Driving Habits That Are Not Safe

 

Many of today’s drivers have dangerous habits. While we are driving, we can observe these hazardous habits on highways, residential streets, and in parking lots, on a regular basis. They can range from texting while driving, to applying makeup, to failing to use turn signals, and even just driving while they are overly tired. In addition to these, is driving while intoxicated, which is arguably the worst thing a person can do while driving. These can all cause detrimental or even fatal consequences. Most people who drive a motor vehicle never had educational training on how to operate one. They just take a test and practice driving on their own. Driving education can be an essential tool to saving lives. For example, if people took a driving class and was more educated on the rules of the road this alone would save lives. Proper driving education is important and knowing what you’re doing behind the wheel of a car imperative.

Dangerous driving habits are not only harmful to the person behind the wheel, but to the public as well. Its extremely important that drivers avoid these behaviors and understand that these issues need to be taken seriously. It only takes seconds for something fatal and irreversible to occur. The most dangerous driving habit is driving after consuming alcohol. If you drink and drive, not only do you possibly put yourself at risk, but your passengers and pedestrians, and other people on the roads. Drinking and driving do not mix, and the consequences can be prevented. A simple solution can be by simply having designated drivers to help keep drunk drivers off the road. Drunk drivers are a menace at every hour of the day, but during the night they are more often to be found on the roads. Drinking under the influence is a dangerous habit that many of today’s drivers have. . After just one drink, a driver can lose their ability to perform the tasks necessary to drive a car. For someone who has been licensed for some time, drinking and driving habits may be the result of feeling overconfident in their abilities to drive. Nation wide there a laws and regulations that are supposed to save lives, but do they really work. I think that technology inside the vehicle is one major way of saving lives down the line. For example, if a person is swerving on the road, the vehicle can slow down and stop on the shoulder to avoid killing people. Ultimately, it’s still the responsibility of the driver to be aware.

Texting while driving is a form of ‘distracted driving. The term not only applies to using cell phones when behind the wheel, but also to actions such as eating, drinking, putting on make-up, smoking, and using other devices such as iPods and GPSs. These activities lead to “inattention blindness” which defers drivers focus from the road to the device within their line of view. Distracted driving has thoroughly increased since the invention of new technologies. No matter where the electronic is placed, whether it is on the dashboard or on the steering wheel, one’s eyes are not where they need to be. This happens to me while driving with a friend in Charlotte, North Carolina. My friend was on his phone distracted while crossing an intersection and didn’t see another driver running a red light. It was a very bad accident, but everyone involved survived. People’s eyes are supposed to be on the road at all times. While driving through town, or on the interstate, its rare not to see someone driving while talking on his or her cellphone. During the period of time the driver’s attention is focused on the conversation. This decreases the drivers’ skills to react in time to possible dangers on the road. At the same time one of the most jeopardous driving issue is eating. Nowadays its far more common to see a driver being in a rush to get where they are going. Having to grab a bite to eat from a drive thru and pursue onto the road while trying to eat their meal that they just purchased is an accident waiting to happen. I’m guilty of this myself and have been trying hard to correct this terrible habit of mine.

Last but not least, failing to use turn signals is a dangerous driving habit. Using turn signals can help prevent most car accidents. Failing to use turn signals properly can increase the rate of accidents with other vehicles and pedestrians. Turn signals are simple devices that can give advance notice to other drivers about your driving intentions. It is unfortunate that failing to use such a simple device can cause so many tragedies in terms of lives and property damage. Road rage is a one of the consequences of failing to use turn signals. There are many steps that we all can take to be better drivers. For one, I want to make sure that I’m not distracted at all while driving. This means that I will no longer have my cell phone in a place where I can see it. I also will no longer eat while driving my car. This is a terrible habit I developed on my own. I also want to take a driver’s course class to not only refresh my driving skills but to also learn new rules of the road. The rules of the road are constantly changing and its up to us as responsible driver to keep up with it.