Correcting These 10 Driving Habits May Bring Us One Step Closer to World Peace! Barbara Kennedy

Living in Austin, Texas, I have experienced my share of bad drivers on the roadways. Below are what I believe to be the top ten most problematic driving behaviors. Eliminating these behaviors would greatly reduce stress on roadways.

1. Driving slowly in the left lane. If you are in the left lane and someone faster comes up behind you, move over to the right. This should be a no-brainer, but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard people justify staying in the fast lane by saying, “The speed limit’s 65, and I’m already going 70. That person shouldn’t be driving so fast.” Unless you are law enforcement, it is not your job to control how fast others drive. Would you rather have someone speeding in one lane or weaving in and out of traffic at those high speeds? Not only is weaving around other drivers at 80 mph far more dangerous, but also the person driving is likely to get increasingly annoyed by people who do not move out of the way, which will result in more aggressive driving and potential for road rage incidents.

2. Tailgating in the left lane. While this also is dangerous, I actually understand this one. However, if tailgating has not resulted in getting the person to move to the right, and you have room to pass on the right, do it. I hear people frequently use the excuse that it is illegal to pass on the right in Texas. I’m here to set the record straight. According to the Texas Transportation Code, Section 545.057, it is legal to pass on the right “on a highway having unobstructed pavement not occupied by parked vehicles and sufficient width for two or more lines of moving vehicles in each direction.” So, yes, if you’re on a multi-lane highway in Texas and stuck behind a slow driver who will not move over, just go around. For those of you in other states, check your local transportation codes. I can’t imagine they’d be too different.

3. Tailgating in the right lane. Nothing annoys me more than someone tailgating me while I am driving in the right lane, especially when there are ample opportunities to pass me. Is she lonely and needs to be that close to another car to feel like part of the human race? Is she trying to study my haircut from behind? Is she using my car as a guide to stay within the lane? I just don’t have any clue what would possess someone to do that. 4. Tailgating in rush hour traffic. Hey, it’s rush hour. You are not going to be able to drive 60 mph. You’re not. Driving one foot behind the car in front of you will not make you get to work or home any faster. You’re just getting yourself worked up, upsetting other drivers, and making everyone want to punch something by the time they reach their destinations. You’re stuck in traffic, but do not fret; there is hope for you because I have a secret to happiness during rush hour. I listen to either a Flight of the Conchords CD, Comedy Radio, or music that I love. Let’s face it: Would you rather spend a couple of hours everyday laughing, singing, or otherwise enjoying yourself, or a couple hours a day swearing, yelling at other drivers, and basically hating every other person who is on the road? (Well, you might like the latter—I’ve seen your video game collection.)

5. Not using turn signals or using turn signals after you are already mid-turn. The turn indicator mechanism is standard in all vehicles, really easy to use, and not difficult to figure out when and how to use it. In my years of driving on Austin highways, I have seen more collisions or near-collisions from people not utilizing turn signals than I have from most other bad driving habits. The top excuse for this one? “If I use my signal, the other drivers won’t let me over.” While this seems ludicrous at face value, I have actually witnessed this, and it brings me to my next big driving issue.

6. Lane possessiveness. If someone signals to get over into your lane, for the love of all that is holy, let him over. I’ve seen people speed up just to prevent someone getting into a lane when the person originally had ample room to merge. What is this need to play bouncer and not allow any more cars into your lane? It’s not some exclusive club. It’s a lane, and it’s open to everyone. Allowing a car to merge into your lane rarely affects you at all. It won’t suddenly make you 10 minutes late to work. It’s not like you are dating the lane, and it will cheapen the relationship if another man drives on it. If you think that way, maybe you need to get out of your car and get into therapy. Failure to let a car merge into your lane also affects all the cars behind that one, because now he may decide he needs to slow down to get over, which again, is problematic.

7. Slowing to a crawl in the center or left lane of a highway to change lanes. Not accounting for your rapidly approaching exit, then suddenly slowing to 30 mph to get into the right lane poses serious problems for anyone behind you. There are two things you can do to avoid this. First, just take the next exit and loop back around. Sure, it uses a little more gas, but it also prevents someone from rear-ending another driver because of the sudden, seemingly inexplicable decrease in speed. Second, plan ahead. If you know you are going to exit in the near future, get into the right lane early. Sure you may have to drive a little slower than what you would like, but is driving 5 mph slower for the next 2 miles really going to make that much of a difference?

8. Not paying attention. The statistics for accidents caused by distracted driving are ridiculously high. I’m not just talking about cell phones here. The things I have witnessed other drivers do terrify me. Once during rush hour, I saw a woman doing a crossword puzzle on her steering wheel. Yes, we were only going about 30 mph down the highway, but still, a crossword puzzle? Am I the only one who thinks that is insane?? But wait, there’s more. I’ve also observed people reading paperback books, playing handheld video games, and writing in notebooks strategically positioned on the steering wheel. It’s one thing if you are stopped at a light and doing these things. Likely, the worst thing that would happen is you miss the light change, but if you’re moving even at 30 mph, the risk increases exponentially.

9. Littering out of your car. This may seem relatively harmless to most people (aside from the damage they’re doing to the planet), but sometimes consequences occur of which the litterer is completely unaware. Anything thrown from a vehicle may potentially hit a bystander or another vehicle (or windshield), or may wind up as an obstruction in the roadway. Gas stations have trash bins by the pumps. It doesn’t take long to stop and toss your item in the trash. Even tossing the smallest of items out of your car could pose problems. Many years ago, a motorcycle driver told me a tossed cigarette butt landed in the elbow crease of his jacket, and caught it on fire while he was driving down the interstate. He said he was lucky he didn’t suffer much more than road rash and a small burn. While I cannot confirm his story, it gives me pause to think. Every year, during the hot summer, discarded cigarette butts ignite fires along roadsides in Texas, so I believe him. Anything thrown from a vehicle can do some damage. Now you know, and knowledge is power.

10. Aggressive driving. We all have those days when we’re just annoyed. Things aren’t going well. Work sucks. Stress impacts us all at varying degrees. Do we really need to take our frustrations out on the grandma driving 40 on the highway? It’s not her fault you got demoted. Sometimes being aggressive can backfire. The truth is that you never know who’s in the other car. I have read horror stories about people following other people, running them off the roads, even assaulting or shooting at drivers just because someone made a poor judgement while driving. Sadly, the world is full of psychos, so it’s best not to let your anger impact how you respond to other drivers.

Sit back, leave plenty of room between you and the car in front of you, turn up the radio, and sing along to your favorite song or laugh along to your favorite comedian. You’ll find that spending a couple hours alone with your thoughts, some nice music, or some comedic sampling, rather than stressing about the drivers all around you, will result in a much better mindset when you arrive at your destination.