Whether you’ve been driving for two months or twenty years, here are some bad driving habits to avoid that fear no man and are picked up by most (even you).
Here is our gentle tap on the wrist to remind you to sit straight, keep your eyes on the road and keep the driving attitude in check!
In a country like South Africa where our roads seem lawless, it can be easy to develop bad driving habits that are not only dangerous but illegal.
The line between a bad habit and an illegal one
Traffic laws are always being adapted and re-evaluated, which makes it tricky to keep up to date with what is and isn’t legal. Here we’re going to remind you about what you could be doing on the road that lands you in trouble with the law, which is never what we want!
A bad driving habit is something that doesn’t optimize your safety or competency on the roads. It isn’t necessarily illegal but would be a contributing factor to an accident somewhere down the road (buh-dum-tss).
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Check out this blog on bad driving habits to avoid. They are not only compromising your safety but costing you money too.
Here are a few examples of bad (but not illegal) driving habits you should get on top of:
- Poor posture whilst driving is a terrible habit you should rectify ASAP. Slouching, having one hand on the wheel or your arms stick straight against the wheel are all examples of poor driving posture that will leave you unprepared if you need to make a quick driving decision.
- An inappropriate attitude (whether in life or on the roads, actually) is one of the most common bad driving habits amongst South African drivers.
Being in an aggressive, impatient mood on the roads puts you and other drivers at risk. Sies tog! - If you are not using adequate defensive driving techniques in your everyday travels on the road, you are not a good driver.
Many drivers pick up bad habits like rolling too close to cars at an intersection, not using or checking your blind spot or choosing inappropriate speeds for weather or road conditions.
More than just a bad habit
If there is one thing worse than a bad driving habit, it is an illegal one.
With new laws being created all the time, more often than not you’ll find that what you considered to be a mild misdemeanour is against the law.
An illegal driving habit is a driving practice that puts your life and the lives of others at risk on the roads by breaking laws that have been in place to keep the roads safe.
What we decided to do was compile a list of the most common traffic violations committed on the roads to maybe jog your memory about what you should have learned from your Learners Licence test all those many moons ago. Let’s jump in!
Illegal and bad driving habits to avoid
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Driving through stop signs.
Just because it isn’t a traffic light doesn’t mean you don’t have to listen to it.
This is one of the more common bad driving habits to avoid. Stop signs are often placed at busy intersections where a few accidents have occurred already, so preventative measures are put in place.
Rolling or driving through a stop sign is a fineable offence or jailable offence should your actions cause any bodily harm or loss of life.
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Not stopping for pedestrians.
Are we starting to notice that 70% of being a good driver is just stopping where you’re supposed to stop?
Not only does not stopping to let a pedestrian cross make you a huge jerk, but it also makes you a criminal. Slow down and let the people pass!
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Incorrect lane changes.
It doesn’t matter that you think the car behind you is too far to need you to indicate – you indicate every single time that you change lanes.
Not only is it incredibly annoying to be behind somebody who makes every move a mystery, but it also happens to be a leading cause of road accidents and will get you in trouble with the law.
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Smoking in the car with a minor
Under South African law, smoking with a child under the age of 12 in a car is an illegal offence.
Due to the high volumes of second-hand smoke a passenger would inhale being in a car with a smoker (a higher volume than being in a bar smoking section, by the way), it makes perfect sense why this law has been put in place.
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Tailgating and not keeping your distance.
Like the no-indicator thing, tailgating goes above and beyond being wildly aggravating but errs on the side of the illegal and.
Tailgating is driving too close to other cars, making the likelihood of an accident pretty high.
Tailgating gives you a reduced reaction time and a loss of vehicle control due to brake performance being hindered by emergency braking. That’s why this is one of the more important bad driving habits to avoid.
Your crash into the leading car may not be fatal, but many low-impact non-fatal crashes could be easily avoided by responsible and disciplined driving.
Read next: 5 Myths You May Have Believed About Texting and Driving
From us at Oneplan to you on the roads, we trust you will drive safely for the health and safety of not just you, but others too. Let’s all try to be better drivers and take to heart these bad driving habits to avoid.
Yours in flexible car insurance,
Oneplan
