The dos and don’ts of the road : Finally driving back to office

Posted on: Jan 7, 2022 | | Written by:

The dos and don’ts of the road : Finally driving back to office

Published on January 07, 2022. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

After spending months on end inside our homes, lockdowns are now finally lifted. With schools, restaurants and offices opening back up to full offline capacity, many of us will now have the much-avoided opportunity of being able to drive ourselves to the office once again. However, after a year of no driving practice, this might turn into a trickier affair than we had first anticipated.

In this article, let’s take a look at a variety of driving tips for not only during but before and after you drive your car to ensure that you are driving to work as safely as you were in a world without covid. Let’s take a look at some of these driving tips and the end of which you will hopefully be a more responsible and safe driver once again.

Safety tips before driving

While on the road, the most important of the driving tips would be to ensure you are keeping your eyes on the road. However, taking the right steps before you even turn your car on can make a world of a difference to your journey. Here are some things you should keep in mind even before you begin your journey.

1. Assess whether it is essential for you to drive to get to your destination and complete your task at all. Using a taxi service or carpooling could be equally viable options that avoid the driving hassle.

2. If you do have to take the trip, plan your journey. Accounting for traffic jams and stop signals if you are familiar with the route can save you a good amount of time.

3. Ensure your car is ready to go. Perhaps the day before your journey, ensure that you have sufficient fuel, your tires are filled up and that your car is in prim and proper condition for the ride, avoiding any untoward punctures or stops on the way.

Safety tips while driving

1. Ensure you are following all safety protocols, which includes you and your passengers wearing seat belts, the doors being locked and in the event that you have a baby on board, that they are well secured into their specialised seat while you are operating the vehicle.

2. Follow road signs. In a congested country like India, it is tempting to break a sign every now and then. That sign, however, can make the difference between life and death for you and your passengers, and it is best to follow road signs. This also ensures that your insurance claim is not denied because you broke a rule, in case you ever need to make one.

3. Take your breaks. If you are driving intercity or interstate, ensure that you take your breaks. Falling asleep behind the wheel can prove fatal if you’re a driver.

4. A lot of vehicles now come equipped with enormous screens. While these can be tactful in providing you directions etc, ensure that you are not focusing on the screen instead of the road, as this can prove fatal. This is one of the most important driving tips one can keep in mind in today’s day and age.

Safety tips after driving

Now that you have taken the pre-driving and while- driving precautions, your ride is over and you’re home Scott free! Right? Well, not exactly.

1. Ensure that you check your vehicle for any damages, scratches or bumps, and in the case of an incident, that you inform your insurance company.

2. If you have an unpleasant experience with a route etc, make sure to try and point this out for others (on Google Maps for instance) so that they can avoid it as well.

3. Another one of the post driving tips would be to ensure that you lock your car and cover it up once your ride is over, leaving it in good condition for your next ride.

Conclusion

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, we found ourselves in a position where we did not have access to public roads or permission to use our vehicles on them for over a year, with incremental lockdowns still being used from time to time. Needless to say that after a year of the entire country not driving, some of us might be rough around the edges with our driving skills. What’s more, when all of us are now allowed on the road at once, it can make for an unsafe driving environment.

While you cannot prevent others from driving recklessly, you can do your part and follow these driving tips before, during and after your car drive to ensure the safety of you, your passengers and other drivers on the road. If you are looking to add an even thicker security blanket to your car, the HDFC ERGO website has a number of car insurance offerings available for you to choose from.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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