A Yellow Light Means Yield For A Reason

If you drive even just a few miles a day, chances are you’ll come across a the familiar scenario of a green light turning yellow as you approach the intersection. Without much thinking, you’ll need to quickly determine if you should slow down and stop for the upcoming red light or if you should continue at your current pace and make it through the light before it changes. When a driver opts for the latter, it is often not a matter of maintaining that current pace but rather, is accompanied by a slight increase in speed.

This is something that should be avoided because of you need to speed up to get through the light, it means you should probably be stopping for the red light instead. That is, if you want to be as safe a driver as possible, which should the goal any time someone gets behind the wheel. You may think that you’re saving time by “gunning” it and getting through the light but in reality, you’re saving a minute or two at best.

When you consider the potential consequences of running a red light, which could be a traffic violation or in severe cases an accident, it’s clear that it’s not worth those few minutes. It’s these kinds of defensive driving skills that people learn when they participate in a driver safety course. Many seasoned drivers will think that they can’t benefit from a defensive driving course but the skills techniques that are taught in one of these classes will prove to be extremely valuable once you’re on the road.