Safe Driving Practices and Defensive Driving
See and be seen
Defensive driving starts with where you look. Aim your eyes 12–15 seconds ahead of the car - roughly a block in the city, about a quarter mile on the freeway - and keep them moving so you check mirrors, cross traffic, and your blind spots instead of staring at the bumper ahead. Before changing lanes, signal, check the mirrors, and turn your head.
Space and speed
The basic speed law outranks any posted number: never drive faster than is safe for the conditions. In good conditions leave at least two seconds between you and the vehicle ahead; in rain or at night use three to four, and on ice or snow double it again. When stopped in traffic, leave enough room to see the rear tires of the car ahead touching the pavement, so you can steer around it if needed.
Impairment and distraction
Michigan's legal limit is .08 BAC, .04 for commercial drivers, and .02 for drivers under 21. Alcohol, cannabis, prescription drugs, and fatigue all slow reaction time and judgment. Michigan's hands-free law prohibits holding or manually using a phone while driving; hands-free voice use is allowed, and texting is illegal for every driver.
Worked example (two-second rule): watch the vehicle ahead pass a fixed object - a sign, a shadow, a pavement seam - and count "one thousand one, one thousand two." If you reach that object before you finish counting, you are following too closely.
Traps: "pump the brakes" is wrong for a car with ABS (press firmly and steer); the two-second rule is a gap in time, not a fixed number of feet; and a yellow light never means "speed up."