Countless times we’ve been told not to drink and drive, drive when we’re tired or use our cell phones when we’re at the wheel, but there are other obvious bad driving habits that may prove fatal. Below are the most dangerous driving habits and how to avoid forming such habits.
Driving Too Fast for the Road Conditions
If it starts to rain, don’t rely on your vehicle’s stability and safety systems to keep you on the road – they are fallible when pushed beyond their limits too. Do the sensible thing and slow down to a speed that is appropriate for the road conditions. Also keep in mind that 24% of all road accidents occur due to adverse weather and/or road conditions.
Texting When Driving
This is one of the most risky habits while driving because it removes your focus from the road where split second distraction can be catastrophic.
Doing Makeup While Driving
Ladies, this one’s for you. While we totally appreciate you for continuously putting your best foot forward, it would probably be a wise move on your behalf if you kept at least one eye on the road. Think about it – to apply mascara, for instance, you need to squint with one eye and use the other to look at what you’re doing in your car’s visor mirror. We’d rather have you around with a little less makeup on than not have you around at all.
Accelerating Through Yellow Lights
Although you might want to see if you can beat the yellow light before it turns red, you’re better off just sitting back and waiting for it to go green. Consider the fact that different traffic lights have different time intervals to one another, meaning that you could be fooled into thinking you can make it past clearly when in reality you can’t.
Eating While Driving
The majority of us have been guilty of this one in the past but the truth is that having one hand off the wheel so you can bite into whichever tasty morsel has taken your fancy is a distraction. Both of your hands are best left on your car’s steering wheel when you’re driving.
Not Checking Blind Spots
It’s very easy to make an assumption that there aren’t any cars alongside you, but assumptions can always be wrong. Take a couple of a good look in your wing mirror with a quick glance over your shoulder to ensure that the coast is completely clear before you switch lanes.