So You Think You Can Drive?

Is there anything worse than sitting in a car with a bad driver? And they’re always clueless, aren’t they?

Poor drivers aren’t just annoying. They can be downright dangerous. They slam on brakes, drive too close, pay attention to everything but the road and can’t even tell how tense their passengers are.

We say “they” to be polite. But we could very easily be pointing at any one of you reading this. Naturally, the majority of you know that reference is forothers reading this. But then, we did say they’re clueless.

Here is a list of common habits that can be attributed to bad drivers. Be honest when reviewing them. The chances are the more habits you identify with, the more likely your approach behind the wheel needs an adjustment. Pedestrians, fellow drivers and passengers would appreciate it.

It’s always the other guy. Some drivers are constantly snapping about what some hapless driver just did. You slammed on the brakes because of what someone else’s action. Sure, it happens but it shouldn’t happenall the time. If some driver is constantly pissing you off, you need to figure out how come you keep running into no pun intended these supposedly horrible drivers.

You’ve been in a few accidents and they weren’t your fault. Well, who should accept blame is irrelevant. A car should be involved in but so many scrapes, experience but so many bumps, end up in so many crashes before you need to consider why everybody else doesn’t know how to drive.

You keep replacing valuable parts. Your clutch keeps wearing down. So do your breaks. And why are there white streaks on the sidewalls of your tires? It’s because you’re not paying attention. You’re putting too much pressure on the brake and clutch. You’re scraping your tires against the sidewalk when you park.

Things get quiet when you talk about your good driving. How can you miss that? Has anyone ever told you you’re a good driver? Do they politely agree because you brought it up or while you complain about how everyone else sucks behind the wheel? Think about it.

Man driving a car

You lack side view mirrors. There are only two ways to lose a door mirror. Some vandals break it while it’s sitting still. The other is it gets broken off because you’re not paying attention to how close you are to other objects.

You’re really, really busy. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never been in an accident because of it, if you believe you’re so skilled you can do a hundred things while the vehicle’s in motion, you are a bad driver. Eating a burger, fixing your face, talking on the phone, texting, they all make you a road threat.

Check the color of your bumpers. If they contain multiple colors, little scraps picked up from hitting someone else’s car for any number of reasons, you are one careless driver. It can happen to any one of us but it shouldn’t be happening again and again.

Everyone’s passing you on the right. Of course they are. You’re driving like an old lady. Speed isn’t the only sign of bad driving, you know. If you read the manual (again), you’ll see you’re only supposed to pass on theleft. If they’re going around you, it’s probably because you’re in the wrong lane going too slow for the traffic flow.

You do a lot of excessive braking on the highways. When traffic is flowing smoothly the advantage of being on the highway is you don’t need to use your brakes so frequently. If you’re still hitting the brake a lot, you’re driving too fast. You’re also just burning fuel needlessly.

You think you own a sports car. This thinking leads to dangerous driving. It gives people the impression they’re in a Vin Diesel movie. They weave in and out, jump lanes without warning and like kicking dust when they pull away from the curb, even on concrete, which, by the way, doesn’t kick dust.

Everyone suggests they drive. So, it’s your turn to be the designated driver. Oh no, it’s okay, I’ll do it. But you did it last time? I don’t mind. But that’s not really fair. Hey, who said life was fair? Take the hint.

You drink and drive. This is bad driving at its worst. It doesn’t matter if it’s just on the weekend, nightly or after a social occasion. If you get behind the wheel when you know you’ve had too much, you, my friend, are a bad driver.

If you don’t see yourself on this list, do everyone a favor and look it over a second time. If your opinion hasn’t changed, excellent, you’re probably a good driver. If something makes you think twice, give all driving habits a good thinking over, for everyone’s sake.