Most of us often make some common driving mistakes, which can at times prove to be rather costly and even dangerous. So, here’s a guide to what one should avoid, and watch out for, while driving.
Most of us witness chaos everyday on our roads – with ill-trained motorists flouting rules with impunity. As a result, we are often exposed to dangerous driving conditions. To help you avoid these situations, here are some of the most common mistakes made while driving, which you should avoid for your own safety, and for your small contribution towards improving the safety on our roads.
Jumping Red lights: A very common occurrence is people jumping red lights. This is one of the biggest causes of traffic accidents – resulting in damage and injuries. The desire to save those few minutes by not waiting for the light to turn green can often be fatal, since road users following a green light do not expect to have someone jump in their way while they have the right of way. Special care must also be taken when the traffic lights are not functioning, as there could be other vehicles trying to speed through the junction. Of course, in the interest of your own safety, do not ever jump a traffic light.
Driving on the wrong side: This is perhaps one of the most dangerous and, yet, most often flouted rule on our roads. Motorists resort to driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid taking a slightly longer (but correct) route. But, in their desire to cut corners to save a couple of minutes, they put themselves and their passengers in grave danger. After all, the traffic travelling the correct way doesn’t expect to have someone travelling at them head-on, and this can easily cause a collision – especially around curves. So, even if it means you need to travel a few extra minutes, drive the correct way and do not drive on the wrong side of the road.
Mobile phone use: Easily the most common traffic violation today, using a mobile phone while driving is a fault most of us have committed. But what most of us don’t realize is that using a mobile phone while driving seriously distracts us from the job at hand. More so in the case of replying to text messages, reading or replying to emails and social media usage. While talking is bad enough, texting or other use of the phone is worse as that means the drivers eyes are not on the road at all – and that is a sure shot recipe for disaster. If a call really is that urgent, always stop on the side of the road and use the phone to minimize risk to both your own self and the people around you.
Lane Driving: Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of our driving conditions is that there is simply not enough knowledge amongst regular road users with regards to lane driving. So, everyday we get to see vehicles driving in the wrong lane, or driving while occupying multiple lanes, or even swerving in and out of lanes. So, to recap the basics, the right-most lanes in our road system is for faster vehicles to overtake, the middle lane is for slower vehicles to cruise in, and the left-most lane is for heavy and slow-moving vehicles. So, when you’re not overtaking someone, try and stay in the middle lane and leave the right-most lanes for fast vehicles. Also, always try and drive between the lines marking a lane, as occupying the space between two lanes can lead to holding up traffic behind you.
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