How To Master Highway Driving

 

There will always come a time where we experience things that make us uncomfortable. Things that push us past or to our limits. Things that challenge our inner confidence. Well, highway driving is one. Today I am going to show you how to drive on the highway without fear and the proper interstate/highway driving rules. Are you ready to hit the road? Let’s do this.

Whether this is your first time driving on the highway or your millionth. Regardless, we all can use advice in the time of need.

Driving on the highway can be an experience that either makes or breaks you. It’ll challenge your patience and your decision making skills while also testing your mental states. 

 

Highway Driving Rules  

 

Before we began giving you tips on how to drive on the highway, you must first know the rules and regulations to avoid hassles and confusion.

 

1. Never slow down while switching lanes. This angers drivers behind you and doesn’t keep you in the flow of constant traffic.
2. When going slower than most, always stay in the right lane. Drivers appreciate when a slower driver understands their limitations and lets the fast drivers remain in the proper lane. Just because you may dislike having people in front of you and you like the open view of the fast lane doesn’t mean you should hinder others who actually NEED the lane.
3. Drive at a constant speed. One of the things driver hate the most are stop and go’s. If you’re going 75 mph don’t all of a sudden go 55 just because little Timmy in the back needs his chips and drink. Wait until a proper stop or pull over.
4. This is a given, but NEVER backup on the highway. This is simply a safety hazard and can put you in harms way. It’s not easy going 80 mph and coming to an immediate stop because someone decided to back up and pause traffic.
5. Finally learn to merge. Merging is a blessing that the road gods have given us. This takes the struggle of switching into different lanes for exit’s or expressways and turns it into one big merge.

 

Now that we have the basic rules and regulations of highway driving down, we now need to address the big topic here. Driving on the highway is a different animal of itself. Usually you’re driving 35 maybe 40 on residential streets in your city.

 

However when you’re going 80 mph and everyone else is also going 75-80, you began to get a little nervous and might even begin panicking. Rightfully so. I remember my very first time thinking ‘’This must be what the Indy 500 is like’’. Regardless of what anyone says, ‘’Oh I’ve always been a master at it, or I was born for it, so easy’’. It’s nonsense. We all began somewhere.

 

 

How To Drive On The Highway | Top 5 Highway Driving Tips

 

1. 1. Use Both Mirrors – When driving on the highway, it’s important to remember that the ‘’Looking both ways’’ saying is now more useful while going 75 an hour. Cars are a blur and one mistake can take a life. Be careful when driving at any speed and always use your sense of direction. It’s better to be safe than sorry.  
   2. Keep Both Hands On The Wheel- Nothing says tough guy like riding with one hand and head cocked to the side, right? Wrong. It says fool. When going at these types of speeds, control is everything. One wrong jerk can send you into the left brick column or into another car. Not trying to scare you, however you must be aware of the potential danger. 10-2 is where most people like it, or are taught how to drive in. Personally, I prefer 10:30 – 1:30. It gives me a little more control when it comes to turns. Try it out!
   3. Turn All Media Off – I don’t care if you have been a city driver for 80 years. If you are a beginner at highway driving, turn all devices off. No music. No radio. No TV, anything. You need to focus. It may seem as if I am being dramatic about this topic, however death and injury rates say I am preaching the right things here. I am here to help, not badger. Turning off all media will make for a boring ride, however it’ll make for a safe ride until you get comfortable in that type of situation.
   4. Check The Weather Forecast Before Going Out- One of the most underrated things people forget to check is the weather. The weather that day can be one of the most beautiful experiences you’ll encounter. An amazing breeze through your hair, a nice warm grip from the sun, the parting of clouds and that amazing view. Amazing, right? Right. No argument there. However, there’s also the flip side to that amazing weather, and it’s called storms. Nothing derails a trip, timing, previously planned plans than bad weather. Get full grip tires, strong windshield wipers with a solid pickup ratio, and strong brakes. If you lack either one of these, well, I wish you nothing but the best. How to drive on the interstate is a question that needs to be asked before going out, yet somehow it isn’t.
   5. Don’t Try To Be The Fastest – One big mistake people often make is trying to establish themselves as the ‘’dominant’’ driver. That’s foolish. This tip isn’t just for the beginner drivers, this is for everyone. What’s there to prove? ‘’Oh I can go 3 mph faster than you for 5 blocks’’ Good job. Now what happens when that extra 3 mph turns into a 3 year jail sentence for injuring someone, or worse killing the 3 people in that car. Sounds dramatic huh? Trust me, it’s not. Besides all of the harm that can be done, it’s still pointless to do it. Bragging rights for someone you’ll see for 3 seconds? I guess.

 

How To Drive On The Highway Without Fear? | Highway Driving Tips

Understandably this would be something odd to comprehend based on all the potential negatives highway can bring without safety. That’s key. Safety is key.

You can overcome everything I said and the fear aspect as long as you use the safety checklist along with the overcoming fear one you are about to see. Let’s dive in!

 

• Understand that there are millions doing the exact same thing – Believe it or not, this got me through my very first trip. I asked myself, ‘’Why are you scared and nervous? You know how to drive and everyone is doing the same thing. Lock in, keep it safe and get to rolling!’’ I use this tip til this day. There’s hardly anything worse than not having confidence in yourself when it comes to anything.

• Stay Calm – Driving with nerves can be very dangerous. Nerves tends to cause shaking of the body and an unstable mental state. All lethal when it comes to driving. If you’re calm, you think clearer, you process things quicker, and you don’t always think of the worse. Have fun while driving. Enjoy the views, and appreciate life while your at it. Once you get the hang of things, it really is an amazing experience.

• Look at your upcoming turns or exit ahead of time to prepare – One thing that most drivers worry about is making sure to catch every exit and that you have to have cat like reflexes or you’ll surely miss it. Nonsense. You can easily look ahead and know that in 2.6 miles get off on Exit B. Or if you’re like me, you’ll set your gps notifications to call out loud when a turn is coming up and when it’s here. This allows your nerves to relax knowing that what you’re currently seeing will be around for awhile until the voice speaks up.

• Play some music – I know what you’re thinking, ‘’You just told us no media!’’ Yes, I did. However, if you’re main concern is no longer how to DRIVE but to remain CALM then I’d suggest putting on some R&B, classical music, smooth jazz, something that calms a person’s soul and allows them to focus on what’s important instead of worrying.

 

 

Driving Highway vs Driving Freeway | Highway vs Freeway

Some may think these three are the exact same thing just different terms. Think again. These two are very different in certain areas such as;

 

1. 1. Accessibility – The freeway has no chance of intersections or traffic signals and cross walks. The highway on the other hand won’t have many of those but they will appear at some point because they are present in this world.
   2. Maintenance – In the US, highways are maintained and kept up by state governments, whereas freeways (Interstate highways) are kept up and maintained together by the state AND federal government.
   3. Lanes – A highway has a lane count of 2-4. Nothing more, nothing less. A freeway is always 4 or more
   4. Toll Roads – A highway will sometimes have toll roads, whereas a freeway has zero. None.
   5. Speed – Driving speeds on the highway is 50-55 mph. Driving speed on the freeway is 65-75.

 

Keep in mind these highway and interstate driving tips were meant to help and allow you to feel more secure about driving when it gets to that point. I hope you will be. Thank you for reading and coming to our page. For more great content or to sell your car for cash, visit our offer page or stay here for more content.  

 

 

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