If you have ever been driving down the road and see the car in front of you start to drift away from the center until the last second when you think the car is going to strike something nearby and then all of a sudden the cars wheels are turned back in the right direction and disaster is avoided, then you were more than likely a witness to a driver with a bad habit. There are many things in todays world that can distract someone from driving safely and even though most people realize they are doing something dangerous, they continue to do it anyway with the mentality that nothing can ever happen to them. It's this feeling of being indestructable that has caused so many accidents and deaths of people behind the wheel that continue to happen everyday with no hope of slowing down.
A bad habit is something that is done over and over again that is not conducive to the the well being of yourself or of other people. Smoking cigarettes and becoming addicted is a form of addiction that happens over time. Eventually the mind feels that it needs cigarettes and the body has a physiological change that causes the person to lash out in anger or distress if a cigarette is not available. The kind of bad habit that drivers have are controllable and lots of times, just bad judgement.
Probably the most well known bad habit of drivers today is using your cell phone while your driving. Cell phones have so many uses that it's more than talking on the phone, it's now talking, texting, surfing the web or using any one of the million different app's that available to users today. Talking is probably the safest of all these bad habits because at least you can keep your eyes on the road even though your mental state may not be fully on driving. There is still that visual connection that can cause a reaction to a bad situation to take place.
Texting, looking at the web or using the applications is the worst part of having a cell phone while driving. In order for someone to do this, they must take their eyes off the road and look at the phone to ensure they are doing something correctly. It only takes half a second for traffic conditions to change, for a small child to run out in the middle of the street or a light that is turning red to be unnoticed. In that instant, disaster can strike and lives can be lost.
Woman have habits while driving that men don't have to worry about and that are just as dangerous as using a cell phone. I have witnessed on numerous occasions, women putting on their makeup while behind the wheel of their car. They have there heads pushed right up against the rear-view mirror while trying to put makeup on perfect for whatever reason. They are so close to the mirror and are so concentrated on doing it right that there is no possible way they can pay attention to what is going on in front of them. This is a habit that is definitely controllable and an unnecessary cause of accidents everyday as well.
People who don't wear their seat belts always astonish me. I get into the car with someone and the first thing I do is put on my seatbelt. If the person who is in the car with me does not put theirs on, I alwasy ask them to and they almost always respond the same way. They either just put it on, knowing they are not using their brain, or they say that they have never been in an accident before or they are a good driver and not worried about getting into one. These people have to realize that a car accident is not something that is always caused by them, but maybe by the millions of other drivers who driving everyday who have their own personal issues or bad habits that may cause them to drive badly and run into them. Putting your seat belt on is more to protect you from others than it is to protect themselves from themselves.
Along with these bad habits, I've witnessed other ones that can be avoided so easily, that people continue to do. People who joke around while driving, people who "rubber-neck" or like to pay more attention to what is going around them, the people who like to drive with their animals on their laps, the ones who don't make their children wear their seatbelts, or the ones that like to eat while driving. All of these are usually done because they are done more than once and usually all the time. These habits can all being avoided and are all extremely dangerous.
Passing laws for cell phone use or other dangerous habits can help when it comes down to it, but will never be a cure. The only true cure is to have someone have an accident caused by one of their bad habits and cause harm or even death to someone else of themselves. This is the only thing that will take away that feeling of "nothing will ever happen to me". Unfortunately, after that it is too late and people will suffer because of it.
