May 24, 2019—Whether it’s part of a daily commute to work or the route for a highly-anticipated summer road trip, drivers should always approach highway driving with safety in mind, GEICO said in a recent press release.
GEICO’s guide to highway safe driving included the following advice:
- Stay at the speed limit: Drivers shouldn’t treat speed limits as loose guidelines that are okay to exceed, GEICO said. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that 10,000 people die annually in speed-related crashes.
- Maintain a safe following distance: While traveling at 55 mph, it takes almost the length of a football field to bring a car to a complete stop from an event such as an animal or pedestrian stepping into the roadway, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
- Commit to driving defensively: If another vehicle is tailgating you, move over and let it pass.
- Drive distraction-free: Drivers may need to set a GPS destination or queue up a playlist for a lengthy highway trip. Take care of these tasks beforehand, and consider setting your phone to ‘do not disturb’ mode while driving.
- Adhere to move-over laws: Change lanes if it’s safe to do so, or slow down to give law enforcement and first responders space to assist motorists on the side of the highway.
