When you perform an action every day, you tend to get complacent. If you drive the same roads in the same vehicle at the same times of day, there’s a tendency to form habits. But if those habits aren’t safe, sooner or later it’s going to create a problem. These 5 driving bad habits are top causes of car wrecks in Louisiana and Texas.
Speeding Through Yellow Lights
We get it. Nobody likes sitting through a red light. But if you’re approaching an intersection and the light is yellow, don’t hit the gas and hope and pray you make it before the light changes to red.
Starman had it wrong. Yellow means slow down. You can’t tell when the light is going to change, and it’s illegal to be in the intersection when it does. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found around 40 percent of crashes are intersection related. If the light is yellow, you should be slowing down and preparing to stop.
Speeding in General
In 2018, NHTSA says speeding killed 9,378 Americans. Many, many more were injured. In the past 20 years, speeding has been a factor in a third of all traffic-related fatalities. Here’s why speeding is a bad driving habit that causes wrecks:
⦁ The faster you drive, the greater stopping distance you require.
⦁ Higher velocity means a greater impact if you do hit something.
⦁ Maintaining higher speeds increases fuel consumption and costs you more money.
⦁ It’s harder to control a vehicle at higher speeds if you encounter curves or dangerous road conditions.
Speeding is aggressive driving. When you speed, you put yourself and everyone else in danger.
Failing to Signal
If you’re about to turn or change lanes, failing to use your blinker could cause an accident. You may think the car behind you is traveling at a safe distance, that they’ll see you and respond, but they can’t read your mind. They don’t know the move you’re about to make. They might not be expecting you to make one at all. And if you fail to signal and cause a wreck, you could be found at fault.
Tailgating
Tailgating means following too closely. Some people do it because they’re in a hurry and hope to push the car in front into speeding up. Others just don’t pay attention to how much distance is between their vehicle and other drivers.
Safe distancing varies by speed. The general rule of thumb is to follow the two second rule. That means the back of the vehicle in front of you and the nose of your vehicle should be at least two seconds apart in case you need to stop suddenly. That’s the bare minimum. The more distance you allow, the safer you’ll be.
Using Your Cell While Driving
Texting and driving, web surfing and driving, watching videos and driving, even talking on a handheld device while going down the road all compromise your attention and ability to control your vehicle. If you use your cell phone while you’re on the road, put that at the top of your list of bad driving habits to break.
When Another Driver’s Bad Habits Caused a Wreck
You may be reading this article because another driver was doing one of the above, and they caused you to have an accident. If that’s the case and you were injured, we specialize in getting victims top compensation for their injuries. Schedule a free consultation to find out more.
