1. Avoid slow left turns on left arrows – There is nothing worse than being at a light that is governed by a left arrow that develops a line behind it. The goal should be to get as many cars through that left light as possible. However, some self centered asshole always finds it in him to make the turn like he’s the only person on the planet thus preventing more people from making the arrow. People should be flooring it through this scenario.
2. Turning on a yellow light – This situation occurs fairly often and I see it done incorrectly time and time again. People make lefts on a green arrow and then the arrow goes away and the opposite side gets their green light. You are sitting there patiently waiting to make a left but there is too much traffic and no opportunity. The light turns yellow and I see people wait and do nothing. On yellow this person should be driving into the middle of traffic and making their left when there are no more cars coming through.
3. Reverse using your side view mirrors – I feel like the normal (and bad) driver doesn’t make good use of their side views. You should be able to reverse in just about any situation using only your mirrors. The sideview mirrors should be the indicator of how close you are to other cars. They tell you when you are going to hit something. I believe I could drive accident free with only my side view mirrors. They show you everything you need to know. There isn’t any hand over the seat full 180 turn for reversing. If you don’t use your side views, you are more likely to get into an accident.
4. Blinking yellows don’t mean stop, they mean caution – When it’s a 4 way intersection and you have blinking yellows, the other side has blinking reds. If you stop on the yellows you are just creating confusion. The goal of driving is to eliminate confusion. Don’t stop and act like a retard. Be ready to brake and slowly proceed through the intersection. I see this in Philly all the time when I light malfunctions and people can’t handle the situation. What do the people with the red light do? It’s a great question. My answer is they have to grow a pair and find the opportune moment.
5. Proper seating and mirrors – I think this is probably one of the main reason people suck at driving. I’ve been in people’s cars and their seats are real low and far back. Their side view points to the ground. You can’t drive properly without being positioned properly. The seat should be so your feet reach the peddles and you can see clearly over the dash. Your side views should be set so the main focus is on the road beside you and you should just be able to see the side of your car. Rear view should be able to see entirely through the back windshield.
6. Stay in your lane – I know this seems so obvious but people are careless. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to swerve further into my lane to avoid being struck by people crossing over the yellow line on turns. This is easily the best way to lose your life by getting a head on by some numnut straying over his lane. This is important especially on curves where people seem to just be happy by making the turn.
7. Don’t Text and Drive – I’m not telling you what to do but this is the most dangerous thing you can do while driving. It distracts you from driving smartly. Your head is down, your head is up, your head is down, your head is up. A lot can happen when your head is down and things come up on your much faster then you realize. This is how accidents start and most likely whatever text your sending isn’t that important. I’ve been guilty of this in the past and I always know how dangerous it is when I’m doing it. That still doesn’t make it right but you have to at least be aware that it’s probably the most accident prone task you can do on the road.
I really wish they could determine how many accidents occur each year due to either texting (or some type of phone screen interaction). I know it would be impossible / extremely difficult, but it has to be somewhere in the hundreds of thousands.
I also think it would be pretty funny if a cop pulled you over for texting while driving and you told him you were just playing angry birds. You don’t see that on the road signs as being illegal.