Overconfidence and Impatience: A Recipe for Unsafe Driving

Bang Tran

Boston University

Overconfidence and Impatience: A Recipe for Unsafe Driving

My dad is an experienced driver. He has been driving for more than 40 years and takes pride in never being in an accident. At one point in time, he was even a professional driver who specialized in difficult and mountainous terrain. He taught my mom driving techniques that she never learned in driving school. Despite his experience, I could not say that he was a safe driver.

Having so much driving experience makes him overconfident when driving. He often drives impatiently. Surpassing the speed limits, illegally passing other cars are just a few things to be named. Every time that I am in a car with him, I am always scared. My heart feels like it is constantly jumping out of my chest because I feel like we could crash at any moment.

I have repeatedly tried to talk with him, but it was no use. He often takes offense to what I say and tells me that he has been driving for longer than I have been alive. During these times, I often feel helpless because I feel like we are putting myself and others at risk.

To become a safer and better driver, I think that everyone, especially experienced drivers, should become more conscious of their bad driving habits and more open to feedback. We should be conscious of our bad driving habits due to the danger that it imposes. In the instance of my dad, it was overconfidence and impatience, but I know that many other unsafe driving habits need to be changed, such as eating or texting when driving. The fact that their bad habits have not caused an accident does not mean that it will not cause one in the future.

Sometimes, these habits come to us so naturally that it does not feel like a bad habit. Therefore, we should become more open-minded towards feedback. I think that we all have to understand that others give us feedback not to annoy but to make us better drivers. Feedback to slow down or obey traffic rules is not a criticism of one’s driving skill, but a reminder that we should all drive safer to protect the people around us.

Old habits are difficult to change, but it is not impossible. Take seatbelts as an example. No one in the 70s had the habit of buckling their seat belts, but we all do so now whenever we get into a car. In short, we should not be overconfident and more open to change because that is how we become better drivers and keep everyone around us safe.