How to keep yourself safe in a car full of explosive airbags

Airbags explode towards you at 300km/h to soften the blow of a serious car crash. They have to deploy that fast to get into position ahead of the crash ‘pulse’ catching up with you.

To see why airbags (and seatbelts) are a really good idea, watch the comparison crash video below (two otherwise identical cars; one with and one without a front airbag).

Aggression boils over all too often on the road. What can you do about it?

First, don’t be the aggressor – if somebody’s driving behaviour gets up your nose, because they appear to be incompetent, inattentive or aggressive, just turn the other cheek. It’s not that hard. Inflaming someone’s anger on the move is not worth the risk, however personally satisfying it might seem in the moment. So, don’t blast others with the horn, flash your lights at them, gesture rudely, shout abuse, or behave in an otherwise offensive manner. You could be putting yourself – and them – at risk by doing so. Good rule of thumb: if a normal person

There are different rules for night driving.

If you’re an experienced night driver, especially an experienced long-distance night driver, you can probably skip this step. This is for ordinary drivers who go on holidays perhaps once or twice a year, maybe slightly more often, but don’t really drive a long way at night very much.

Fatigue is a major problem. It’s very hard to diagnose, because by the time you’re tired enough to be

This is a neat, simple risk management trick.

It involves you identifying potentially risky situations as you’re driving along and, if warranted, lifting off the accelerator (or off the floor if you’re using cruise control) and – here’s the important bit – putting your foot on top of the brake pedal (without actually braking). Then, if the situation worsens, you’ll be literally

This simple step makes you much more visible.

Put your headlights on in the daytime – low beam – and, please, no jokes about wasting electricity. Many crashes occur because the other driver simply doesn’t see you.

Think about it: he’s stopped at a T-intersection, looking