Reddit user Wolfies_Games asked:
"What's the most important thing to learn to be a good driver?"
So let's talk about some stuff the drivers here know nada about!
Paying Attention
"Pay attention."
"The amount of distracted drivers out there is insane. If you pay attention and maintain situational awareness you’ll be able to react to situations before they become accidents."
- Nasmix
"This was mine as well."
"Pay attention!"
"Driving becomes so mundane and mindless that it's crazy easy to get distracted or to expect everyone to behave as expected. Some people don't behave in the expected way and you won't see it until its too late if you're sending a text or trying to grab something out of the back seat."
- apollymii
"This! Also, don’t lose your focus becuase someone else is driving badly. I notice this happening to me. Every time there’s someone driving weird, chances are 30 seconds later I find myself thinking about that incident instead of paying attention to what’s happening presently."
- ConfidentValue6387
"I think it's best to pretend like everyone on the road is a dangerous idiot. It helps you avoid many crashes because you can anticipate people doing stupid things."
- i_dont_care_1943
happy homer simpson GIFGiphyBe Predictable
"A good driver is a predictable driver."
- WhiffMyAnus
"This is especially important to remember when driving on GPS in an unknown place. Sometimes you end up in the wrong lane, just follow through and take the wrong turn, don't make erratic last-minute lane changes."
- TheBrain85
"Be predictable not polite is the best advice I ever got about driving."
- bcorr12
"Glad this is the top comment. I hate when i get to a stop sign 1 second after someone else and they're trying to be nice by letting me go first. No, you get to the stop sign first, you go first. You are being more dangerous by being less predictable and not following the rules of the road."
- Bilbo_Bagels
"Came here to say this."
"Especially around trucks, trains, or anything heavier than average. Predictable is the safest way to be."
- Medium-Put-4976
D-Fence
"Many drivers ignore right-of-way. Drive defensively."
- Heckin_good_time
"Right of way is not something you HAVE, it is something you are GIVEN."
"A lesson from my dad. Never expect someone to cede the right of way. Just wait and watch what they're doing."
- shaidyn
"My mother always told me "Assume the other driver will do the wrong thing" and "Nice drivers are how accidents happen" meaning for example if you wave someone on and they don't have the right of way and other drivers don't notice you can cause as accident."
- Ty_J_Bryan
GiphyNo Sleepy Driving
"Never try to drive if you're feeling sleepy. The amount of preventable deaths caused by this is unfortunate."
"If you're driving and feel sleepy half way, find ways to keep you awake (chewing gum works great) long enough to find a safe place to park and get 5-10mins of shut eye."
- kctheboy3
"Exactly!!! Sleepy drivers can't react. And even if they react, they won't be fully capable to prevent an accident"
- Wolfies_Games
"I don't know about elsewhere, but the advice in my country (and on the theory test here) isn't to have a nap, having a 10-25 break and a coffee is recommended. Having a nap can make you more groggy and less aware"
- Felicfelic
"My friend who would stay up for days at a time doing questionable things swears that the only thing that can truly keep you awake is talking to someone. So if nobody is with you, calling someone and having it on speaker might do the trick."
- miss_misery__
"Yup! I once fell asleep driving on the highway and am somehow still alive to tell it. Hit the rumble strip and opened my eyes with enough time to yank the wheel back, somehow missed the cars around me, fishtailed for what felt like forever but probably was maybe 2 seconds, then just kept on like nothing happened. I should have died that day. I have no idea how I avoided everything and everyone."
- justbrowsing987654
Tired Modern Family GIF by PeacockTVGiphyGrandma's Wisdom
"My grandma taught me this rule when she took me driving: Always assume that everyone else is going to do something stupid. It's served me well."
"EDIT: One thing I wanted to add too. BE PATIENT WITH PEOPLE LEARNING TO DRIVE!"
"Don't forget that you were once that learner driver behind the wheel, terrified of handling a giant hunk of metal on wheels, trying not to hurt anyone. It can be a difficult thing to pick up and you shouldn't honk or get mad at learner drivers for making mistakes, they are LITERALLY LEARNING TO DRIVE and you getting angry is just going to rattle their confidence."
- TrueDeadBling
"Patient with learners? Yes please. I had an instructor who would frequently just freak out and start shaking because, 'See that car three back in the other lane? HE HAS A BEARD!' or something trivial like that."
"He acted like it was a nuclear crisis. I did not benefit from those lessons other than situational awareness in that sometimes the passenger is a really weird person who says stupid things that can be quite distracting."
- lawnmowersarealive
"I totally agree with your grandma, wise words of her"
"Driving casually is not hard, but driving abiding all the rules or driving fast on a track, that's hard."
- Wolfies_Games
Leave Space For Stopping
"Stay off the tail of the vehicle ahead of you."
"I knew a guy who would, for reasons unknown, look 90° to the left and accelerate when brake lights appeared ahead. We'd basically roar up onto them and I'd have to scream 'STOP!!' Put me into atrial fib more than once. No reason at all to do that-- no idea what he was doing."
- hmmm_thought_pig
"ALWAYS keep safe distance of the car in front and pay attention to road!"
"Hope you all were alright tho! Things like these are very stressful"
- Wolfies_Games
"Exactly. I was going to say dont fucking tailgate people. You are basically relying on your own reflexes and hoping the person in front of you doesn’t slam on their brakes for some reason."
My mom tailgates like a mofo sometimes and then tries to be bold and check her email on her phone and shit. I just take her phone and read it to her. She’s a menace but never been in a bad accident (knock on all the wood)."
- AnnoyinglyEarnest
Car-sonal SpaceUSE YOUR DAMN SIGNALS!
"I’ve taught numerous people to drive and I’m surprised I haven’t seen this in the responses but always keep a box of air around your car. It’s size varies with your speed but you need to always be checking your mirrors so that you have space on all sides to maneuver. You can’t be defensive if you have nowhere to go."
- Chewbagus
"I totally agree, you never want to stay in other people's blind spots or around them, it just makes an unsafe pack where everything will go down together"
- Wolfies_Games
"The amount of people that will just coast in my blind spot or directly next to me is unreal."
"I don't know how it doesn't immediately make them uncomfortable."
- MangoMambo
" 'Box of air'. I like the phrasing. I described it as “checkerboard” to my kids teaching them. Space open front, back, both sides. That way you always have a direction to bail. Never speed match a car to your left or right. Put yourself on their diagonal ahead of your blind spot or behind their blind spot."
- psgrue
Signal Your Turn
"USE YOUR DAMN SIGNALS!"
- BMoney8600
"AND TURN THEM ON BEFORE ACTUALLY DOING THE DAMN TURN!!!"
- Wolfies_Games
"YES"
- __Im_Dead_Inside_
"YES"
- lawnmowersarealive
"this is the best answer."
- TeachAManHOWToKaboom
"You do realize that all those other cars on the road are driven by actual people, right?"
"Those people need to be able to predict, with a reasonable degree of certainty, what all the other drivers around them are going to do. Signaling turns and lane change is law for a reason. Just f*cking do it."
- fantine9
season 8 episode 21 GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphyFour Words
"Patience, forgiveness, awareness, and tolerance."
"Be patient with traffic, other drivers, and animals. When driving was first invented, it was a leisurely activity for the rich. It was a privilege. It was intended to get us out and into the world. Aim for that experience."
"Forgive others as well as yourself. Did someone, “cut you off”, or did you accidentally begin a lane change towards another driver? Let it go. Smile. Apologize. Wave. Return to the task at hand."
"Look up, look around, and use your mirrors. Be aware of what is ahead, near, and behind you. Always be moving in the direction of less congestion, less conflict, more space, and larger margins for error. Turn down your music, put down your phone, eat before you leave or when you get there, and do your personal hygiene in a bathroom."
"Have nearly endless tolerance for people that don’t know or don’t care to follow these rules. If one person on the road is in a rush, mad at someone, focused on something other than driving, or is incapable of accepting that they aren’t the main character."
"- Don’t. Become. The. Second. Bad. Driver. Give them space, wave them on, ignore their actions, don’t take the bait. Let them go on about their day and get back to enjoying your drive."
"We’d all have a better experience if the majority of drivers did this."
- JLHawkins
Take It From A Pro
"I used to teach performance driving (not drivers Ed, which merely reaches you to operare a car)"
"Learn to set your mirrors properly. Doing so will keep you from having to check over your shoulder. Or even turning your head to see who is in your blind spot. If your mirrors are set correctly, you won't have a blind spot."
"When driving, look as far down the road as you can. Not at the nose of your car or the car in front of you. Many wrecks will be avoided this way."
"Learn how your brakes work and how to drive your car when your ABS is engaged and practice it. Consequently if you don't have ABS, learn to properly brake under manual braking."
"Always turn into a skid, even though it feels unnatural. And maintain speed."
"Don't be an asshat, and don't drive in the left lane unless you're passing someone. Also, don't use your phone in the car either. Seriously, most idiot drivers are on their phones."
"Always watch other drivers. They're stupid and will do stupid things, it's your job to avoid them."
"Learn to zipper merge."
"Keep your car well maintained."
"If other drivers are impatient with you, let them pass. It's not your job to make them obey the rules of the road or speed limits. It's your job to avoid them and let them go."
"Take a performance driving class at a local race track (in your own car, even if its a mini van, or. Prius or whatever). You'll learn a lot about driving and the car you drive most frequently."
- Xerisca
Bbc Family GIF by Top GearGiphyYeah nope, Florida drivers know absolutely nothing about that.
I was going to say "especially in Miami" but c'mon - have you ever been to Jacksonville? The whole state needs traffic Jesus.
10. Poop doesn't scare this officer
"Once pulled over a guy who pooped himself as an attempt to deter me from doing my job. He had warrants and thought it would make me want to stay away from him."
9. Or this officer...
"I was running a breath test on a drunk one time and when I told her to blow into the mouthpiece she also blew a big nasty poop into her pants at the same time."
8. Please stop pooping in front of cops
"A detective I work with was staking out a guy because this guy was conveniently never home every time the detective went to interview him. He finally catches the guy at home and goes to ring the doorbell. The guy answers in only his whitey tighties actively pushing out a poop into his undies."
7. You can't fool this cop
Giphy"There was this person who was drunk, but was consistently denying the fact even though there was a case of opened beers in the passengers seat."
6. This unexplainable car accident victim
"I approached the driver and it was the sweetest old lady you've ever seen.
Finally I take a step back, put my flashlight on the car and take in what I'm looking at. This car is destroyed. Absolutely totaled. Tires blown out, rims bent, bodywork shredded and missing, and grass and jutting out of every orifice. All the passenger windows were blown out. The drivers side mirror got ripped off and thrown into the associated window and was now inside the vehicle hanging on by an electrical cable. Broken glass everywhere. No airbag deployment oddly enough.
She said everything was fine. Had EMS come and check her out. She was fine as far as I and they could tell. Mentally she didn't skip a beat. Knew the date, where she was, etc."
5. This singing suspect
Giphy"My uncle was a cop and recorded a man park as he shook his head to 'U GOT THAT' by ricardo milos until he passed out at the car cruiser"
4. Oh, the irony
"I know a cop who had to arrest someone for public masturbation at a truck stop back in the 90's. The man was doing it while looking at a Hot Cops magazine."
3. This driver has sympathy for any officers that pull him over
"Not a cop but I feel bad for the cops who pull me over. I have anxiety and I will get an anxiety attack and I lose control of parts of my body or all of it and shake. I got pulled over for having my headlight out and I couldn't find my insurance cards and I was getting really anxious and starting to shake, fortunately the cop let me go before my shaking got really bad. It looks like I'm doing something very illegal because of how anxious I get but I'm not"
2. This driver knows that they're strange
"I think I was the strangest person for a cop once. He pulled me over at 2 in the morning and asked if I had any weapons on me. I told him no, then he flashed his light on my backpack in the back seat and asked what was in the bag. It was my Wii U that I had taken to my friends house and told him we had been playing Mario and Donkey Kong. He asked if those were shooting games, and I had to explain to him about the Italian plumber and giant ape in the games."
1. What's going on in Seattle!?
"A few years ago my partner and I pulled over a guy who was driving erratically. Turns out he had molasses on his penis, and his pet pot-belly pig was licking it off.
Edit: This was in Seattle"
Don't be polite, be predictable!
GiphyPeople not going when the rules say it's their turn. Don't be polite, be predictable! refreshing_username
Beam Me.
Drivers who refuse to lower their high beams as they approach you at night. Back2BachBack2Bach
I always feel like flashing my brights at those cars, but there are times where I am not sure if they actually have their brights on or not. Some vehicles, especially trucks, just have really annoyingly bright headlights that are higher up compared to my car. SuperSpirals
Blinker.
You have a damn blinker, use it!!! MetaGeebus
Use it before you break. If you're already breaking I don't even give a damn at this point about your blinker, it's obvious you're turning. I'm so tired of having to slam my breaks at the same speed as the driver ahead of me because they couldn't use there blinker ahead of time. GDM117
GOOOOO!!!!!
People who don't pay attention when driving. If the light turns green, then go. Lights around me don't stay green for long, so this causes a crap load of traffic. FluffyBurgers
This old guy sat at a green light the other day. I gave him a light honk to alert him and he proceeds to pick up his hat and casually put it on his head. The school bus behind me honks as well, I give him a second honk. Guy continues to leisurely adjust his hat and after the bus and I honking about 3-4 times each, he looks in his rear view mirror at me and then continues off.
Unsurprisingly he pulls into the golf course after this little charade. All in front of a police station. YesSpamMaam
MERGE!!
GiphyPeople who won't speed up when merging onto the freeway. noelg1998
This is NM. Drivers go to the end of the acceleration lane, then stop looking for an opening. When I first moved here I like to have rear ended 10 cars while in that lane accelerating to merge. robrtsmtn
Beat the Limit!
If you're going to go below the speed limit, do it in the right lane. drbdrbdr
I live in the mountains. Mostly 2 lane winding roads with no opportunity to pass. I have encountered so many drivers going 15-20 mph under the speed limit just lately that I mentally apologize to the drivers behind me because I must be under a curse. mference123mference123
Cheerios...
People who eat cereal while driving. mdawgjcmdawgjc
I see several of my neighbors walk to their cars carrying standard ceramic coffee mugs to their car in the morning by the handle. Like... really? That seems like such a bad idea. I wanted to get them all travel mugs for Christmas. bilbravo
Cruising....
Cruising in the left passing lane. Looking at you, Illinois. dc5trbo
So I live just across the border in Indiana. Daily I have to deal with Illinois people on our interstates cruising in the left lane, and their just general shitty driving. In May of 2018 I was out in Nevada driving back to Vegas from the Hoover Dam.
There was a line of people in the left lane, not passing up anyone on the right. Eventually things broke up a bit and I was able to pass on the right. Lo and behold when I get up to the front of that line to see what the hell the hold up was, a damn fool in a Jeep with an Illinois plate. No way. 2000 miles from home and those assholes are still pissing me off. dc5trbo
Damn Trucks.
I'm sure truck drivers will agree with me here but I hate people who are going 30mph up the on-ramp to a highway. Not all of us can quickly accelerate to 60 mph in 3 seconds, we need the length of the ramp and the right lane to get up to speed before we are forced to merge with traffic. kraftacular
Please, stay in your lane.
GiphyPlease, stay in your lane.
Please.
Please stop drifting into mine.
Please stop driving up the middle of the road. There are 2 lanes here.
Just stay in your damned lane. The_Vampire_Barlow
