There are an estimated two-hundred and sixty million registered vehicles in the United States of America. Every one of these drivers has a unique background which shows through their different, and sometimes unbearable, driving habits. Although it can be hard, it is important to realize that you will not be the only person going out and driving today. One has to be cautious of others who may be driving poorly. More importantly, it is necessary for us to avoid those distracted drivers that seem to be inattentive and in “a world of their own” while attempting to drive.
Since receiving my driver’s license, I have noticed different types of drivers everywhere I go. These drivers appear everyday, no matter where you drive, and can either make or break your entire day. While the term “driver” can be applied to almost anyone operating a motor vehicle, the way a person drives often changes with age and experience. I am sure the types of drivers you have come across can be classified in one of these four categories: The neutral driver, the cautious drivers, the reckless drivers, and the unpredictable drivers. You may also classify yourself under one of these categories at one time or another.
The first category of drivers is the neutral driver. These neutral drivers attempt to go unnoticed by drivers around them and have a tendency to “go with
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At first, these drivers appear to be neutral drivers, unnoticeable and in a car that one would be content to follow. Suddenly, these so-called “neutral drivers” become unpredictable and may slow down to ten miles per hour below the speed limit. They may also speed up to ten miles per hour above the speed limit or higher, thereby becoming a reckless driver. The common culprit of unpredictable drivers include the “soccer mom/dad,” distracted by screaming children. This is also true of any other distracted or overwhelmed driver (i.e. those eating, texting,
According to the results from the 2009 AAA Foundation’s Traffic Safety Culture Index published on April 2009 and accessed on May 16, 2016, “78 percent of respondents rated aggressive drivers as a serious or extremely serious traffic safety problem. However, many of the same people reported driving in ways that could be classified as aggressive.”
I personally have never been a victim of distracted driving; however, I have witnessed many of my peers drive while distracted and the experience can be a frightening one. I was in the passenger seat of my friend’s car. As we were driving home, I noticed a car directly in front of us begin to sway left and right, dangerously crossing from one lane to the next. My friend clearly took notice of the reckless driving as well because he slowed down to gain some distance between us and the inattentive driver. After turning at an intersection, the car crossed into oncoming traffic, consequently crashing into another vehicle. We later discovered that the person irresponsibly driving the car was a student at our high school and that they were texting while driving. Furthermore, no person was fatally harmed
After reading “Driving While Stupid,” by Dave Barry, he tells us about some of his experience with seeing bad drivers. Barry uses many old experiences while being in Miami, China, Boston, and Argentina. I agree with this statement because in almost every city I been in the driving was terrible. Everyone, in some way or another, has witnessed people drive very stupid and reckless. Barry indicated that some drivers use insane driving techniques. These include driving very fast, failure of the utilization of headlights at night, and having distractions for the view of the drivers. He says that the drivers do not have a sequence for navigation since some are involved in phone calls, eating, reading, changing CDs, crowd surface makeup, etc. This is a common thing for teens and even adults to be distracted behind the wheel. He drove through various cities where the traffic laws are constantly being violated. For example, has only one traffic law, which is “No driver may ever be behind any other driver.” In his opinion, Miami drivers are the worst drivers that he has ever witness because of the guy who was driving on 1-95. He was watching videos on his phone and was clearly not paying attention to the road or any other drivers. This does not only affect him but also the other people around him. He was not be cautious of the road and putting his and others lives in danger.
A distracted driver is anyone who diverts their attention from driving by either talking or texting, talking or performing any other multitasking activity on a mobile device while driving. on a mobile device eitherRegardless if the device is a hand-held hands on or hand-freeoff or multitasking while driving. All distractions are dangerous, but text messaging is the most hazardous because it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver (Distraction.govDistracted Driving, 2013). Regardless of the ageage, sex, or expertise of a driver; a distracted driver is a danger to society. When we drive distractedFor the distracted driver, the result is the same, and it is just an accident waiting to happen. The fact is that, and the growing number of life changing accidents is inis on the rise. This practice does not only affect the driver but “all distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety” (Distracted Driving, 2013).
Distracted driving is one of the fastest growing problems in the United States. It is starting to be considered as serious as drunk driving based on the dangerous outcomes. According to the Department of Transportation (2012), “distracted driving was a cause of roughly 450,000 accident-related injuries and nearly 5,500 fatalities in 2009 alone” (para. 1). Drivers who allow themselves to become distracted while driving are not only endangering themselves, but other innocent bystanders.
First, what is distracted driving? Distracted driving is any activity that takes the drivers attention away from driving. These distractions threaten everyone in the vehicle and the innocent bystander’s safety. Some of the distractions include: texting, eating and drinking, reading, watching a video, adjusting the radio, putting on makeup. These distractions take the drivers attention away from what they should be doing. In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in an accident involving a distracted driver. Around 424,000 people were
Drivers who maybe under the influence of alcohol display behaviors that can be identified by officers or citizen drivers in four
According to the center for disease control and prevention, in 2010 there is more than 660,000 and 4054 injuries and deaths to the adolescents aged 13-19. Effectively, distracted driving causes up to 10% of fatal and 17% of non-fatal injury- causing crashes (Distracted Driving, 2013). If this complex task is attempted by a distracted driver, lane changing can be quite dangerous and could potentially be the cause of MVCs. That is simply because if you distracted, you are simply more likely to navigate at slower speeds and have longer reaction times (Horrey and Wickens, 2006). Then, the driver distraction may have important implications not only for safety but also for the traffic
If you see them driving on the road, they are probably swerving around trying to stay on the road because they can’t manage two things at once. Most of the time on the interstate you will find them cruising along at about 50 in the fast lane, blocking traffic due to the fact they are oblivious that they are going under the speed limit. When they are in a city traffic setting, often times they will run red lights, and make other fatal traffic errors. They would be decent drivers, if the distractions were removed from the car!
Many drivers feel as if the are too rushed to make it to their destination and spend less time on the road. Many drivers either speed during rush hour or when the road is empty. "Motorists who drive
We spend a lot of time driving, and sometimes we get so used to it that we get distracted by other things as we cruise down the road. We do many things that distract us as we drive, such as talk to our passengers, listen to music, and even check our phones. But a recent video captured by one driver proves just how quickly things can go awry when operating a vehicle.
My husband and were driving down the interstate in anticipation of a long weekend together. I randomly glanced at the car to my right, I was shocked at what I saw; a woman putting on mascara, on the interstate nonetheless. I decided to observe other drivers we passed, to note their different activities. Here is what I saw, talking and texting on the phone, eating, turning to check something in the back seat, and fighting with children. I came to the conclusion that the roads are filled with distracted drivers, not all however to many. What is distracted driving? A.O. Ferdinand and N. Menachemi (2014) define distracted driving in this way, people who drive and at the same time participate in other activities that are not associated with driving; which distract them from their duty of driving (para 1). The National Safety Council (2012), shared the following story, “In January 2004, at 4:00 p.m., in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a 20-year-old woman ran a red light while talking on a cell phone. The driver’s vehicle slammed into another vehicle crossing with the green light directly in front of her. The vehicle she hit was not the first car through the intersection, it was the third or fourth. The police investigation determined the driver never touched her brakes and was traveling 48 mph when she hit the other vehicle. The crash cost the life of a 12-year-old boy. Witnesses told the investigators that the driver was not looking down, not dialing the phone, or texting.
Did you ever hear anyone admit to being a bad driver? Probably not, because everybody thinks they’re a good driver. They also think that everybody else is a menace on the road. If we perfect drivers ride with another driver, we can usually find fault with their performance. Believe it or not, if they ride with us, they can return the favor. How can we tell a good driver from a bad one? The number of traffic accidents they have had would be an obvious indicator, but not necessarily the only one. There are drivers who have habits that cause others to have accidents.
While driving down the highway many people have noticed different types of drivers. There are the ones that go way too fast, way too slow, listening to music with the volume all of the way up, or the ones that seem fairly responsible. Leading comedian George Carlin ask the question, “Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?” He put a name to two types of drivers; nevertheless, there are more than just idiots or maniacs. In fact, there are four main categories of drivers. In addition to idiots and maniacs, there are defensive drivers and jammers. Everyone has different personalities, and it shows while they are driving.
Foreign Drivers. A stereotype used daily by kiwis to discriminate against tourists, travelers and other visitors to our country who are seen driving on our roads. This stereotype even applies to people who live in New Zealand who we can identify are from a different culture or ethnicity. Obviously, the negative repercussions of foreign drivers only applies to a very small portion of that population in our country and in fact most, foreign drivers are very safe, experienced and take extra care since they are driving in an unknown environment. However, we have all heard seen and even first-hand experienced some instances of foreign driving which makes us question whether the driver actually knows how to drive a car. Sometimes a foreign driver could be so clueless and unsafe, that we question “How did they get a license in the first place”.