7 tips to help you drive an SUV more safely

1. Know your SUV

While this may sound obvious, it is essential to truly understand the limitations of the vehicle you are driving under any circumstances.

Find an empty road and try braking, steering, and accelerating. You will feel more confident on the road if you understand how fast your car can turn sharply without skidding? How many meters does it take to brake suddenly? How heavy is the steering wheel?...

2. Always control the vision

SUVs are large - their width creates more blind spots for drivers.

When driving a SUV, you should turn the mirrors outward a little for better visibility. In addition, adding a convex mirror next to the rearview mirror is also a good solution that many drivers trust.

3. Avoid sharp turns

Despite the word “sport” in the name, SUVs are not designed to corner as well as low-slung 2-door sports cars. Moreover, when sitting in a high-slung car, you have a higher and farther view, while the road users behind you have a very limited view because the massive SUV is blocking in front of them. Their initiative will be reduced, if you brake suddenly, they will have less opportunity to react, and a collision may occur.

Therefore, you should observe the surrounding vehicles to avoid affecting them too much.

4.Be careful when cornering

One important thing to remember is to be extra careful when cornering. Large vehicles like sports cars are at a higher risk of rolling over, especially on slippery roads.

When entering a corner, remember to brake before you start entering the corner (press the brake pedal earlier than usual). Then, take your foot off the pedals (both the accelerator and the brake). This will help create more traction, ensuring that the tires perform properly when entering the corner even in poor road conditions.

5. Pay attention to stopping time and distance

Heavy vehicles such as SUVs are heavier than average cars and take longer to come to a complete stop. Therefore, it is important to calculate the necessary distance and time when braking.

Keep a greater distance (than usual) between your SUV and the vehicle in front of you and brake a little earlier than usual.

6. Be careful with your belongings in the car

You should carefully pack goods and belongings in the car because in case of an accident, those objects can potentially cause injury to people in the car.

You should also ensure that your SUV’s load capacity is optimal. Use a cargo hook to prevent cargo from sliding and being damaged when the vehicle brakes hard; a 11kg suitcase will become 737kg when the vehicle stops suddenly from 100km/h.

7. Refuel regularly

Most SUVs are equipped with part-time four-wheel drive and are more fuel-efficient. Because SUVs can burn fuel faster than conventional cars.

Therefore, the advice of experienced car experts is to refuel the car more often; keep the gas tank at least half full to always have enough fuel when traction is needed or for part-time four-wheel drive.