4 Things You Need To Stop Doing While Driving

Cars aren’t the safest to begin with, but add a couple of stupid actions to the equation, and your chances of getting in a wreck and seriously hurting yourself skyrocket. While almost all of us need cars for our daily lives and convenience – it’s good to know what you should really avoid doing when you’re driving. 

Eat and drink

We’ve all been there – you’re rushing but you want to grab some Chick-fil-A for the road. So you try and balance both your chicken sandwich, ketchup and their steering wheel all in one hand while you attempt to focus on the road in front of you.

Even though it’s tempting to do, skip the drive through and go inside to eat. That, or take it for the road and stop in a parking lot somewhere. A number of studies have found that eating or drinking while driving can be just as dangerous as using a cellphone. That means food and drink can possibly be responsible in some way for thousands of fatal accidents. 

Driving when sleepy or emotional

As your eyes roll in the back of your head and you hear the load road track marks against your tires, consider why you’re even driving in the first place, and then get off of the road. When you’re tired, you’re impaired – that can be similar to driving under the influence. Many drivers have driven off of the highway or even into someone else. If you need to pull off and wake yourself up, don’t hesitate to do it.

Heightened emotions like depression and anger can impair you as well when you’re on the road. For your sake and others, don’t get into the car emotional – and if you already are, pull off until you feel like you’re able to get back on the road safely.

Letting your dog sit in the front seat

There’s nothing cuter than seeing a doggo peak his head out of the front seat window, or looking over to see a little animal in the lap of the driver – but it’s extremely dangerous. This increases the likelihood of injury involving all creatures in the vehicle, and the likelihood that you’ll get in an accident to begin with.

According to the AAA, the airbag itself can cause more injury to the pet, in a low-speed accident, than the crash itself; unrestrained, an 80-pound dog can turn into a potentially lethal projectile, exerting 2,400 pounds in a 30-mph crash.

It’s also hard not to be distracted when your furry companion is sitting up front with you. So, buckle up your pup in the backseat or get a pet gate or a kennel.

Use your phone in any capacity

Whether you text, tweet, Instagram, Facebook – they are all distractions. There’s no arguing that taking your eyes off of the road to look at your phone is just a stupid idea. It’s highly distracting, even if you’re sending a quick text. Study results from last year suggesting that the risk of crash while texting is 23 times higher than during non-distracted driving.

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