Urban Driving Tips for Safety in Busy Cities

In July, actress Emma Watson was fined GBP£1,044 (approximately USD$1,380) for driving 8 mph over the speed limit (in a 30-mph zone) in Oxford, England. Between that and a prior speed limit violation last year, she was also issued a six-month driving ban.

With the ban finally ending this month, the Harry Potter and Little Women star was free to share her timeout with reporters. She admitted to neither having the skills nor experience at the time, and that the incident would be a mark of shame for her. All she can do moving forward is to be better and avoid a repeat.

There’s no denying that driving requires the right skills, especially in a big city like Oxford or Houston. However, as far as hard skills are concerned (e.g., lane change, driving in various road conditions), they aren’t enough. In the chaos and frustration of urban driving, hard skills alone won’t do any driver favors if they also don’t have the following:

Situational Awareness

Drivers sometimes tend to forget that they’re in the wheel of an object that can inflict grave damage or injury at high speeds. Being just one second away from the road can be enough to cause a collision or, worse, a multi-vehicle pileup.

The consequences worsen in high-traffic areas like the most dangerous road intersections in Houston. Add confusing signs and failure to yield to pedestrians or other motorists, and you have an area that’s ripe for car accidents. Even when road mishaps have been on the decline, injuries and deaths remain high—especially among pedestrians.

Building and improving situational awareness in driving isn’t something that can be done by simply picking up a book. Driver education programs may impart important urban driving skills like defensive driving styles, but other ones are learned on the road. Learn to adapt not just to what’s in front but also around you, from traffic lights to crossing pedestrians.

Owning a self-driving vehicle doesn’t excuse a driver from lacking situational awareness. The AI that powers such a system is still prone to error. In one report based on insurance inquiries for 2024, Tesla’s self-driving cars accounted for 26.67 accidents per 1,000 drivers that year, up from 23.54 the previous year.

Stress Management

Traffic jams are the inevitable bane of motorists driving on city streets, whether caused by the rush hour or a road mishap. It’s one thing for a driver to fume behind the wheel while stuck in traffic, but it’s another when they explode following a collision.

That said, what makes road rage particularly dangerous is when one party is packing heat. According to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a nonprofit that compiles information on gun violence in the U.S., road rage cases involving guns rose sharply between 2019 and 2021. In 2023, the GVA recorded 367 injured victims and 118 deaths.

While it’s normal to feel angry over high traffic volume or a collision, it doesn’t mean you have to give in to it. Research by the University of Utah Health recommends the following exercises to aid in managing your stress levels:

Box breathing: Inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for just as long, and exhale for just as long. Repeat these steps as necessary.
5-4-3-2-1 method: Look for five things you can see, four things you can feel, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.
Butterfly hug: Calm your agitated nervous system by crossing your hands over your chest and tapping your fingers. Of course, don’t do this when traffic is moving.
Seek help: Pull over to the side and contact 988 if you feel overwhelmed. In case of an emergency, contact 911 immediately.

If you feel that your risk of road rage is high, consider refraining from driving and opt for public transportation instead. Or if you don’t have any important errands to run, stay at home. A temporary inconvenience isn’t worth claiming a life.

Communication

Whether in an F1 or NASCAR race, seamless communication is important for racing teams. Victory depends on how fast a driver or the pit crew can send their message to each other, especially given that the former only has roughly a second to react.

Outside the racetrack, unless you’re a first responder, you don’t have the luxury of talking to another driver via two-way radio. But you have the next best thing: headlights, taillights, and the car horn. The pioneers of automotive technology invented them to make others aware of the motorist’s intentions on urban roads.

Failure to use these lights when prompted isn’t only dangerous but also a traffic violation. The penalty varies by state, but the fines for not using turn signals range between USD$50 and USD$300. In New York, authorities may also impose a driver responsibility assessment (DRA) fee, which costs USD$100 per year for three years.

A malfunction is not an excuse, and you may still get a traffic ticket for driving without working lights. Take note that these lights are your only means to let other motorists and pedestrians know where you’re going. Hand signals are useful in such situations, but you may still be pulled over for the reason above.

Good Moral Character Also Necessary

You can master every driving skill in the playbook, but that’ll only take you so far. A driver also needs to be in good moral standing to avoid crises on the road, such as road rage or car accidents. Driving is a privilege reserved for those who can harness it properly.