What is a crucial action to take before changing lanes while driving?

Before changing lanes while driving, signaling your intention and checking mirrors is a crucial action to ensure safety on the road. When you signal, you communicate to other drivers your intention to change lanes, which promotes awareness and reduces the risk of collisions. Furthermore, checking your mirrors allows you to assess the traffic around you, ensuring that no vehicles are in your blind spot and that it is safe to proceed. This two-step process of signaling and checking mirrors helps you maintain a safe driving environment for yourself and others on the road.

The other approaches do not prioritize safety. Speeding up and merging quickly can lead to dangerous situations, especially if there are vehicles already in the adjacent lane. Not checking mirrors while looking straight ahead neglects critical aspects of your surroundings. Relying solely on looking over your shoulder also limits your awareness, as it does not account for what is happening in front of you, which is essential while merging. The combination of signaling and ensuring mirror checks cultivates a responsible driving habit that can significantly reduce the risk of accidents.