Safe Driving Practices and Defensive Driving
Space and speed management
Defensive driving is mostly space management. Keep at least a three-second following distance in good conditions; add a second for rain, another for heavy rain or light snow, and more at night or behind a large vehicle that blocks your view. In Maryland you must use headlights whenever your wipers are on and whenever visibility drops to 1,000 feet or less.
Skids, hydroplaning, braking
If you start to skid, ease off the accelerator, look and steer where you want to go, and skip the hard braking. Hydroplaning means the tires are riding on water: ease off the gas, hold the wheel steady, and avoid sudden braking. With ABS, press firmly and hold - the pulsing pedal is normal.
Distraction, fatigue, restraint
Maryland bans handheld phone use and texting for all drivers. Fatigue is impairment: drifting, missing exits, and heavy eyelids are warnings - pull over and rest, because caffeine and loud music only mask the problem. Seat belts are required for all occupants, children under 8 must be in an appropriate child restraint unless 4 feet 9 inches or taller, and children under 2 must ride rear-facing.
Traps
Questions blur following too closely with failure to yield. Passing is illegal where your view is blocked - hills, curves, intersections. In fog use low beams; high beams reflect back and cut your view.
Worked example: traffic runs at 50 mph and rain starts. Three seconds covers about 220 feet; add a second for wet pavement, so hold at least four seconds. Pick a fixed object and count one-one-thousand until you reach it.