What Should You Avoid While Driving: 10 Things To Remember

Clearly defining what should you avoid while driving to keep yourself and those around you safe is important to acknowledge as a driver. With that said, here are 10 things you should never do in a car, no matter how professional and experienced you are when commuting on the road.

What Should You Avoid While Driving: Raising Awareness

Owning a car, by all outward appearances, seems very classy since you can easily show it off to others, to boast about your real-or-not status in today’s society. However, not everyone who owns a car can drive it with the same level of luxury as it shows to others.

Driving is not an easy thing. And it’s even more difficult to keep your mind fully awake while in the car, as there are many causes of your distraction, both objective and subjective. For certified divers, a drive cannot always be comfortable as it sounds because there will be obstacles and unexpected things on the road.

But what is more worrying, driving is also considered dangerous for people who do not have enough knowledge and understanding of cars in particular and traffic safety regulations in general.

You can look at the reports of traffic accidents that happen because of reckless driving every year. And you may wonder why these drivers are so incompetent and indifferent when it comes to controlling a car, weighing up to tons, and moving in the middle of the city with vehicles and living people around.

What you need to do to achieve the highest level of safe driving is to understand and remember traffic regulations. Practicing the ability to focus, observe, and react when being on the road is also important. Learning to drive safely is a never-ending process as it will make you more civilized and can be respectful in any situation.

With the question of what should you avoid while driving, let’s find out the below lists of 10 most common driving bad habits of car drivers participating in traffic.

Things You Shouldn’t Do While Driving: Taking Steps To Prevent Them Immediately

Many people, when driving, can forget what they are doing, which will cause damage and affect a lot of people if not attentive. Don’t let your too-comfortable home-like habits ruin your trips.

1. Talking On The Phone

The number one unsafe driving behavior, needless to say, is talking on the phone. From then until now, answering phone calls in a car has always been one of the most avoidable things for drivers. You should not fool yourself that, as long as you can see and observe the road with your eyes, you will always be safe. Having enough driving visibility is one thing, getting your mind focused, is another.

In today’s modern driving world, you can talk to everyone on the phone without taking your hands off the wheel. However, talking via calls for too long or getting too immersed in a conversation while driving will only cause dangers that you can hardly expect.

In case you must take the phone as it is vital, remember to answer and talk as briefly as possible. Or, to make sure that you are in the safest condition, you can downright stop the car to respond to the call. It will not take much of your time, especially compared to the time taking your lovely car to the repair shop due to unnecessary collisions.

2. Using Headphones/Earbuds

Using headphones or earbuds while being on the road, regardless of the vehicle type you are driving, is arguably one of the worst risky driving behaviors without much controversy.

When moving from one place to another, you will have a lot of free time in the car, especially when the distance between the two places is quite long and requires many breaks. Finding a way to entertain is extremely common for drivers who like a bustling atmosphere to keep their spirits up.

Music from the car audio system or on the phone is not enough to capture and stir up a burning soul? Do not worry as there will always be a more dangerous and silly choice than anything in the world, a good pair of headphones.

The passion for enjoying lively music needs to be put aside when you are in situations that require more focus and responsibility, both to yourself and society.

The things you should hear when driving a car are sounds and traffic signals from the outside, and just a little music or radio news with a volume that is not too wild.

3. Forgetting Signal

Another thing you should avoid while driving is forgetting, or even worst, skipping signal other vehicles. Surely everyone has experienced this problem at least once in their driving life, whether you are just a novice or a seasoned veteran of every road.

Imagine, when you are concentrating on your part of the road, suddenly, a car appears out of nowhere, changes lanes, and cuts you off in an extremely passionate and unconscious way. If you were the one who is blocked in the back, how would you feel? Or if you are the one who cut the front of another, do you feel guilty, or is that just normal to you?

You may feel like what we are talking about is superfluous because how to use signals in traffic is as clear as the palm of your hand. However, proven practices have shown that people may know how to use it, but not all do it.

Turning on the signal light is not only useful when changing lanes, but it also ensures the life and safety of you and those around you to the fullest extent. Not using your signal means that you don’t give drivers behind enough time to react to your turns or head-backs and leave them in confusion, which in many cases causes accidents.

In short, if you want to change direction, you must slow down and signal the next direction. Along with that, you must yield the right of way to pedestrians and cyclists traveling on their designated section of the road. In addition, it is also necessary to signal cars on the opposite side of the road and only turn your car head after making sure that this action will not cause obstacles or any danger to people and other vehicles.

You’ve learned all these things before getting your license. Please use them well and remember to signal for safety.

4. Stuffing Things Covering The Rear Windshield

As usual, every driver wants his beloved car to appear special and outstanding, from the interior to the decorations. To take your car cabin to the next level, you always can buy beautiful souvenirs to liven it up. However, you should turn those souvenirs into decorative objects, not obstacles blocking the view when traveling on the road.

Leaving too many things or stuffed animals in front of your car’s rear window is something you should entirely avoid if you want to ensure a safe ride. Surrounding you, every second and every minute will be dozens of cars. Not to mention when you stop, park, and reverse, the obstacle will get closer and closer, requiring you to focus and pay attention.

A typical car already has a lot of blind spots, which can cause some extreme inconveniences while driving. Don’t make things more complicated by covering such a spacious back view from the rear window. Clean up the car and keep those things at home to avoid distractions, and you are ready to go.

>> See More: 7 Tips FOR Using Mirrors While Driving To Keep You Safe

5. Using Headlights Inappropriately

Using high-beamed headlights unnecessarily may, in some weirdly-logic opinions, help to see a little further. However, this incompetent action in driving will blind oncoming vehicles on the other side of the road, increasing the likelihood of head-on collisions.

Many drivers even use the headlights when traveling on streets already illuminated by lights. They do not even drop the headlights when other vehicles have actively signaled first. Not to mention, the status of the lights, the installation of LED lights, or high-powered lights is also a discouraging problem that can cause unsafety and even discomfort to other road users.

Headlights are born to help drivers see better when traveling on an empty road without lights. To avoid putting others in dangerous situations, learn and remember to check the lights mode before turning them on or getting behind the wheel.

6. Getting Too Close To Other Vehicles (Especially Bigger Ones)

Many drivers in the traffic choose to run too close to others, especially the in-front vehicles. It’s pretty hard to understand why they do it. Is that because the closer they get to the front, the better chance they will have to overtake or go faster? Surely, the reasons you may think about right now in your head are also quite confusing and weird.

Driving close to, or even side-by-side, with other vehicles in a narrow roadway, can cause numerous problems. In particular, some drivers still run parallel to large bulky oil and steel tankers without any intention of going over or back, even though the road does not have many obstacles or is too narrow.

Not only that, the danger from large bulky trucks carrying goods will be more alert if you do not actively stay away from them. In years, many accidents have happened because the objects on the bigger vehicles may accidentally fall and hit some nearby vehicles.

To avoid experiencing this unfortunate situation, the driver needs to keep a safe distance from vehicles in all directions to ensure that there will be enough time to apply the brake or steer if necessary.

>> Read More: 10 Tips To Drive Safely Around Large Trucks

7. Being Angry

Many factors rage daily stress such as rush hour with congested roads, even a few cars behind continuously honked to the point that drives your mind crazy. Being stuck in times like these, it’s hard to control yourself.

When encountering an extremely frustrating problem on the way, each driver will have different behavior, depending on their personality and level of patience. Some people will calm down, take a deep breath and find a good solution, but there are also people who, when provoked, may swear, behave violently, honk loudly, and suddenly swerve to express their uncontrolled anger.

According to studies, drivers in road rage are more than twice as likely to be involved in a car accident, often hitting another vehicle or running over a divider, than others. But how to avoid being in rage while driving? The question is not difficult but also not easy to answer.

You shouldn’t drive when you’re angry, tired, or distracted to a hard-to-control extent. Always avoid conflict even when you feel you are right. If an aggressive driver wants to attack you, don’t retaliate or engage with him. It is best to leave quietly and always take into account the possibility that you will needlessly confront a quarrelsome person.

Peace of mind is the factor that protects you from hasty reactions or over-stressing. You have to make sure your health and mentality are stable before taking the wheel.

In addition, you must always be ready to respond to unexpected situations caused by other annoying drivers on the road, when they act out of common sense or differently than you expected. If you, eventually, can not avoid a collision, choose the less dire resolving way. For example, people have a better chance of survival by accepting a no-brainer head-on than trying to avoid and having their car thrown into a deep hole.

8. Smoking In The Cabin

For some drivers, cigarettes are like a panacea that helps them stay focused in driving. Therefore, smoking, especially when being on a long way, has become a habit that is hard to quit for most drivers.

Some may casually think that as long as there are no children in the car, they can smoke freely without acknowledging how dangerous it is. The smoke will cling to every part of the car, especially the furniture, for a very long time, even if the driver opens the window and to the air conditioning system, making the car always filled with the unpleasant smell of smoke.

According to one Harvard University study, smoking in a car can directly affect the health and passengers of the car, depending on the degree of impact. To complete 45 tests, the experts placed a pollutant meter in the seats and let volunteers smoke for an hour, with windows open or slightly open.

As a result, the number of toxic substances in the smoke quickly affected the health of passengers, running from the nose to the lungs, and are very likely to cause respiratory diseases.

In many cases, as the smoker does not pay attention to cigarette filters falling on the floor mat or carelessly pushes the half-burned cigarette into the car seat, the risk of an explosion is very likely.

Smoking is another worth-avoiding habit in our today’s list of what should you avoid while driving. Please avoid smoking in the car to protect you and others’ health, as well as your beloved car too.

9. Speeding Up Sponteniously On The Street

Suddenly accelerating on a busy street can cause serious problems that you need to be aware of. We are not talking about your car having a random speeding problem because of the manufacturers’ fault. We are talking about bluffing that makes unexpected accidents possible. Sometimes, just an inadvertent brake pedal can cause a lot of trouble, especially when you are driving in a crowded city.

When you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, it’s easy to hit the gas and drive away in a rush. However, the problems you encounter later will not be so easily resolved like that. In the end, speeding will not make you move faster, but it may slow you down.

This type of common driver negligence should never be a part of your driving routine. It is not healthy at all. So instead of being sluggish to realize that this above action has been having very bad effects on you, the people around you, and even your car, learn more about the good driving habits people recommend. You will feel different when you apply those habits to your driving journey.

10. Being Drunk

Whether your blood alcohol concentration is high or low, driving a vehicle after drinking is a severely risky act. Alcohol affects the central nervous system, causing hallucinations, distraction, impaired ability to control and concentrate, increasing the risk of a collision when an unexpected situation occurs.

Your mind will be hazy and sore, your sight will become blurred, and your brain will be tired after just a few seconds of commuting. Do not put yourself in that pathetic situation, at any time, for any reason.

Therefore, whether you are driving a luxury modern model from Germany or an old Japanese car, you should remember not to drink before putting your hand on the wheel. That is your only job, as ahead of the wheel is your life, your health, and your family.

This bad driving behavior is not only strictly prohibited by law but also strongly condemned and boycotted by society. However, sadly, images and videos recording these acts still have been shared rapidly on the internet, leaving a very bad reputation to a part of the driving community in recent years.

Changing your ugly habit overnight is not easy. But everyone can do it because we are all grown up and have responsibilities to hold.

What Should You Avoid While Driving: Prioritize Your Safety

Above are Car From Japan’s notes on what should you avoid while driving. We hope you find it useful and can share it with those who are in need or currently having some unhealthy driving habits. The safety of you and those around you is the most important thing.

These actions, though small, can carry lots of useful messages that will help you to avoid accidents and collisions when traveling by car.

See you again for more and more exciting car driving tips next time. Stay alert, and drive smart. Good luck with all your drive.