Purposes
This research aims to conduct an extensive review on driving habits in our students so as to help curb the increased rate of road accidents on our roads. Both good driving and poor driving habits which unfortunately most of our students have fallen victim to shall be discussed. Also, an extensive research now focusing on poor driving habits shall be carried out and unveil the start and causes of these poor driving habits, the consequences to this poor driving habits and finally how to break these habits. This research aims at establishing how one can break his/her poor driving habits and develop good ones so as to reduce the consequences to these habits as per discussion.
Research questions
1. What does driving entail?
2. What are some of the examples of both good and bad driving habits?
3. What are the causes of these habits?
4. What is the importance of maintaining good driving habits?
5. What are some of the consequences of these bad driving habits?
6. What can be done to curb these habits?
7. What advice can be given to students in order to help them avoid such habits?
Driving is commonly understood as the process of a controlled movement of a motorized vehicle. A driver must have the physical skill to control the movement of a vehicle; this is in terms of steering, acceleration and deceleration. Driving does not only entail these but also the knowledge of road rules so as to apply them while driving. The knowledge of these rules is what helps in avoiding road accidents. As driving has evolved over the years, so have people adapted to different driving habits (Hardie, 2015). Driving has become a routine hence people from across the world have become accustomed to this activity and thus have developed both good driving habits which enhance safety on our roads where as others have developed very poor driving habits which cause dangerous accidents on our roads. There are different types of driving habits especially among students who have just attained a driving permit.
In driving, especially where students are involved, it is important to maintain good or in other words safe driving habits. In order to understand this, students should first understand what safe driving habits entail. Among the most common driving habits that can be exercised on our roads include indicating while driving. It is very important as a student or any kind of driver to indicate where you are going. When making turns, one must make sure they show his or her fellow drivers where they are heading as it in turn ensures safety on roads (Steptoe et.al, 2004). Students tend to be stubborn at times and cannot follow simple rules that are laid out to them and thus are advised that it is very necessary and important to ensure that they all follow the set out rules of the road (McGuire, 2011). These include stopping for green lights, overtaking on the left side and maintaining the right speeding level. These are some of the simple basic rules that are taught to any driver and as such should be followed by any student driver, as breaking them can also result to a fine or worse lead into an accident.
As explained earlier with the option of driving safely laid out, many students rather choose to drive poorly or recklessly and thus have bad driving habits. Bad driving habits can be explained as undesirable habits while driving developed by individuals that can lead into accidents (Blows et.al, 2005). Bad driving habits are the easiest habits to obtain whereas they are also the most difficult to get rid of. As seen today most accidents on our roads are caused by our own habits that we can get rid of and save more lives on our roads. In many cases, these poor driving habits seen in most student drivers are the things that people hardly notice. An example is driving while talking on the phone which is a well-known bad driving habit but most student drivers still do this (McGuire, 2011). Another bad driving habit exercised by our student drivers is eating while driving, thus has also been witnessed on our roads multiple number of times and though multitasking while driving is not advisable, student drivers still endanger our roads by driving while eating.
Finally one of the most saddening yet dangerous bad driving habits of all is driving under the influence of drug and substance abuse (Hardie, 2015). Drug and substance abuse is a matter that has been spoken of in many occasions but when students reach campus and acquire their driving permits, they also have the freedom from their parents and as such are exposed to drug abuse. Many students drink and drive with no regards to human life which is saddening (Steptoe et. al, 2004). Poor driving habits in students are mainly brought about by lack of experience in driving. Due to this, many of these young drivers end up not following all rules of driving as required hence develop poor driving habits. Bad driving habits can also be brought about by overconfidence by young drivers (Steptoe et.al, 2004). Student drivers may be skilled in driving and thus want to show off their prowess and instead fall victim to poor driving habits which may in turn lead to serious consequences as discussed.
In summation, it is evident that students have adapted to bed driving habits that are potentially dangerous to themselves as well as other road users. It is seen that these habits have led to road accidents and are caused by various factors. In order for the students to learn how to drive safely, they need to break these habits and this can in terms be challenging if not taken seriously. Also, in order for students to stop these poor driving habits, they need to pay attention while driving as we have established that distraction is one of the poor driving skills among student drivers. It is also advisable that students should see specialized driving tutors to help them in reducing these habits which cause menaces on the roads. Finally it would be good to urge student drivers not to drink and drive at the same and rather allow one of their friends who are not drunk to drive. These sentiments are also shared to people who witness drunk drivers and call them a cab instead of letting them drive under the influence of alcohol.
References
Blows, S., Ameratunga, S., Ivers, R. Q., Lo, S. K., & Norton, R. (2005). Risky Driving Habits and Motor Vehicle Driver Injury. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 37(4), 619-624.
Hardie, E. (2015). When Students Drive Improvement. Educational Leadership, 72(9), 92-96.
McGuire, C. (2011). Driving Distracted: The Challenge to Change Habits. Safety Compliance Letter, (2530), 1-4.
Steptoe, A., Wardle, J., Bages, N., Sallis, J. F., Sanabria-Ferrand, P., & Sanchez, M. (2004). Drinking and driving in university students: an international study of 23 countries. Psychology & Health, 19(4), 527-540
