There are many ways you tell the world who you are. If you go outside and you’re wearing a three-piece suit, it sends a different message than if you’re wearing old jeans and a band tee-shirt.
You’d wear the first option to a job interview. If you went to an interview in the jeans and tee-shirt, it’s not likely you’d get that job unless you were trying to be a roadie.
The same goes for things like visible tattoos or multi-colored hair. There are some jobs and situations where that sort of thing is acceptable, while in other scenarios, it’s jarring and out of place.
Whether you realize this or not, the way you drive also says something about you. It conveys a great deal about how cautious and respectful of an individual you are. In this article, we’ll look at a few driving scenarios and how what you do in each of them says something about you.
How You Act When You Approach a Traffic Light
When you come up to a traffic light in your vehicle, you need to understand that:
- Red means stop
- Yellow means slow down and proceed cautiously
- Green means you can go ahead safely
Traffic lights are not just a suggestion. You need to follow the law precisely when you come to an intersection, and there’s a light telling you what to do.
If you stop at a red light and sit there, waiting patiently, that means you’re a good driver, and you’re keeping the streets safe. When the light turns green, you should also wait for a second or two to allow the intersection to clear, rather than flooring the gas pedal immediately.
If you’re approaching an intersection and see that a light is turning from green to yellow, you should be okay to go. However, if the light is turning from yellow to red, you need to stop. If you go, you can cause an accident.
How someone reacts as they come to an intersection with a traffic light shows clearly what kind of driver they are.
How You Act When You Approach a Stop Sign
What you do when you come to a stop sign also says a lot about you. When you approach a stop sign in your vehicle:
- You should come to a full stop
- You should only go when the way ahead of you is clear and safe
Some people execute the “rolling stop.” They tap the brakes as they approach a stop sign, slowing the vehicle. They never come to a complete stop, though.
If you’re at a four-way stop, and you do this, you might get away with it if there is no other traffic around. If you try this when there’s traffic coming from all directions, though, you can easily cause an accident.
Also, if a police officer sees you execute this maneuver, they can pull you over and ticket you. They have good reason to do so. The rolling stop is inconsiderate and dangerous.
You even have people who completely disregard stop signs. As a driver, this is one of the worst things you can do. You can hit a pedestrian or bike rider in a crosswalk. You can strike another vehicle, or one can hit you.
How Loud You Listen to Your Music
It also says something about you when you choose to listen to your music softly or at full volume when you drive. Many people like listening to music as they drive. You can put on your favorite album or satellite radio station on your way home from work, and it can relax you.
There’s no need to crank the volume up as high as it goes, though. When you do that, you can damage your hearing, and more importantly, you can’t hear the traffic around you.
You can’t hear a car beeping at you to let you know that the light has changed. You can’t hear an ambulance siren taking a heart attack victim to the hospital.
It’s also inconsiderate to other drivers and pedestrians that have to listen to your music. It’s “look at me” behavior, and it’s immature. If you listen to your music at a lower volume, it’s another way to let the world know you’re not self-centered.
How Fast You Drive
How fast you drive definitely says something about you. Speed limits exist everywhere, and they are in place for a reason. For instance, if you’re going sixty miles per hour on the highway, you can more easily keep your vehicle under control. You can slow down or stop if traffic conditions suddenly change.
If you’re going ninety on the highway, you’re not just breaking the law. You’re endangering yourself and those around you. You might get to where you’re going faster, but you risk life and limb every time you do this.
If you drive too fast on suburban streets, you might hit a pet, a child, or a bike rider. You might miss a stop sign or crosswalk. You might roll through a school zone faster than you should.
Slowing down and driving the speed limit does not cost you anything, and it’s a way to show society that you’re not inconsiderate and reckless.
There are several other scenarios where your driving tells a lot about you. If you ever try to text and drive, that’s a clear recklessness message. If you use Bluetooth all the time, that’s not safe either.
If you make right turns on red without checking to see if it’s safe, you can cause an accident. If you don’t yield when you’re supposed to, that might cause a crash as well.
The longer you drive, the more you can modify your behavior. When you’re young, you might be so thrilled to get your license that you’re a bit inconsistent and wild.
Remember that you’re operating a multiple-ton vehicle. How you conduct yourself tells the world very clearly what kind of person you are.
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