Most people consider themselves decent drivers. Not perfect, maybe, but careful enough to get where they’re going without causing problems. But the tricky thing about driving mistakes is that the most common ones don’t feel like mistakes when you’re making them. They’re just habitual. And habits, by definition, are things you stop thinking about.
That’s where the danger is. And if you aren’t careful, it can lead to some serious mistakes with major ramifications. In light of this, here are some of the most common driving mistakes worth examining a bit closer.
1. Following Too Closely
Tailgating has become so normal on roads that most drivers don’t even register they’re doing it. You close the gap on the car in front of you without thinking, especially on highways where traffic is moving fast, and suddenly you’re one brake tap away from creating a problem.
At highway speeds, a safe following distance is at least three to four seconds behind the vehicle ahead of you. Most drivers are operating at one second or less. When the car in front brakes suddenly, that gap is the only thing standing between you and a collision. You have to be more cognizant of the space you keep between vehicles.
2. Not Checking for Cyclists and Motorcyclists
This is one of the biggest mistakes drivers make, and it happens constantly. Drivers are conditioned to look for other cars, because that’s primarily what’s on the road (and they’re big enough to see). Cyclists and motorcyclists occupy a completely different part of the brain, and because they’re much smaller, the brain doesn’t prioritize scanning for them the way it should.
Because of this, motorcycle accidents are some of the most serious on the road. And in a significant number of cases, the driver of the car is found at fault. It’s not like drivers do it on purpose – typically they just didn’t see the motorcyclist before changing lanes or pulling out of an intersection.
Make a conscious habit of scanning specifically for motorcycles and cyclists. It takes almost no extra effort and can prevent an accident that changes lives. It’s worth slowing down and being conscious of.
3. Rolling Through Stop Signs
Almost every driver does this, and almost no driver thinks of it as running a stop sign. However, a rolling stop and a complete stop are not the same thing. The difference matters most in exactly the situations where you’re least likely to notice – small intersections or even neighborhoods.
Neighborhoods are especially dangerous, because you might not see any other traffic coming at a four-way stop. However, what you don’t see is a kid chasing a ball into the street, or a mom jogging with a stroller. And failing to come to a complete stop and look in all directions can lead to a serious accident.
4. Distracted Driving
We all know that texting while driving is dangerous. What gets less attention are the other distractions that are common. For example, adjusting the radio, eating behind the wheel, or reaching for something in the back seat. All of these pull your attention away from the road in pretty significant ways.
Being mentally distracted is a big one. You can be looking directly at the road and still not fully processing what you’re seeing if your mind is somewhere else. So while a hands-free phone call feels safer than holding the phone, research shows that the cognitive load of having a conversation still takes away from driving performance. Being present behind the wheel means you need to be fully focused.
5. Improper Lane Changes
Changing lanes sounds simple, but there’s a gap between how drivers are taught to do it and how most actually do it. The proper sequence – mirror check, blind spot check, signal, then move – gets compressed into a glance and simultaneous lane change. On busy highways where multiple vehicles are moving at speed, that compressed sequence leaves very little margin for error.
Blind spots are called blind spots for a reason. Mirrors don’t cover everything, and a vehicle that isn’t visible in your mirror can absolutely be in the lane you’re moving into. Make sure you have a habit of turning and looking before signaling and changing lanes.
6. Driving While Tired
Fatigue is one of the most underreported risk factors in driving. People way underestimate how significantly tiredness affects their driving. This is partly because impaired judgment is one of the first things fatigue affects.
Drowsy driving slows reaction time, reduces situational awareness, and in its most extreme form leads to microsleep. At highway speed, several seconds is a very long distance to cover without any input from the driver. When you notice yourself feeling tired, the right thing to do is to pull over and rest – not turn up the radio and push through.
Adding it All Up
The common thread running through all of these mistakes is that they don’t feel dangerous in the moment. They feel like everyone else on the road is doing them too, which in many cases they are. But common doesn’t mean safe. The drivers who recognize these habits in themselves and make small adjustments are always going to be much safer.