Taking Responsibility for My Bad Driving Habits

Kayla Freeman

Driving Traffic School

29 November 2020

Taking Responsibility for My Bad Driving Habits

I am 18 years old and just got my first car as a graduation gift. Before my first car, I would always drive with my dad in his car, so I would purposely follow every rule. I would not even dare to look down at my phone or do anything that could label me as a reckless driver because I wanted him to trust me. I wanted to be the most responsible and cautious driver. I have heard all of the horrible stories from the news and drivers-ed of what happens when one lets bad habits and bad driving decisions take over. I did not want to have a story like that so I wanted to never even think about anything other than driving to my destination. However, now that I have had my car for about 3 months, I have noticed when driving alone, I am a little riskier while driving. I will do little things like switching the radio station or look around my area instead of focusing on the road. My switching radio channel station button is on my wheel, which is a neat safety feature to have, however, I tend to keep my attention on what channel I want rather than the road which could be hazardous. Although I usually do those things most of the time at red lights, it’s no better than if I was driving 40 miles per hour because it can have the same consequences.

Another bad habit of mine is driving and forgetting what the speed limit of a particular area is. Once I cannot remember, I purposely start to slow down to not get a ticket if I happen to be going over the speed limit. One more bad routine I do is eat and drink a lot in my car. I usually get hungry while driving and just pick up food to eat. I eat and drink while driving and I admit I am not completely focused or in control of the car when I am doing that. I will have a burger in one hand and look back down to put it back on my car seat while trying to quickly look back up at the road. To make matters worse, my friends bought me a mini car cooler and heater for my birthday which I have used a couple of times. Lastly, I daydream a lot. I will drive and drive and think about something else and kind of forget I am driving, but I still sort of alert of my surroundings. Getting my mind distracted from anything other than driving can be very problematic.

I would deeply regret it and hate it if I was in the wrong in an accident because of my bad habits. I do not want to even get to that point for me to stop preventing those bad routines. I pledge that I will try to stop my bad patterns because I do not want to have a car wreck or end up in the hospital injured. I also would not want my parents to be worried about me driving every time because they know about my bad habits and the potential of me getting in a wreck. It would be unfair to my parents who paid for my car to go wreck it and it would break me if I injured someone because I was being reckless and selfish. To fulfill my promise of overcoming my bad practices, I will not have anything in my hands while driving and will try to put 100% of my attention on the road at all times. I know I will not stop overnight. I understand I will slip up but I will no longer make excuses for my unacceptable patterns. I will hold myself responsible by preventing the bad practices day by day and I will get to the point where it is no longer an issue.