Video Safety Tip: Urban Driving
Here's advice, provided by State Farm and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, on how to drive safely in central business districts in major cities.

Photo: AAA
Some drivers become more apprehensive when they’re driving in a major city’s central business district. There are more vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists, blaring horns, responding emergency vehicles, one-way streets, bus stops — all of which can combine to make driving more challenging.
Click on the photo or link above to watch a video that offers city driving tips from Vision Zero San Francisco and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
Additionally, State Farm offers this advice:
Avoid aggressive driving and weaving from lane to lane.
Keep a safe distance of at least three seconds between you and the vehicle ahead of you. This will help avoid frequent braking and rear-end collisions.
Watch the traffic ahead closely. When cars in front brake, take your foot off the accelerator to slow down gradually before you brake. Be cautious not to brake abruptly.
Stay focused. Keep your mind on driving by avoiding distractions such as eating or using your cell phone.
Use your blinkers when changing lanes or merging. Most state laws require activating blinkers at least 100 feet before merging or turning, but some states require at least 200 feet.
Use your mirrors to monitor the areas around your car. Perform head checks to check your blind spots before changing lanes or merging.
Use the length of the acceleration lane to merge safely into traffic.
Be responsible with technology, and plan ahead. Before you start your trip, check traffic apps on your phone or listen to radio reports to avoid extra-congested areas. If you're worried about encountering heavy traffic during your commute, take time before you leave to map out an alternate route on your GPS.
More Safety

Top 50 Executive Fleets
It is that time of year again! Time for the 2026 list of the Top 50 Executive Fleets, presented by Automotive Fleet and Volvo as part of its annual Fleet 500. Download now to see this year's list of companies!
Read More →How Better Visibility Cut Speeding Violations by 48%
Fleet leaders don't need more data, they need clearer visibility into what the data is saying. This case study explores how one utility replaced speeding-event counts with a single metric — miles driven in violation — to strengthen safety and significantly reduce speeding violations.
Read More →
Operation Safe Driver Week: Why the Industry's Oldest Safety Campaign Still Matters to Fleets
A look at how a 2007 enforcement initiative became one of the most consequential weeks on the fleet safety calendar, and what it means for your drivers in 2026.
Read More →
Nexar-Nauto Merger Aims to Give Fleets Better Safety Intelligence Through Larger Driving Dataset
Stefan Heck tells Automotive Fleet that combining more than 10 billion miles of driving history with Nexar's AI models will give fleets deeper insights into driver risk and roadway conditions than either company could provide independently.
Read More →From Silos to Solutions: Relationship Management for Safer Fleets
From telematics adoption and driver accountability to policy consistency and risk mitigation, this episode breaks down what it really takes to build a safer fleet culture without slowing business down.
Read More →
IIHS Launches First Commercial Vehicle Safety Evaluations
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has begun evaluating heavy-duty pickups and cargo vans for driver protection. Which models earned top marks?
Read More →
Reducing Risk by Eliminating Phone Use Behind the Wheel
Hosted with the cofounder of Lifesaver Mobile, this episode addresses phone use behind the wheel and how to design a driving environment that actually helps prevents accidents.
Read More →
Cameras, Safety and Insurance: From Reactive Claims to Real-Time Prevention (Part 2 of 2)
Part Two: Commercial auto remains one of the most challenging and costly lines of coverage for fleet operators and insurers alike. Continue learning more about how to effectively address these issues from Onur Aksan, Enterprise Business Development Executive, Geotab
Read More →
How 5-Second Telematics Data Is Changing Fleet Safety
This episode connects with Steve Santostasi of Ford Pro and covers how a few seconds of data can make a difference in fleet safety.
Read More →
The Two Biggest Summer Downtime Threats for Fleets
A conversation with a maintenance expert reveals the two most common summer maintenance pains and how to prevent them.
Read More →