Here are a five simple key practices that will help you drive safer and better.

1. Know Your Car/Vehicle.
This seem to be pretty basic knowledge, but what does it mean?

The first thing you should do is know where all the controls are.

• Where is the wind shield wiper controls?
• Where is the turn signal controls?
• Where are the gauges ?
• Where are your mirror adjustments?
• Where is your steering wheel adjustment?
• Where is your headlight switches?
• Where are your gear positions? Whether it is standard or automatic.
• Where is your seat adjustments.

These things are not what you want to be looking for while you  are on the road.

The next part is to know your cars/vehicles dimensions. By dimensions I don’t mean how many square feet or inches, but I mean by visual judgment, how well you can tell where your front, back and sides of  your vehicle is.

One way to figure this out is by trial and error. I don’t mean for you to go out and try to squeeze in tight spaces and learn by banging up your car, but by using cones or other non-damaging objects.

The first thing to do is place a cone that is visible from your driver seat, at each of the four sides. Front, back, left side, and right side. Make sure you place each of them at last within a foot apart from your car. The spacing on where you want to put the cone is your choice in how much of a cushion you want to give yourself.
 Next place from the driver seat look and try to get an idea where your car limits are. You will have to visualize and  visually remember what to look for.
Of course it’s never going to work the first time, but now that you’ve done this you get a idea of how far an object would look being close to each of the parts.

A few tricks you could use also to help you  judge where your car is.
Use your head lights. Your headlights are usually placed at the second to the farthest part of your car before your bumper. Using your High beams you will get a better look since it should be adjusted to shine directly forward, meaning it points a straight line to your object. By looking at the lit part of the object in front of you , judge just how far you might be. Keep in mind how far out your bumper may reach out, but if you have done the cone test, you should have a pretty good idea by now. Keep in mind that the closer you get the more centered the beam get on the surface. If you start seeing a almost perfect illumination on the surface that has little or no blurry edges you should stop. This indicates that your headlight is close enough to almost create a reflection of it self.

Use your side mirrors. Have you side mirrors set so that you would see some of your car’s side, just enough to give you a idea of where your car is. Use the reflected image in the side mirrors to judge just how close you are to the object. This is one of the most overlooked feature of the car when it comes to parking. Most people worry about looking in the rear and front so much that they forget that looking in the side mirrors are just as important as looking in the rear view mirror.

Stop backing up when you start seeing a clear illumination of your tail lamps and reverse lamps. This is some what like your head lamps, but it is harder to judge since it is in the rear and the lights are not as bright. The general rule is, if you start to see a clear red that is visibly close to your rear then, it would mean that you are almost too close.

2. Use your signals.
Face it we all had a time we didn’t use our turn signals. Whether forgot or you simply didn’t want to use them, but don’t make it a habit. Turn signals are not just flashy little light features that the car makers have put on, but they are there to tell other drivers around you what you are about to do or doing. It’s not like we all can read minds and have telepathic powers.

It is more important than you think.  About 90% of fender benders and crashes in intersections and lane switches are probably caused by drivers that didn’t use signals.
Turn signals tell other drivers that you want to get in to their lane or make a turn in this or that direction. Which takes the guess work out of driving. You may not notice it, but there is always some one trying to get past you or get around you. If not they are trying to figure out which way you are going to turn. So if you don’t fail to use your signals, you will make it easier for those people to know what you are about to do and avoid a maneuvering into you way. I’m sure a lot of you have also had the opposite experience, were you didn’t know what some one was doing and almost drove right in to them.

Using turn signals also help in getting into driveways and in parking lots.
If you ever had a person just brake suddenly and do something stupid, then you are doing the exact same thing when you don’t signal before getting into a driveway.  Reason being is, the driver behind you doesn’t know your going in to the driveway.  They probably assume you are going straight.  Then you suddenly step on your brake to slow down to get into a driveway.
You just pulled the same stunt.   If you had signaled the other driver would have know you are going to turn somewhere soon and they would have kept an eye out for that brake light.

In a parking lot at the mall or a office garage, you may think you don’t have to signal since you are off the streets. Of course no cop is going to give you a ticket because you didn’t signal to get in to your parking stall, but it would be a good practice to do so since, like on the streets there are other drivers in a parking lot and you wouldn’t want to confuse them in such a tight space.

Last of all on signals, don’t abuse them by changing left to right then left again all in one segment. If you are lost and can’t figure out which way you need to go pull over and get a sense of direction first. The last thing you want to do is confuse another driver.

3. Check your surroundings.
Whether you are parking, turning, changing lanes, or just simply backing up, check your surroundings. It’s probably a basic rule and lesson taught in driving school, but most people ether forget it or don’t know how to properly check their surroundings.
Here are key principals in what to look for in checking your surroundings.
First check your mirrors. Your rearview mirror (the one that’s inside), then the side mirrors (the one that’s on the outside on the doors.)
Then you would always check in addition to your mirrors the two corners one over your left shoulder. A quick glance would do as it is one of the harder parts to check. A too long look will cause you to not see what’s in front. And a quick look at the rear quarter end of the right side of the car.
All this would be done in a matter of seconds. Remember that time doesn’t wait for you to make sure that everything is clear out of your way. Things can still change in a matter of seconds, so after you check recheck and keep checking as you go.
One thing will make your life easier in this part is adjusting your mirrors so that each mirror will show a good view of each of the sections.
Ideally you would want to adjust the driver side mirror to look at the left side of your car to about a fragment of your cars side. The passenger side mirror, to show the right side of your car and a fragment of your cars side, but slightly lower as to help you judge where your tires are in relation to, for example a curb side. You should still be able to see the rear with the side mirror though.
The rear view mirror, would be your choice in how comfortable you feel where it should show.  Ideally it should be showing the direct rear of your car so you could see what’s directly behind you.  If you get a wide angel mirror to attach to the mirror, you could possibly position it so you can see both the rear and a portion of your blind spot areas (over your left or right shoulders). This is all preference so which ever way is most comfortable.

The last thing about mirrors, use them frequently. Not to check your make up or hair, but to know your position on the road.

4. Be comfortable.
We all like comfort. As you should adjust your mirrors so they are in a comfortable position you should adjust your seat and your steering wheel for comfort as well. 
Drivers often set their seats so they are as close to the steering wheel as possible and upright as possible. Tell me something is that how you would sit in your office chair? As close to the table and as up right as possible, so much that you are almost leaning toward the desk?
I don’t think so.  Driving shouldn’t be any different. 
First adjust your seat’s recline to a position you find comfortable. Ideally it would be a position where you are slightly leaning back in the seat and still able to see clearly out the front. If you have ever sat in a sport car or a sports seat where you felt almost slouched back, then that would be pretty close to what you want. You can go ahead and find a position that suits you best in that fashion.
Next you would want to position your distance from the wheel.
The Ideal way to seat yourself in a vehicle would be where the steering wheel is just in front of you where you can reach it with a slightly bent arm. Make sure at that range you are able to reach the pedals too. If not adjust the steering wheel a little more so you find a comfort able position that you would reach both the pedal and the wheel comfortably and in a relaxed posture. You don’t want to be nether stretched or cramped when driving.

If you need a visual image then, the next time you get a chance to see a NASCAR driver or a professional driver, take a good look at how they are sitting. They are sitting in a position where they can be comfortable driving for long periods of time at high speed and the most severe conditions.

5. Know your pivot points.
Ever had a time when you came around a pillar in the parking lot too close and early you scraped the whole side of you car?
What about the time you took that turn and ended up grinding your wheels on the curbside?
Well it’s time to get educated on vehicle dynamics.
It’s a lot simpler than it seems, all you have to know is your vehicles pivot points.
Pivot points? You ask. All land vehicle and thing have pivot points.  Pivot points on a car would be the rear wheels. These are the wheels that the vehicle is pivoting on. Think of a compass, the pencil is the front wheels, and the needle point is the rear wheels. If anyone ever told you that “the rear wheels will clear what ever the front wheels clear” it’s not entirely true. It just depends on when you start turning.

Here is how you judge when to turn.
Look in the side mirrors and look for the side of your car and locate the rear wheels.
When you see the corner that your are turning around , line up with the rear wheels, you start turning.
Always double check if your judgment was correct. Remember things can change depending on speed and objects.