• Defensive driving employs concepts and techniques to avoid getting into accidents.wrecked car image by hazel proudlove from Fotolia.com
  
  Parking and defense driving are two indispensable skills for motorists. They give drivers the ability to safely navigate to their destination and leave their vehicle out of harm's way. Defense driving goes beyond the general rules of the road; it's a separate skill set that helps avoid accidents. The aim of defensive driving is to anticipate threatening situations and avoid the dangers of adverse driving conditions and the mistakes of other drivers.
  
  

Observing Distance

• Staying alert and watching your distance go hand in hand when you are seeking to avoid accidents. When a driver fixates, or stares at an object for three seconds or more, he can lose track of what's in front of him. To avoid accidents caused by tailgating, follow the two-second rule in normal driving and road conditions. Locate a stationary object ahead you. Then count how many seconds it takes you to reach it after the vehicle in front of you passes it. If the time less than two seconds, slow the vehicle until you can meet the two-second standard.
  
  

Adapting to Road Conditions

• Adapting to road conditions requires an alert driver who respects the road. Dangerous road conditions are present in many different situations, particularly at night, according to Defensive Driving Tips; accidents are four times as likely after dark. Other common adverse road conditions include fog, rain, snow and ice, depending on your location.
  
  When driving through fog, keep your headlight beams on low for better visibility. If rainy conditions are present, be sure your tire tread is deep. Hydroplaning, or losing traction on a wet road, is caused by bald tires unable to remove the influx of water, according to the University of Pittsburgh.
  
  

Parallel Parking

• A necessary skill in many places, parallel parking must also be done with a defensive driving mindset. To safely and successfully park, the space itself must be at least 4 ft. to 6 ft. larger than your vehicle, according to Fearless Driver. Once you find a spot, stop and put on your turn signal toward the side of the road on which you are parking. Doing so will alert other drivers to your intentions and help avoid an accident.
  
  When parking, pull your vehicle halfway up beside the car in front of your own. Turn the wheel the entire way toward the curb and slowly back into the space. Once the rear of the car is 1 1/2 ft. from the curb, begin to slowly rotate the wheel back to the other side, allowing the car to get closer to the curb as most of the car enters the parking space. After completely pulling the car into the space, adjust for correct position by moving the car forward and backward.