Driving is one of the daily tasks many of us complete without even thinking about it. Despite most people not taking it seriously, its a very important job. Even the taxi industry is valued at $11 billion dollars per year in the US alone, and that doesn't take into account ride sharing, truck driving, and the unpaid driving that millions of commuters undertake daily. However, even those of us that are good at driving still succumb to bad habits that make us terrifying behind the wheel. Here are a few of those habits that everyone needs to quit now.
Driving is a lot like life in general. You'll get very far by not being an asshole. This is why road rage is one of the most detrimental parts to driving. At best, it ruins your morning commute and sets a bad precedent for the day. At worst, well, anything can happen. The worst part of it is that all of the rage is usually over something as stupid as accidentally cutting someone off and making a scene about it. You're better than that because you know that life is short. One day, worms will be picking the skin off your bones and you're really going to spend the precious time you had alive on being angry that someone cut you off? Just smile, wave, and go on to more important things like being happy.
Quit being a timid person by edging your car into someone else's lane little by little until they get the hint that you want to merge. Many times in life, if you want something, just ask for it. Until mind reading becomes a mainstream method of communication, turn signals will continue to be an important part of the merging procedure. Want to merge? Ask by using the turn signal and chances are you will receive. There's no need to cut someone off or make sure they're awake by suddenly introducing your car into their lane with a foot of distance in between. Besides, if other drivers have a choice between letting you merge or letting you rip off their fender, they'll pick the former 99.9% of the time.
Okay we admit it, speeding up to catch a yellow light is a dangerous practice, but we indulge from time to time, especially when we get thrown the keys to fast cars. The problem with this is that sometimes when the lead foot takes over, drivers fail to notice pedestrians who have started crossing the street or other cars that have started accelerating into the intersection. If a driver decides to accelerate to catch the light, then everyone has to wait as a F1 racer wannabe self-righteously blows through the intersection. They may make the excuse that need to get somewhere quickly, but so do the other people patiently waiting in traffic. Just make the stop and use the time to enjoy the day for a minute.
Driving can be exhilarating and invigorating or soothing and relaxing. This is why driving tired is one of the easiest driving mistakes to make behind the wheel. You might think that caffeine, loud music, and cold wind from a lowered window might help keep you awake, but truth is that if your eyelids feel like they're made of lead, it's time to get off the road. The ability to judge physical distances gets clouded along with situational awareness when you start sinking into sleep mode. This is why cars like the Mercedes S-Class come with drowsiness detectors that tell sleepy drivers to pull over in order to balance out the soothing allure of sleep that the hot stone massage system induces.
Distracted driving is the most obvious and avoidable bad habit that drivers can make. Anything from putting on makeup or shaving to watching porn while driving (yes, this actually happened) can cause a crash. However the worst offenders are those who text and drive at the same time. For goodness sakes at least use Siri or other voice command systems. There's a reason that tech companies have invested millions if not billions on the technology. Besides, the number one reason that autonomous driving advocates are gaining traction is distracted driving. So if you have any fun while doing your own driving, then be on your best behavior and don't give these fun Nazis any more reasons to build self-driving cars.