10 Habits of Defensive Driving
September 18, 2026
Every ReliaWheels driver completes the National Safety Council defensive driving course. It is not a box we tick. When the person in the back is on their way to dialysis, or recovering from surgery, or cannot brace themselves against a hard stop, how the vehicle is driven is part of the care.
These are the ten habits the course is built around.
1. Always have a plan
Use the NSC Collision Prevention Formula:
- Recognize the hazard
- Understand the defense
- Act correctly, in time
Most collisions are not a surprise. They are a hazard that was visible and a response that came late.
2. Always wear your seat belt, and make sure passengers are properly restrained
For us that means every passenger, every trip, plus a wheelchair secured with a four-point anchor strap system and the passenger’s own restraints fastened before the vehicle moves.
3. Avoid impaired driving, including distraction and fatigue
Impairment is not only alcohol. Fatigue and distraction impair judgment and reaction time in measurable ways, and a long day of trips is exactly the condition in which both show up.
4. Always maintain emotional control
The course teaches three Rs:
- Reflect on what is happening
- Reframe it
- Refocus on the driving
Someone cutting you off is a traffic event, not a personal one. Treating it as personal is how a bad moment becomes a bad decision.
5. Always maintain vehicle control
Smooth inputs. Speed matched to conditions. Nothing sudden. In a vehicle carrying someone who cannot brace, this is comfort and safety at the same time.
6. Always be prepared to yield the right of way
Right of way is something you give, not something you take. Being right is no protection.
7. Maintain a proper following distance
- Three seconds in ideal conditions
- Three seconds plus in anything less than ideal
Following too closely is the leading cause of rear-end collisions, and it is the single easiest habit to fix.
8. Evaluate the driving conditions and respond to them
Three things to read continuously:
- Your vehicle’s condition
- Your own condition
- The conditions around you: light, weather, road surface, traffic
Conditions change through a shift. A route that was fine at 7am is a different route in rain at 5pm.
9. Watch for and protect vulnerable road users
Pedestrians, cyclists, people using mobility devices. Around hospitals, clinics and senior centers, the density of vulnerable road users is high and their movements are less predictable. That is where we spend our day.
10. Consider other drivers
- Communicate your intentions early
- Be courteous
- Have patience
Signal sooner than you think you need to. Let people in. The thirty seconds it costs is nothing next to the alternative.
Why this is in a transportation company’s training
A passenger recovering from surgery feels every hard brake. Someone traveling reclined in a Broda® chair feels every sharp turn. A person with sensory sensitivities feels a sudden lane change as a shock.
Defensive driving produces a smoother trip as a side effect of producing a safer one. Both are the point.
Read about our drivers, or call 440-468-6976.
Questions about a ride? Call (440) 468-6976 or request a ride online.