Driving is already a pretty dangerous thing to do. You never know what’s going to happen while you’re behind the wheel. While you have to drive to get to the places you need to get to, that doesn’t mean that it’s any less of a dangerous activity to do. However, you can make driving even more dangerous by being reckless while behind the wheel or driving under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol. There are certain things that you should never do while you’re driving and we’re going to go through each of them in the below article.
Because you owe to yourself, the other people in your car, and the other drivers on the road to be as safe as you can out there. You never know when you might get into an accident, so it’s important to take all of the precautions to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place. Keep reading to learn some more about this important topic.
- Driving Under the Influence of Drugs And/or Alcohol
The first and most dangerous things that people do when they get behind the wheel is driving under the influence of illegal substances. Driving while under the influence of drugs and alcohol is the worst decision to make when driving on the road. If you are planning to do so, you might as well check on your safety policy for once. Many people think that this is an OK thing to do, especially when under the influence, but it puts your life and the lives of other drivers at risk. When you drive with these substances in your system, your reaction time is much slower and you’re more likely to drive recklessly and not know what you’re doing. If you happen to be under the influence, then ensure that you get somebody else to drive you home or get a taxi. Never get behind the wheel with alcohol or drugs in your system.
- Driving While Drowsy or Tired
One of the next worst things that you can do on the road is driving while you are drowsy or tired. Many people think that this one is not so bad, but driving when you’re tired seriously inhibits your ability to drive. Your reaction times are much slower and you might even fall asleep at the wheel, which will surely cause you to crash off the road or into another car.
If you do find yourself sleepy when you’re driving, it’s best to find methods that work for you to wake up. You can try to drink a nice cup of coffee or take an energy drink. Or you can open up the window to let some fresh air stream in to wake you right up. No matter what, make sure to find ways to wake up when you’re feeling too drowsy at the wheel.
- Speeding Faster Than the Speed Limit
Next up is one that you’ve definitely heard about before. One of the most dangerous and most common things that drivers do when they’re behind the wheel is to speed. Going faster than the speed limit is a horrible idea because as soon as you go faster than that limit, your control of the car goes out the window. You are much more likely to get into an accident because you are not able to control the car accurately at such high speeds.
Speed limits are there to protect you from getting into any kind of crashes. Make sure that you know the speed limit on the road you are on and keep it in mind when driving.
- Driving While Distracted
And of course, we have one of the most dangerous things that you can do on the road – purposefully distracting yourself from driving. This includes everything from texting while you’re driving to eating or talking to the other passengers in the car. When you’re distracted, you are less likely to see the other drivers on the road, animals that may pass out in front of you, or any accidents that may be on the highway.
Driving while distracted has caused so many people to end up in the hospital or even on their death beds. You definitely want to keep yourself and the other people in your car safe, so be sure to pay attention to the road at all times to make that happen.
- Driving Too Fast in Adverse Weather Conditions
Another dangerous thing that many drivers are guilty of is driving too fast when the weather is poor. Whether that’s snow, ice, or heavy rain, this is a problem that many drivers face. Many want to keep driving just as they normally would, but that’s not the best way of doing things when the weather is so bad. When there is snow or ice on the road, the surface is going to be way more slippery than normal. This drastically increases your chance of sliding off the road or into other cars on the road, causing a huge crash and possibly tons of injuries. Make sure to take precautions and slow it down when the weather is not so good.
- Drafting Tractor Trailers
This is actually something that many drivers try to do that works, but is super dangerous nonetheless. It’s proven that you’re going to save fuel in your car and increase fuel efficiency if you drive close to the back of a tractor trailer. This is because you’re taking advantage of the low-pressure zone created when the vehicle blocks the air flow. However, this is super dangerous to do and should never be done when you’re driving on the road.
You never know when such a tractor trailer is going to suddenly brake. And there’s going to be no time for you to take evasive maneuvers if you’re only worried about saving fuel on the highway.
- Reckless Driving
And lastly, one of the most dangerous things that people do on the road is driving recklessly. Now, this can be anything from driving too fast on the road to cutting people off unnecessarily to being an annoyance to other drivers. All of these things can be super reckless and cause accidents when you don’t think they might. Just follow the rules of the road and respect the lives of other drivers!
And there you have it! These are the top dangerous activities that drivers do when they’re behind the wheel of a car. Which of these are you guilty of and need to work on a bit? If you’re like most people, you might have had experience with a couple of these activities.