Most people have at least one bad driving habit. You may have a bad driving habit and not realize it. Let’s talk about the worst driving habits and how to avoid them.
What Are Driving Habits?
Driving habits are behaviors that drivers exhibit on the road. Before discussing some of the worst driving habits, let’s talk about good driving habits that you should adopt. Examples of good driving habits include the following:
- Looking past the vehicle in front of you and leaving enough space around your vehicle
- Taking breaks often and parking defensively
- Focusing on the road and avoiding distractions
- Frequently checking your mirrors and being aware of your surroundings
- Regularly maintaining your vehicle
- Using your turn signals
- Decreasing or increasing speed when necessary
What Are Some of the Worst Driving Habits?
There are several different driving habits that you should avoid adopting at all costs, such as the following:
- Driving when you’re half asleep or getting sleepy
- Using your cell phone
- Ignoring posted speed limits
- Changing traffic lanes without using your turn signal
- Failing to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you
- Driving under the influence of any substance (alcohol, drugs, etc.)
Many if not all of these behaviors are common causes of auto accidents and traffic fatalities.
Things You Should Avoid Doing While Driving
In general, most vehicle owners spend less than 1 hour on the road each day. Although driving may quickly seem like a mundane task for a lot of people, operating a motor vehicle is a responsibility, not a right, and should never be taken lightly.
You may be surprised at how easy it is to adopt terrible driving habits. Many bad driving habits are popular because they give drivers a false sense of comfort, and to most drivers, seem harmless. Regardless of how harmless a bad driving habit may seem, the consequences are almost always severe. Adopting bad driving habits can increase your auto insurance premium if you’re arrested for committing any traffic offense, especially if it leads to injury or death. Here are different things you need to avoid doing while driving.
Using Your Cell Phone
Cell phones and driving are the perfect recipe for disaster. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that distracted driving claimed over 3,000 lives in 2021. Using a cell phone while driving is deemed one of the most dangerous driving habits, next in line behind drunk driving. Trying to use a cell phone while operating a vehicle tremendously increases the likelihood of an auto accident.
Operating Electronic Devices
Some drivers are more easily distracted than others. Did you know that trying to set your GPS device or listening to loud music with headphones is considered distracted driving? Auto accidents caused by distracted driving generally occur when drivers aren’t paying attention to the road. In some scenarios, drivers remove their hands from the steering wheel once they get side-tracked. Engaging in any distracted driving habits can cause you to miss blind spots or take your eyes off the road. It may feel like you’re taking your eyes off the road for a few seconds, but those few seconds can have fatal and tragic results.
Driving Under the Influence
The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that in 2018, over 20 million people ages 16 and older operated a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, and over 12 million operated a motor vehicle under the influence of illicit drugs. It’s difficult to measure the number of auto accidents that were caused by drunk or drugged driving. However, estimates show that more than 35% of drivers who were involved in fatal car accidents tested positive for drugs.
Stressed and Drowsy Driving
It’s normal for people to be stressed or drowsy, especially after a long day. However, operating a vehicle while stressed or drowsy is just as dangerous as distracted driving habits. If you’re sleepy, don’t get behind the wheel! If you get drowsy while driving, try to find a rest stop where you can get some sleep before continuing to your destination.
Driving when you’re stressed out is just as dangerous as driving while you’re sleepy or engaging in any distracted driving practices. Driving while you’re stressed can affect your ability to maintain focus on the road. Road rage can quickly become a problem. You should never operate a motor vehicle after a heated argument because your ability to focus will greatly diminish.
Driving Above the Posted Speed Limit (Speeding)
Speeding is something most drivers engage in, even if it’s one mph over the posted speed limit. However, it’s not likely you will get a ticket for going 1 mph over the set limit, but it’s not impossible. As you probably guessed, speeding is one of the most dangerous driving habits. It makes the list of the top 3 most dangerous driving habits. Even if you consider yourself an experienced driver, speeding is never a good idea, especially on wet roads or when you’re driving in less than favorable weather.
Ignoring Traffic Signs, Traffic Lights, and Using Your Turn Signals
Trying to race or beat traffic lights, and ignoring traffic signs are risks that don’t need to be taken. Taking these unnecessary risks can lead to severe injuries or have fatal results. Most drivers engage in this traffic offense involuntarily because they are in a hurry. This is a perfect example of how easily it is to get into bad habits without knowing it. When you’re late to a destination, anxiety can quickly set in, causing you to put the pedal to the metal. If you feel the need to speed up to pass a yellow light, take a few deep breaths and slow down instead.
Ignoring the Parking Brake
If you’re parked on an incline, you’ll want to use the parking brake to prevent your vehicle from rolling down the hill. Even if you think you don’t need the parking brake, it’s best to be safe than sorry and have a ton of fines to pay. If you’re parked on an incline and you neglect to use the parking brake, you may get lucky and your vehicle won’t roll down the hill. However, without the parking brake tremendous pressure is put on the car’s transmission, which could lead to your vehicle rolling down the hill.
Riding the Clutch
If your car has a manual transmission, you may often make the mistake of keeping the clutch engaged way past the time of shifting gears or braking. Riding the clutch can negatively affect your car’s hydraulic system and cause the flywheel plates to graze, which can eventually lead to clutch failure.
Shifting Into Reverse When You Are Not Completely Stopped
Driving a stick shit and driving a vehicle with an automatic transmission are two different things. However, whether you’re operating a manual or automatic transmission, forcing the car’s transmission to perform actions it wasn’t designed for is never a good idea. For example, shifting gears, such as putting your vehicle in reverse when the car is not completely stopped will damage the car’s drive shaft and suspension.
Regularly Putting Small Amounts of Gas in Your Vehicle
Don’t wait to put gas in your car. If you can get gas before or after work, do so. A lot of drivers wait until they can get a better deal on gas, and doing so can be costly. Gas has been steadily increasing over the years, so don’t waste time and gas trying to find a better deal than the last. You could run out of gas trying to find a good deal! If you add a few gallons of gas here and there regularly, you can damage your vehicle because the car will be forced to take sediments at the bottom of the gas tank each time you run low on fuel. Sediments in the gas tank can clog your engine, and that’s a different type of expensive problem.
Riding Your Brakes Downhill
For some drivers, riding a car’s brakes downhill is a habit, and it’s a bad one. There may come a time when you’ll need to hit the brakes in an emergency, especially going downhill. However, riding the brakes downhill or continuously hard braking can cause the car’s braking system to wear, which can eventually lead to brake failure. Instead of riding your brakes downhill, you can try switching to a lower gear if possible.
Bad Driving Habits That Can Damage Your Vehicle
Bad driving habits not only cause auto accidents, but they can also damage your vehicle. We’ll help you identify and possibly avoid different bad driving habits that you may not be aware of.
Fast Start Without Warming Up the Car
Allowing your car to warm up is essential, especially if it’s cold outside or if you haven’t driven the car in a while. Believe it or not, fast starting your vehicle is a common bad driving habit that can damage your vehicle. You’ll want to let your car’s engine warm up at least for 2 minutes before driving it to allow the oil to reach the proper temperature to correctly distribute throughout the engine block. You should know that revving a cold engine won’t help in this scenario. Revving a cold engine strains the engine’s components.
Over-Revving Your Engine
Your car’s engine is designed to operate at a specific revolution per minute, which is often electronically limited. If your car has an automatic transmission, this type of transmission prevents you from over-revving the engine by upshifting automatically and preventing downshifting to avoid ever-revving.
However, cars that have manual transmissions do not have the same ability as automatic transmissions, which means nothing is stopping you from over-revving the engine. Dropping into the wrong gear can cause the car’s engine to blow out, which can be catastrophic.
Changing gears before the car’s engine reaches the maximum power band can preserve the engine and provide fuel economy benefits. However, this is not to be confused with rev-matching, which is when you downshift to provide a smooth transition between gears to prevent shock loads throughout the transmission.
Ignoring Strange Car Noises
Sure, cars make a lot of different noises, and sometimes these noises can be an indication that something is malfunctioning. The hum of the engine, wind, and road vibrations are normal noises for a car to make. Here are different car noises you need to pay attention to:
- Tapping, clicking, and popping noises coming from the engine
- Grinding when you’re shifting (in a vehicle that has a manual transmission)
- Noises when you’re making a turn
- Grinding, scraping, or squealing brakes
- Low-pitch squealing or humming noises from underneath the car
Overfilling Your Gas Tank
We’ve discussed how keeping little to no gas in your vehicle can negatively affect the car’s overall function, but did you know overfilling your gas tank can also have a negative effect? All gas-powered vehicles have a closed-circuit system. This system grapes and burns the fumes that come from the car’s gas tank.
Filling your car’s gas tank too frequently can compromise the Evaporative Emission (EVAP) system. The EVAP system is designed to process excess gasoline vapor. When this system is compromised, your vehicle becomes more susceptible to expensive repairs.
Staying Parked for Too Long
Keeping your car parked too long is a common issue for cars that you no longer drive or don’t drive as often. When a vehicle is parked too long, unwanted issues can occur, such as problems with the battery. In most scenarios, a car’s battery is powered by the engine, which will only charged if the car is used regularly.
Even if you don’t use the car often, you should start the car and let it run for a few minutes. Cars that aren’t driven for long periods have battery issues because, over time, the battery will lose efficiency, even if the vehicle is jump-started.
One thing drivers forget about when a car is parked for long periods is the paint job. An abundance of sunshine and bird droppings are the primary culprits for damaged paint. If these droppings are not cleaned up promptly, the acidic building up will damage the paint and can even corrode the sheet metal.
Smoking in Your Car
Did you know that smoking in your car is just as dangerous as using your phone while driving? In addition to being distracted, your oxygen levels in the car are lowered, and there is an increased level of carbon monoxide, which hinders your ability to fully concentrate.
Eating In the Car
Who doesn’t love a good snack or two? Eating in the car requires you to multitask, which can be deemed as distracted driving. If you’re drinking a hot beverage, there’s always the chance of it spilling, which can cause you to be distracted and possibly cause an accident.
Overloading Your Vehicle
If you’re hauling a lot of items, such as luggage, full boxes, and other items in addition to having multiple passengers, you could be overhauling your vehicle. When you overhaul your vehicle, you increase the strain on the powertrain, brakes, and suspension, which could cause these components to fail at any time.
Not Slowing Down at Speed Bumps or Avoiding Potholes
Speed bumps and potholes can damage your vehicle, especially if you’re traveling at high speeds. Driving over speed bumps or potholes without slowing down can cause your tires to become misaligned or burst, which increases the risk of an accident.
Many, if not all of the bad driving habits we’ve discussed can lead to an auto accident. The good news is you can work on these bad habits and stop doing them to improve your safety on the road.