Some people like to drive, while others don’t care for it much. However, even the ones who don’t like it may find that they need to drive sometimes. For instance, they might have jobs where they need to drive to get to work because they don’t have public transportation options or they find car ownership to be more practical.
If you don’t like driving, you may dislike highway driving in particular. If you’re not the most confident driver, that makes sense. You’re driving faster than normal on the highway, and sometimes, you’ll encounter traffic jams as well.
In some states, you really have to watch yourself on the highway, since many deaths and serious injuries occur there. Look at the case of Illinois, for instance.
When it comes to highway driving, 36 states have a higher number of deaths per population than Illinois. That doesn’t mean it’s safe, though. Just because you’re in a state that’s lower down on this list, it doesn’t indicate that you can let down your guard as a driver while you’re on the interstate.
What kind of highway driving activities endanger you more than most, though? We will talk about some of them right now. If you can keep from engaging in these highway driving behaviors, you can avoid many of the deadliest crashes that occur.
Speeding
If you look at the various activities that cause the most accidents on America’s highways, you can often point to speeding as a contributing factor. Virtually every time you get on the highway, you’ll see other drivers who like to speed. It’s an unsafe activity, but that doesn’t stop individuals who seem to regard the speed limit more like a recommendation than a law.
If you speed while on the highway, you might get to where you’re going a little quicker, but you run the risk of causing an accident. If you’re driving faster, then it stands to reason that you can lose control of your vehicle easier.
You can also attract some police attention. Even if you don’t cause an accident with injuries or deaths, you might get a costly speeding ticket, and nobody wants that. You may even lose your license if you exceed the speed limit and the police catch you too many times.
Distracted Driving
You can also point to distracted driving as a huge reason why so many highway car accidents occur. Many things can distract you while you’re driving.
Perhaps you will glance at your smartphone to see who’s texting you. Maybe you’ll even try to update your social media status when you should have your eyes on the road instead.
You might also let your car’s touchscreen distract you. Maybe you’re trying to find a track you like on your favorite playlist. You may also let the touchscreen distract you when you’re using the car’s navigation to direct you if you’re going somewhere new.
No matter what’s in the car with you, if you let it distract you, you’re endangering your life, as well as the lives of any passengers in your vehicle and other motorists around you.
Food and Drinks
You might let food or drinks distract you instead. Many drivers have their favorite cheap fast-food items at Burger King or KFC. Maybe you let yourself stop there for a treat once a week.
If you do that, it’s fine, but you need to sit in the parking lot and eat if you think that the presence of the food and drinks in the car will distract you. Maybe you’ll do fine if you glance over with your peripheral vision and grab a couple of fries from the bag. If you’re trying to open a packet of ketchup while flying down the highway at 70 miles per hour, though, you’re definitely asking for trouble.
Tailgating
You might also see some aggressive driver behaviors while you’re out on the highway. Maybe you even engage in one of them from time to time.
For instance, you might tailgate a car ahead of you. The term means you’re driving close behind a vehicle right in front of you so that you’re nearly touching their rear bumper.
If you do that, then it might anger or upset the driver ahead of you. They may break check you, meaning they’re step down suddenly on the brakes, causing you to hit their rear bumper. They also might let you fluster them to the point that they’ll make a traffic mistake and cause an accident.
You don’t ever need to tailgate someone. It’s both rude and dangerous. If you do it, then you make a crash likely.
Instead, if you have someone in the fast lane who’s driving slowly, then drive around them and pass them as soon as you get the opportunity. Don’t flash your lights, honk your horn, or gesture at them. They may have a reason for driving slower, and you don’t need to act erratically to show your displeasure.
Road Rage
If you honk your horn at another driver, flash your lights, or do anything similar, that can trigger a road rage incident, another dangerous driver activity that causes far too many highway crashes and fatalities. Some people who you might encounter on the highway may have something going on in their life that you don’t know about, and they’re just waiting to boil over.
Maybe they just lost their job, or they have a marriage on the rocks. Perhaps they’re struggling mentally for some other reason.
If you honk your horn at them or gesture angrily, you have no way of knowing how they might react. That single action may cause them to ram into your car or to pull out a weapon and chase after you.
You should always assume that triggering any other driver might cause one of these situations. If you have that mentality, then you will treat every driver more respectfully and perhaps avoid a violent incident.
