6 Dangerous Driving Habits You Should Avoid

Driving can be fun or can even be a way to enjoy your Sundays in a pleasant manner. But no one is a perfect driver. Anyone can make one small mistake on the road and can end up in an unpleasant situation on the road. From scratches on the car to instant deaths, accidents can happen anytime and they are all due to carelessness of the driver. Here is a list of few driving habits that you need to avoid if you are driving.

Drinking and Driving

Individually, these two activities might be fun things to do with friends or with colleagues but when combined, they form a deadly combination. Drunk driving is the cause of the death of nearly 1 person per hour in the USA. Alcohol impairs brain functions and can easily lead to the cause of careless mistakes to be made by the driver.

It is illegal to do so and if caught in the act, it can burn a large hole in your wallet for your freedom. It can also potentially lead you to a long jail time, especially if you hurt someone while driving under the influence. When inebriated, it is just better to hire a driver or take a cab.

Texting and Driving

About 1 in 4 vehicle accidents involves a cell phone and texting while driving can increase the chances of crashing by nearly 3 times. Texting can draw away your attention from the task of driving, which already involves multiple motor functions to be acting simultaneously. This causes you to not pay much attention to the road as your eyes are the most Influential organ of the body. The risk of texting and driving is massive when you are travelling in a highway. It is just better to turn off the phone or pull over, attend the call or check the message and drive again.

Speeding

Speed increases the risk of crashing as the time frame for actions to be registered by us and for our brain to send a response decreases, hence forcing us to make rushed decisions. In fact, speeding contributes to nearly 30 percentage of all crashes that involve deaths. It can even lead you to a ticket, which would need you to pay a hefty sum of money. Even when you are running out of time, just take a deep breath and maintain your composure while driving.

Drive based on the weather

Driving based on the speed limits can be good, but those speed limits are based on ideal weather and terrain conditions. If you suspect that the weather is a little off and the speed limit is far too risky to be travelling in, then by all means reduce the speed so that you get a good control over bad weather. Hail, snow, rain and sleet can all make road conditions bad and should be driven in slower speeds.

Driving close to another vehicle

Drafting is a concept that race drivers use. But this is too risky to be done in normal road conditions as the car in front might easily apply the brake and you might end up bumping into him at high speeds as you would not be able to slow down quick enough. It is just better to maintain a significant gap between you and the car in front.

Driving without seatbelt

This definitely would not stop a car crash from happening, but this may prevent the crash from taking your life along with your vehicle. This is one of the safest methods to travel and reports suggest countless instances where seatbelts have saved lives.

Driving can be deadly in any conditions. Stay safe by avoiding these dangerous mistakes or habits to be safer on the road.