Keeping yourself and others safe when driving

Keep up your safe driving skills with these tips and reminders on safe driving practices.

• Thinking about others
• Medications
• Reactions
• Hearing
• Eyesight
• Safe driving concepts

Think about others while you drive

One thing that helps you be a safer driver is thinking about how other people are using the roads. There are many different vehicles on the road with you, all doing their own thing.

People on bikes

More people riding bikes on the road

Stay alert for people on bikes and drive carefully when near them. Give them 1.5 metres of space when passing.

People on bikes don't have to use the cycle lane

Sometimes they need to use the road so be patient and wait.

People on bikes can move very fast

Check for people on bikes before you open the car door.

People on e-scooters

E-scooters can be used on the footpath or road

Look out for people riding e-scooters on the road, especially if lots of people are on the footpath.

People on e-scooters must give way to pedestrians and can't use cycle lanes

Be aware that e-scooters may swerve onto the road to give way to pedestrians.

Mobility scooters

People shouldn't ride mobility scooters on the road unless there's no footpath

Keep an eye out for mobility scooters on driveways and at intersections.

The maximum speed for mobility scooters is 11km/h

Be patient and wait.

Trucks

Trucks are large and can’t stop easily.

At 90km/h, it generally takes a truck-trailer unit more than twice as far to stop as it takes a car. If you cut in front of a truck and suddenly slow or stop, you’re at risk of causing a serious rear-end crash. If you’re moving in front of a truck, make sure you leave them plenty of space and indicate early. If you’re behind, leave a 3-second following distance.

Truck drivers may not see you.

If you’re behind or next to a truck, make sure you can see their mirrors. If you can’t see their mirrors, they can’t see you. 

Medications can affect your driving

Medications can save your life or make it much more comfortable to live. But they can affect you in other ways too – changing how well you can see, hear, process information, or even stay awake.

Medications that can make you drowsy

• Sleeping tablets (zopiclone, temazepam).
• Anxiety medications (lorazepam, diazepam).
• Antidepressants (amitriptyline, citalopram, doxepin).
• Strong pain medications (oxycodone, morphine, tramadol).
• Antihistamines.

Medications that can affect your vision

• Some eye drops.
• Some sedating antihistamines (Phenergan, Polaramine, cyclizine)

Medications that can make you dizzy

• Some blood pressure tablets, particularly if newly started or when the dose is changed.

Medications and driving

It’s illegal to drive while over the limit of some medications.

What the law says

If you drink alcohol while you’re on medication, it can change the way it affects you. Talk to your doctor about the risks.

You need to know how your medication can affect you before you decide if you can drive when it’s in your system. Here’s some steps you can take:

• Make a list of all the medications you take and find out what the effects can be. Look at the information sheet in the box or ask your doctor or pharmacist for details. Make sure you consider how the combination of different medications will have different effects.
• Make a plan of how you can avoid the effects impacting your driving. This could mean only driving at certain times of day, or stopping driving for a time after you start a new medication. It’s good to ask a whānau member or friend to discuss this plan with you, so you can talk through options.

Don’t drive if you feel any of the following:

• sleepy
• dizzy
• nauseous
• unable to focus
• slurred speech or trouble forming a sentence
• confused
• unusually wired or overconfident.

Changes in your reaction times can affect your driving

When you get older, your brain takes longer to process information. This means you need more time to react to driving situations. For example, if someone is indicating that they’re going to change into your lane, your brain needs to:

1. Realise they’re indicating to move in front of you.
2. Recognise there may not be enough room for them to do this.
3. Direct your foot to brake to give them more room.

Each of these steps takes longer for your brain to do as you get older.

What you can do

If you’ve been driving a long time, then you’ll have a lot of experience you can draw on to react correctly. You just need to give yourself enough time. Here are some ways you can do this:

• Leave more space between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Consider using a 3-second rule instead of the 2-second rule.
• When turning right, pay extra attention to the speed of the cars coming towards you. Leave enough time and space to safely cross oncoming traffic before turning. Watch for pedestrians and people on bikes who might force you to stop before you can complete your turn safely.
• Plan your route ahead of time to avoid last-minute decisions about which way to turn.
• Use side roads rather than main roads.
• Limit driving to less stressful times of the day. If possible, avoid driving at school drop-off and pick-up times.
• When approaching all pedestrian crossings, slow down.

Changes in your hearing can affect your driving

You may experience changes in your hearing as you age. You may need to adjust to driving with less hearing.

What you can do

Get regular hearing tests so you know what your level of hearing is. This will help you know what you need to adjust.

If you’re driving with less hearing, doing the following can help you get more information about what’s happening on the road around you:

• Use hearing aids while driving, if you have them.
• Remove distracting noises, such as the radio.
• Use larger or additional rear-vision mirrors to help you identify emergency vehicles by their lights.

Changes to your eyesight can affect your driving

Good vision is important to safe driving. We need our eyes to give us the information we use to make almost all driving decisions. As you age, your eyes will change:

• Your eyes are slower to change focus.
• Your peripheral (side) vision narrows, meaning you can see less to each side of you.
• Your eyes become less sensitive to light, making it harder to see in dim light or at night.
• You’re more likely to get eye conditions such as cataracts or macular degeneration.

What you can do

To keep your eyes healthy, you can get regular eye tests. Some conditions can be treated with surgery, and some are easier to treat if they’re detected early.

When you’re driving, the following can help you increase your range of vision:

• Turn your head often to help you see what’s to the side of you.
• Keep headlights, mirrors, and windscreens clean.
• Install a larger rear-view mirror to increase the range of visibility.
• Look at the road well ahead to see trouble before reaching it. In the city, look at least to the next intersection. On the open road, look ahead to the section of the road you’ll reach in the next 12 seconds.
• Limit driving to daylight hours if night vision or glare is troubling you.

Safe driving concepts

When we’ve been driving for many years, it can become automatic. This is when many crashes happen because we’re not paying attention. Safe driving concepts are ways we can help ourselves pay better attention to our driving. Thinking consciously about how you’re driving and the decisions you’re making will help keep you and others safe when you’re driving.

Before driving

Your driving decisions start before you get in the car. Knowing where you’re going can help you to avoid hazards and focus more on your driving. Plan all of your trips before you start. Here are some tips to help you plan the best way to go:

• Choose familiar routes.
• Avoid places or situations where you feel uncomfortable driving, for example a narrow road or long-distance driving.
• Don’t drive at peak traffic times (such as when people are usually going to work or school, or special events like big concerts or sports games).
• If you can, avoid busy or difficult intersections. 

If you feel sick or unusually tired, don’t drive.

Know the road rules

Being clear about road rules and how to apply them will help you stay a safe and confident driver. If you’re an experienced driver, you’ll already be comfortable with most road rules. However it's a good idea to refresh yourself on the rules around intersections, roundabouts, and merging.

Road rules refresher 

It’s also a good idea to check the road code every now and then to make sure you know about any new road rules, signs or road markings. You can read the road code online or get a copy from most book shops, or your local library, but check to make sure you have the most recent published edition.

Road code