Bad Drivers Are Everywhere

Traffic accidents are as ordinary as anyone’s bacon and egg in their breakfast meals. They are as common as snow in Alaska and as desert in the Middle East. Highway accidents no more shock nor scare anyone for driving. No, not even the ones who have been victims themselves. In a study made by Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin conducted in 2004 to 2005, the researchers found that there were about 90 percent of the respondents have relatives who have experienced car crash. What seems intriguing here is that fact that 56 percent of the respondents never changed their bad driving habits.

Staying behind the wheel is not what is risky about driving: the risk lies on the driver. The risk of traffic accidents is not measured by the driver’s age, expertise and knowledge; neither does it depends on the model of the car being driven but rather on the driver’s driving habits. Anyone who wants to know how common bad drivers are? Let anyone list the habits of a good driver and the bad driver as well and you will see that it is easier to list bad driving habits than the good ones.

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The Wisconsin Department of Transportation reported an about 800 fatalities due to motor vehicle traffic crashes (C. Sadler). Of this figure, 42 percent were alcohol-related, 33 percent is speed-related and 19 percent was attributed to the influence of both. IN a separate study made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2005, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15-20 year olds. The list of the causes of these accidents is quite long and all of the items are bad driving habits.

It ranges from not wearing seatbelts, eating and drinking while driving, answering calls and even texting. The list goes on with tailgating and over speeding to the weird habit of applying make up while driving. So what directly causes the accidents is the driver’s inattention. “Driver inattention is the most prevalent cause of collisions”, reported the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The same study also revealed the top five bad driving habits that they have done in the last thirty days.

Seventy nine percent had the habit of changing the radio station or CD and 61 % did exceed the speed limit as well as driving without both hands in the steering wheel. Fifty one percent honestly admitted answering calls and 45% were eating while driving. Bad driving habits make a bad driver. If traffic accidents statistics are to be the basis, I can say that we really have too many bad drivers on the road. "People can often assume they are better drivers than they actually are” (M. German). The main point here is that drivers often place a high regard on their driving abilities and skills.

They often put too much confidence on their driving that they tend to forget that they are on the road and not simply sitting on their couches at home. So what am I driving at? I mean what am I trying to point out here? Driving is not all about skills, abilities and experience; it is about discipline. If every driver just conforms to traffic rules and regulations, there will be lesser road accidents. If every driver just brings a dose of patience on their way, then there should have been lesser vehicle collisions caused by drivers who wanted to own the highways.

If parents and elders just teach and show their children the right driving attitude, there should have been much less of the teens that represent 14% of the driving fatalities (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety). There should not have been about 31,000 of them, aging from 15 to 17 years old who were killed in crashes (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 1995 to 2004). Elders should do less of the driving habits like talking on the phone, listening to music, eating and speeding in order to shape the younger generation into disciplined drivers. The law must make sure that the road is close for bad drivers.

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