Reducing the Likelihood of North Carolina Auto Accidents – How to Drive Less, Part Two
In part one of our series about how to limit your risk of North Carolina car accidents by limiting the amount you drive, we discussed why it’s so important to limit your driving. Simply recording your driving habits, thoughts, and behaviors can have wonderful effects on your overall safety habits and fuel economy.
Of course, tracking your habits and changing them is a great strategy. But it’s only one option. Here are several other really interesting and (somewhat counterintuitive) ways to limit your driving and indirectly reduce your likelihood of getting into a North Carolina auto accident:
• Purchase more expensive gasoline, even if your car doesn’t need it.
Think about it. If gas cost $9 a gallon, wouldn’t you be far more frugal in terms of your driving decisions. You would cut out trips that were not totally essential, and you would avail yourself of alternative transportation options, like public transportation, and bicycle riding.
• Identify the “big drives” that you regularly make, and find ways to make those drives less taxing or less regular.
For instance, say your parents live in Georgia. Every two months or so, you take a car trip down to see your folks, so that they can see your kids and you can all spend time together. It’s easier to drive than to fly – more economical, more convenient, etc. You want to see your folks. And they want to see their grandkids. So what can you do? One option is to reduce the number of visits and increase the length of each visit. For instance, on your typical visit, maybe you spend three or four days and then return home. If so, consider cutting your trips in half and then making each trip last eight or nine days. This way, everyone gets the same amount of time together, but you reduce the long car trips by 50%. It’s obviously a theoretical example, but it illustrates that once you put your mind to the task, you can generate some great creative solutions to the “big drive” problem.
• Don’t invest in good-looking cars.
If you’re really proud of your vehicle – it’s a beautiful, classic work of art – something that you want to show off – you will be more likely to take the vehicle out and about. If, on the other hand, you’re somewhat ashamed of your vehicle, you will intuitively and evenly subconsciously avoid going on road trips just out of embarrassment.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t avail yourself of the finer things of life or that you should drive a car that lacks the highest safety features. But it does suggest that tapping into your subconscious mind is an interesting way to discourage behaviors that you don’t want (e.g. driving a lot) and encourage behaviors that you want to cultivate (e.g. reducing how much you drive).
For help obtaining compensation or holding a careless or negligent driver to account, connect with a North Carolina car accident law firm.
More Web Resources:
How to Think About How to Save Time Doing Things
Tapping into Subconscious Drives That Change Your Behavior
