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The following information is being copied with the kind permission of Mr Trev Sobey - Chief Instructor with The Driver Training Academies of Australia Pty Ltd. 

I felt the need to include them in our site because I fully agree with all the principles included. All GOOD driving skills need to become HABITS, only then you become a safe driver! 

FIVE GREAT DRIVING HABITS
and more....

HABIT NUMBER ONE - In normal driving, your left foot should be firmly placed on the foot rest.
Left foot support when braking or steering helps you retain good balanced posture which produces less fatigue and greater control in an emergency. Practice taking left foot support on the footrest whenever you brake or steer.

HABIT NUMBER TWO - Look at solutions and away from problems as you drive.
There may be a sudden emergency, like an animal on the road, or you may not be quite sure what another driver is going to do. A car might reverse onto the road, prepare for a "U" turn, or a right turn. A driver might forget to turn on or off an indicator. Very dangerous situations occur when vehicles are hidden from view behind other vehicles which are moving. Often these are small vehicles, like bicycles and motorcycles.

So search, be wary and look at solutions. An important part of your searching is to know what is behind and to the sides of you. Making eye contact with other drivers is a good way of helping you work out what they are likely to do next.

Look at danger zone (intersection, bend or hillcrest), plan where you will place your vehicle, what speed would make sense and where you will change gears.

When you see danger, think about what you will do, look where you will drive and monitor the danger with the corner of your eye.

HABIT NUMBER THREE - Use the brakes to slow down and change gears separately after braking.
Changing down gears during braking is not only unnecessary stress on the vehicles transmission, but dangerous in an emergency. Research shows that drivers who habitually change gears during braking are more likely to lose control of a vehicle during an emergency.

It is interesting that drivers tend to over use the gears in a manual and under use them in an automatic. In situations where you are going down steep hills or on gravel or slippery surfaces, it is wise to select the correct gear after braking in  an auto just like you do in a manual. (Your vehicle's handbook has more information.)

HABIT NUMBER FOUR - Keep good separation from other vehicles.
Keep two seconds away from the vehicle in front. To do this, when the vehicle ahead passes some fixed point, like a post, a patch of paint on the road or a parked car, count, "one thousand and one, one thousand and two"; that's two seconds. If you reach that point before you finish your count, you are too close.

You may need three seconds if the road is wet, the surface is slippery or the traffic is traveling at speeds below 40 kph. It is interesting that we need more time at slow speeds than at high speeds because of the phenomena of reaction time.

Influence the gap behind by signaling in plenty of time, flashing your brake lights, slowing gradually and making maneuvers thoughtfully. Notice dangerous traffic situations developing and change your time of arrival at the situation. This often means slowing down for a moment then moving through the situation quickly. Sometimes it may mean change to a different lane (road position) or stopping well away from danger.

HABIT NUMBER FIVE - Be able to stop in the distance you can see ahead.
You may calculate this by using the formula:
At 60 kph it takes about three seconds to stop; at 100 kph about four seconds

Approach hill crests, bends and other situations where your seeing distance is limited, judge what would be a safe speed and approach at that speed. When you reach the most dangerous point (just before your view opens up) look at the furthermost point that you can see and count the seconds (3.5 seconds at 80 kph) if you pass the point by the time you finish the count, you may have been too fast to stop. This gives you feedback to develop your judgement.

These five habits form your defensive driving armour. Let's see how the first three work in an emergency. For example, imagine you are driving at 100 kph along a country road when suddenly there is an emergency. Perhaps a kangaroo is in front of you or two vehicles abreast are coming at you over the hill crest.
You good habits will instinctively burst into action:
1.        Lock your left foot on the footrest (or the floor) and lean back in your seat.
2.        Look away from the danger, to where you are going to put your vehicle.
3.        Brake, progressively tightening to the point of tyre squeal, release and re-brake if there is wheel "lockup".

THEN:
a.        Off the brake and point the vehicle towards the solution.
b.        Shift gears after the first escape, when the vehicle is under control.
c.        Accelerate away from danger.

When these five habits are part of your normal driving style, you will keep safe and have the best control during an emergency.

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