For Safer Turns, FALL Into the Safest Lane

Here's a simple traffic safety tip for today. It's easy to understand and easy to begin doing with your very next drive. After you start driving this way you'll notice how often you didn't drive this way before.

So, why are freeways considered so much safer than all other roads? Well, besides the fact that they're really big car runways with vast clearings to each side and various countermeasures for limiting head-on crashes from the opposing lanes, the main reason is the relatively homogeneous nature of the freeway driving experience. By that I mean that most drivers are operating within an expected range of speed, all going the same direction and everyone knows exactly where (and how) to enter and exit the roadway.

The freeway has added protection because we are pretty confident as to how our fellow travelers are going to function on it. The rules are limited, well understood and normally followed. Oh sure, we still get the jerks there, but by it's very nature the freeway even limits their jerkfulness. On all other roads, though, the opportunities for drivers to express their free will are many and varied.

Well, here's a chance to remove at least one of those common and dangerous variables, and, as I said, you can try it today. When making a turn remember to FALL. That means, when you make a turn at an intersection, no matter which direction, complete your turn into the Fist Available Legal Lane (FALL). Nope, you probably will find that you don't always do this, but it is what we are supposed to do and we teach it to young drivers.

Yes, we're supposed to do it for two reasons. One is, well, we're supposed to do it. The main reason, though, is because it provides some common expectation to other drivers as to where we intend to steer our vehicle. If we have a common expectation and fewer variables, then there is less chance for crashes based on surprises.

I know; turning into the First Available Legal Lane isn't always where we want to end up. We're turning on to a road with multiple lanes, in some cases, and we just want to slide over into the furthest lane, perhaps, to set ourselves up for the next turn or something. Don't do it (well, at least try not to do it for a day or two). Make your turn into the FALL and then make your lane change. Be honest now, hasn't there been a time when you thought that all was clear but you ended up cutting someone off by making that slurping wide or narrow turn across multiple lanes? Didn't you get upset when someone did that to you?

There you go, it's simple. Try it this week and let me know what you think. On your next turn remember to FALL.

Be Safe.