Many of today’s drivers have dangerous habits

Observing driver’s behavior nowadays, one can conclude that undoubtedly many are said to be poor when it comes to driving skills. Now there is more than anecdotal evidence that American drivers are woefully in need of refresher courses in basic driving skills. The results of the second annual GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test suggest that licensed Americans â€Å"lack basic driving knowledge and exhibit alarming behaviors on the road.† The study revealed that one in 11 drivers out of nearly 18 million people would fail a state drivers test if one were administered to them today. Furthermore, the study shows drivers deliberately disregard pedestrians and treat driving as the new â€Å"down time,† where they catch up on the day's activities, diverting their attention from the road. (Ripley, 2007) New finding had come up but still indicates that drivers still do not have adequate knowledge of basic rules of the road, and they exhibit bad habits behind the wheel. One of the most dangerous behavior for drivers is the concern for pedestrians. Roughly one out of three drivers usually do not stop for pedestrians even if they’re in a crosswalk or at a yellow light. Another things is that one out of five drivers do not know that a pedestrian has the right of way at a marked or unmarked crosswalk. Another concern that has a connection with the latest trends is that some drivers treat driving as a time to catch up on activities that they failed to do in their hectic day. Doing stuffs like cellphone chatting, texting, e-mailing friends, selecting songs on their iPods, putting on make up, changing clothes and reading. These activities are considered to be distracting and of course dangerous. Most drivers also drive through yellow lights. Drivers also drive at least 10mph over the speed limit they are always in a hurry and cannot be bothered to slow down. The most common driver’s dangerous habits are: use of handheld cellular phones while driving, not respecting pedestrians in crosswalks, drivers do push through driving even though they are drunk, driving under the influence of drugs, too fast driving when raining, not slowing down when passing through humps, not blowing horns when there are people crossing the street, too many unskilled drivers are on the road, drivers are not using hand signals, bike lanes are out of hand, drivers use to cut lines and the speed limits are too low. Its good to break the rule sometimes but one must remember that life should never be put at risk so we must remember to drive responsibly. Work Cited Ripley, Tom . â€Å"Study Says American Drivers Suck† December 4, 2007 Retrieved from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ;http://www.drivingtoday.com/sweetridz/features/archive/amer_drivers_suck/index.html;