Don't Rear-End Another Car

Many vehicle accident articles give advice about avoiding being rear-ended. It's important, however, to know how to avoid causing these accidents from the other side of the equation. When you're out on the road, watching for the following warning signs can prevent you from being in a potentially deadly situations. Here's some advice to consider to ensure you don't rear-end another car.

1. Watch for lost drivers.

Watch for drivers who are slowing down and speeding up as if they're not sure where to turn. They may momentarily stop paying attention to what's around them and make a sudden turn. Don't expect them to use a signal more than a half a second before they turn.

2. Parking-lot-heavy areas.

Some areas have a lot of parking lots off of a fast road, such as the perimeter of shopping malls and strip malls. Be wary of drivers making fast rights or flying out of these driveways in front of you. They're real hazards and it causes plenty of rear-end accidents.

3. Keep your distance.

You should have 2 seconds of time before you strike any object in front of you. Within that time, you'll usually have time to use an escape route or stop. Make sure you don't tailgate people. It's a form of negligent driving and could actually get you sued if you hit someone while driving too closely.

4. Don't trust brake lights.

Don't count on the person's brake lights coming on before they make a turn. Watch them closely and treat brake lights as additional information.

5. Look through.

If the car or truck ahead of you is low enough, look through their window as you drive so that you can see other hazards ahead. This is particularly good to do in situations where traffic is very tight.

6. Eyes on the horizon.

Always be looking up when you're driving. Don't look down at the car in front of you or limit the information you're taking in to that vehicle alone. Sometimes, people end up getting in a wreck because they were trying to avoid a different wreck at the expense of paying attention to the road.

7. Trust no one.

Assume that people coming up to stop signs and stop lights quickly are going to come right through it. Be ready to stop if you have to and know which way you need to go to avoid hitting them or another car.