Some drivers have been sorely lacking manners and etiquette in recent years, and it is extremely noticeable to respectful drivers.
Common mistakes that drivers make are talking on the phone, texting while driving, not wearing their seatbelt, and not stopping properly at stop signs.
Talking on the phone and texting has proven to be the most dangerous distraction while driving. According to the AAA Foundation, studies suggest that talking on a cell-phone roughly quadruples a person’s risk of being involved in a crash.
People stress over passing a cop without their seatbelt on; however, if they would put their seatbelt on, they would save stress and most likely their life and their passenger’s.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it is estimated that 15,146 lives were saved in 2007 by the use of seat belts. Being safe also depends on the attitude of other drivers.
Rudeness seems to describe many drivers these days. Rudeness varies anywhere from tailgating to honking the horn in rage. Tailgating can lead to rear ending the car in front and potentially hurting the driver and/or passengers and damaging their car; moreover, it can also be distracting and stressful to student drivers who are more leery about driving over the speed limit.
There are situations where honking the horn can be necessary in order to warn a fellow driver or to get an animal out of the road; however, honking the horn because there is traffic is unnecessary. Photo By: Ahram Newspaper (Newspaper) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons A careless driver attempts to make a U-turn in the middle of the street.
Along with being rude to fellow drivers, some motorists can not show common courtesy. When confronted with another driver sitting at a fourway from an opposing angle, drivers will floor it so they get out first, instead of waiting less than a minute and letting the other person go. Being kind to pedestrians, as to drivers, is a value lesson to know when driving.
Yielding to pedestrians is required by law; however, when some drivers see a pedestrian attempting to cross the street, they will keep on driving. Cyclists also often ride along the road to get their exercise, so drivers should proceed slowly until they can pass them without endangering anyone’s safety.Photo by: Liftarn [Public domain, GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC-BY-SA-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Drivers must yield to pedestrians in all cases.
With irresponsible drivers out there, it is important for safety to be considered. Driving safely saves lives everyday. No one wants to lose a family member or loved one due to inconsiderate and thoughtless drivers.
