I Bet You Didn’t Know that these 5 Common Driving Habits Were Illegal

Driving is an important ability one earns the right to do through rigorous testing. Improper driving can be extremely dangerous to both the driver and others around and can result in serious injuries and even death.

Many people do not realize this and therefore start to build bad and unsafe habits while on the road. Some of these habits are blatantly illegal, while others here might shock you when you find out they are not allowed either. 

Here are five common driving habits that you didn’t know were illegal.

Using Your Phone While Driving

This is becoming a serious problem on roads all around the world. People are starting to use their phone more and more while driving, therefore taking their eyes off of the road and focusing their attention elsewhere. There are extremely high fines and penalties if you are caught using your phone while driving.

According to the experts at https://www.kraftlaw.com/causes-car-accidents/distracted-driving/, if you were involved in an accident and proven to have been texting or using your phone while driving, you will be held 100% liable for the accident and you and your insurance will be responsible for compensating all injuries and damages that occurred.

It is important to note that phone conversations are allowed, as long as they are done using a hands-free method. Most cars have Bluetooth technology in today’s world and can allow you to make calls through voice commands. Save the texting for after your drive. Using your phone in any means while driving is illegal and dangerous.

Eating and Drinking While Driving

This law was recently pushed forward in many countries as they found that a large amount of injuries and accidents were caused due to someone eating or drinking at the wheel. We have all been in a situation where we are running late to work and want to eat our breakfast, or simply want to have a coffee in the car.

However, when this happens, you are not only taking your attention off the road, but you are taking one, if not both hands off the wheel in order to eat and drink. Your meals and hunger can wait. Either eat before leaving or wait till you arrive at your location before eating that meal you brought into the car.

Improper Signaling

Signaling is an important aspect of driving as you can use it to inform drivers around you of what you are going to do next. There is nothing more frustrating than having a driver switch their lane and cut you off without turning on their signals. Signals are not a recommendation or something that is considered polite to do. It is against the law to turn or make a lane change without signalling.

What most people do not realize, is that signalling needs to be done even if there are no cars around you. Cars can sit in your blind spots and can seemingly come from nowhere at times. Therefore, you always need to signal when driving even if you do not think anyone is around you. If a police officer notices you are making a lane change without signalling, they will pull you over and give you a ticket for it. Always make sure you are using your signal while driving.

Speeding Through Yellow Lights

The yellow lights are not indicators telling you to go through an intersection. It is used as a way to tell drivers that the light is about to turn red, giving drivers in the opposite direction the chance to proceed. If you are able to safely stop, you are legally required to do so. A police officer who notices that you sped up to go through the light or were able to stop but didn’t, while quickly hitting you with a ticket and a fine.

If you find yourself in a position where you cannot safely stop, this is a time when you would proceed through the intersection during the yellow. Remember that yellow lights are not the same as green lights and must be approached differently while driving.

Using Your GPS

Many people do not understand that you are not supposed to be using your GPS while you are driving. When using a GPS, plug it into the car before you start driving and have your route fully implemented into it. Make sure that the volume is loud enough so you can hear it, so you do not need to adjust it once the drive has begun.

If anything happens on the road and you need to change your GPS, pull your car over, stop, and make the adjustments you need to. Once this has been done, you can now return to the road. Using your GPS while driving is illegal and should not be done.

While this may surprise you, all of these cases are illegal while driving. Your attention should always be on the road and you are expected to go about driving in a safe and controlled manner. Remember that you are operating a fast motor vehicle that can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands. Driving is a privilege, never take that for granted.