Top 10 Driving Tips

2. Anticipate
Fans often marvel about racers' lightning-fast reactions. The truth is that racers can't afford to react. Instead they anticipate. At 160 (or 60) mph, if they wait until their car's rear tires start to slide, there's little hope of avoiding a spin. But if they can anticipate the loss of traction—either by knowing a section of track is slick or by feeling the incipient slide—they won't lose control or even much time. On the highway, you need to do the same thing. Anticipate that the light rain shower has filled the wagon-wheel ruts with water. Anticipate that the driver on the cross street is not going to stop. Anticipate that the little old man in the car ahead will brake for no apparent reason. Anticipate that a crash in the southbound lanes will mean a backup in the northbound lanes. Anticipate that one driver will turn without a signal and the next will go straight with his signal on.

1. Pay Attention
A recent study found that in about three-quarters of crashes, the driver was inattentive within three seconds of the wreck. Investigating officers far too often hear" "I never saw the other car until right before we hit." If you're not looking, you won't see the other car until it lands on your hood.