Defensive driving means that, on the one hand, you do not insist on your right of way in road traffic and, on the other hand, you also take into account potential mistakes made by other road users. Therefore, you do not have to drive over-cautiously - this could in turn pose a danger of its own and impede the flow of traffic. Driving defensively means preparing yourself as well as possible for dangers emanating from yourself or from outside and thus averting them in good time. You can achieve this, for example, by braking early enough to avoid a rear-end collision in front of traffic lights. Generally driving slower protects you against drivers who misjudge a traffic light phase in the heat of the moment or confuse left and right.