While most of us do it every day and find it rather easy, driving a vehicle can be a complicated and dangerous business. According to Driver Knowledge, there are an average of 6 million car accidents every year in the United States. And most of these car accidents are the result of operator error. Even the best of drivers can make a mistake behind the wheel. While the majority of these mistakes are no-brainers, they are still worth mentioning.
**Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
Distracted driving – According to Dictionary.com, distracted driving is defined as “driving a vehicle while engaging in an activity that has the potential to distract the driver from the task of driving.” The most common distracted driving behaviors include adjusting climate and radio controls, eating or drinking, engaging in conversation with passengers, putting on makeup and using a cell phone. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), most states have some type of laws in place when it comes to distracted driving.
Driving under the influence – According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a criminal offense in most states. When referring to alcohol, 49 states define alcohol impaired driving as driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above 0.08%. If you’re planning to consume alcohol, away from home, call a taxi or use a designated driver to get home.
Drowsy driving – According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), in 2018, there were 775 fatalities involving a drowsy driver. If you drive when you’re tired, your reaction times will be much slower than normal. When your body needs sleep, it will get it one way or another. This means if you’re driving when tired, you may fall asleep at the wheel. If you’re on the road and you start to feel sleepy, pull over somewhere safe and catch some Z’s.
Engaging in road rage – According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, road rage is defined as “a motorist’s uncontrolled anger that is usually provoked by another motorist’s irritating act and is expressed in aggressive or violent behavior.” Some common examples of road rage include dangerous driving methods targeted toward another driver, offensive and rude gestures, physical threats and verbal insults. The best advice is to stay calm, avoid anger and don’t react to other driver’s aggression.
Reckless driving – Reckless driving means behavior that shows negligence or unimportance to the property and/or safety of others. Some common reckless driving behavior includes accelerating or braking suddenly, failing to use turn signals, passing on the right hand side, running a red light and swerving & weaving in and out of traffic. In the United States, reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation, often punishable by fines, imprisonment or suspension/revocation of driver’s license
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