If you regularly travel on Knoxville roads, you’ve no doubt encountered hazardous drivers during your treks. While you can’t control the actions of others, you can refrain from partaking in unnecessarily risky behaviors yourself. Accordingly, it’s important for all drivers to be aware of the most common dangerous driving behaviors and take the right steps to avoid causing serious harm to themselves or others.
As illustrated by Road and Track, there are numerous risky driving behaviors that can lead to significant accidents and injury. Inclement weather can certainly play a role in your overall safety behind the wheel, with poor weather being implicated in 24 percent of all vehicular accidents that occur. To this end, you are urged to decrease your speed when faced with snowy or rain-soaked streets. Your vehicle’s braking power will be greatly limited in this case, which can make stopping in time exceedingly difficult.
Driving erratically or recklessly can also be highly dangerous. Erratic driving behaviors typically entail things like sudden stopping without cause, passing in the right lane and swerving through or around traffic. Making unexpected maneuvers can easily lead to a collision, as other drivers will be caught off guard by your unpredictable behavior.
Of course, drunk driving is perhaps the greatest concern among motorists. If you’ve been drinking, finding another mode of transportation home is crucial. Most of the fatalities that result from traffic accidents involve drunk drivers, with speeding coming in a close second. Driving while under the influence of other substances (such as marijuana) can also prove dangerous to yourself and others, as it will greatly impact things like reaction time and hand-eye coordination.