Everyone with a license can admit to having one or more dangerous driving habits. It’s difficult to do the right thing, even when we know that we’re putting our lives in danger by doing the opposite. If you want to stay safe on the roads, you have to break your dangerous driving habits. It’s the only way to protect yourself and those around you.
1 Obsessed with Texts
Everyone knows that you shouldn’t text and drive, but that’s not the only thing you should refrain from doing. Never even pick up your phone while you’re behind the wheel. That means no glancing at your messages to see what your friend said to you. You can wait until you’re safely to your destination to see what they said and reply back to them. One of the most dangerous driving habits is to handle your phone in any way while you’re in the driver’s seat.
Frequently asked questions
2 Hands off
Phones aren’t the only thing that you should keep your hands off of when driving. If you have an iPod that connects to your stereo, it’s dangerous to flip through your songs. If you stop to get fast food, it’s dangerous to eat while you’re driving. You don’t want to rummage through a bag and open tin foil while you’re trying to stay in the correct lane. Anything that requires you to take your hands off the wheel for an extended period of time is frowned upon.
3 Blasting Tunes
Whether you’re in the car alone or with your friends, it’s fun to blast your music. It makes the ride all the more enjoyable. However, you have to be careful when your music is the only thing that you can hear. It’ll drown out the sound of sirens and car horns. If a cop or ambulance is trying to pass, you won’t hear them approaching. You don’t want to end up in an accident because one of your senses was blocked.
4 Eye to Eye
If your friend is sitting in the passenger seat, it’s guaranteed that a conversation will occur. Listen to what they say, but don’t feel obliged to look into their eyes while they’re talking. It might feel rude, but they’ll understand that you need to focus on what’s in front of you. They want to get to their destination safely as much as you do. Save the eye contact for outside of the car.
5 Don't Blink
Use your blinkers, even if no one else is on the road with you. If you get into the habit of only using them occasionally, one day you might forget to use them on a crowded highway. It’s dangerous to pull in front of other cars without warning. If it doesn’t cause an accident, it will at least cause road rage. Plus, you never know when a cop is watching.
6 Spurned Seat Belt
Even if you’re just driving down the block, wear your seat belt. It’s an easy thing to do that could save your life. Why wouldn’t you want to be prepared for the worst? If your car beeps when the seat belt isn’t in place, at least put it on to stop the noise. It doesn’t matter why you do it, just do it.
7 Law Breaker
If you take the same route to school or work everyday, you get to know the neighborhoods. You know exactly where the police always park and are extra careful around them. However, you shouldn’t let your behavior depend on whether someone is watching you or not. Even if there aren’t any cops around, you should drive as if they were watching you. Tickets aren’t the worst thing that can happen to a driver, accidents are.
If you stop doing dangerous activities while driving, you have a better chance of making it home safely. You don’t want to injure yourself or anyone else, simply because you made a tiny mistake. Have you ever gotten into a car accident?
