suspended meaning you can no longer earn an honest living. If you have a few points on your driving record or a couple of pending tickets, then consider completing a defensive driving course then check with the court clerk and DMV to find out whether you qualify for a clean driving record.
4. Learn How to Avoid and React to Accidents
The sole purpose of defensive driving training is to equip you with skills that will help you avoid accidents even in the most adverse or abrupt situations. The course is set up to train your mind on how to gauge the surrounding for potential hazards, how to proactively react to sudden hazards, and how to manage other aggressive drivers.
5. A Bonus on Your Resume
A defensive driving validation will always put you in favor with employers when looking for a new truck driving jobs. It shows a sense of responsibility and is a guarantee of safe and consistent trips for the employer. If you truly want to embellish your CV, then take the course as soon as you can.
It falls on you to decide whether you would opt for a defensive training course, but with such overwhelming benefits, taking the course is never a bad idea. Hopefully, you’ll make the right decision.
