According to a recent study, the vast majority of people, over 90 percent, admit to engaging in at least one behavior behind the wheel which the authors of the study deemed dangerous. The study dubbed these dangerous behaviors driver fails, since they are all bad habits which can easily lead to serious car accidents.
Not surprisingly, texting and driving was a common driver fail. Of those surveyed, 27 percent admitted to reading texts while driving. Additionally, 24 percent admitted to sending a text while behind the wheel, although it was not clear whether they had used voice commands to compose the text or actually typed it.
However, the biggest driving fails were, in this order, eating and driving, participating in a conventional phone call and changing the in-car music. Overall, 67 percent of drivers admitted to eating and driving, while 58 percent admitted to using their cell phones and 55 percent admitted to tuning the radio during their drive.
With all the attention being on texting and driving these days, it is easy to forget that these sorts of distracted driving behaviors are also extremely dangerous.
On a somewhat related point, 41 percent of all drivers admitted to exceeding the speed limit. Again, while speeding is a problem that is about as old as the automobile itself, it’s still extremely dangerous behavior. It not only increases the possibility of an accident but also makes it more likely that the accident will lead to severe injuries.
One reason these bad driving habits are rightly called fails is because the driver engaged in them has failed to exercise reasonable care and caution. If a Louisiana driver causes an accident by engaging in one of these bad habits, his or her victims may be eligible to receive compensation for their losses.