Although car accidents are mostly completely unexpected, it’s still a good idea to make yourself ‘crash ready’. By doing this you can reduce your chances of being in an accident and help protect yourself and your family.
The best way to make yourself crash ready is by by prepping your car, replacing airbags and making sure that you’re driving safely. Have a look at our helpful guide and tips to see how you can make yourself crash ready.
Safe Car
Before you set off on any journeys make sure your car is 100% safe to drive, as this will lower the chances of being involved in an accident. You can make sure your car is ready by taking it in for an MOT or service if it is overdue. Or if your car has previously been damaged, you can take it in for car body repairs or any other repairs that may affect your driving and need fixing.
As well as regular servicing, keep an eye on your tyres, brakes, windscreen, wiper blades and lights, and keep them in good condition, or replace them if needed.
Airbags
A huge part of keeping safe is making sure you have fully-working airbags in your car. Most cars nowadays have front and side airbags, and some even have pedestrian airbags. You’ll need to make sure your airbags are activated when you drive. However, if you have a small child travelling with you, you might want to disable their airbag, because if it is set off in a crash, it may actually cause them injury.
Be prepared that although airbags are meant to activate during a crash, they may go off if you hit a wall at only 10-15mph.
Replace your airbags once they have been activated. If you’re not comfortable replacing airbags yourself, you’ll need to take the car in to your local garage to get them fixed. You may also have to get your dashboard, electronics, steering wheel and windscreen fixed if the airbag has damaged them on deployment.
If you are involved in an accident and need your car serviced afterwards to fix any issues (such as air bag deployment or body repairs), you can always bring your car in for a local car service in Lancashire.
Driving Skills
The way you drive on the road can help prevent and accident just as much as preparing your car. The following tips can drastically improve your driving performance, and help keep you prepared and vigilant in case of an oncoming incident.
- Observe the Highway Code and road rules
- Kick any bad driving habits, such as: using your mobile, speeding, not having both hands on the wheel. Generally stop anything that may distract you whilst driving.
- Practice defensive driving. By watching out for other drivers, you may be able to anticipate a dangerous scenario and avoid it.
