Top 10 Bad Driving Habits

What people get away with day to day in countries like Japan, would cause serious road rage in countries like the UK. Impatience and aggressive driving ends up causing accidents, just as driving under the influence does. Distractions also can be a problem so make sure children are quiet, securely seated and not playing with noisy distracting toys or objects. Let look at some irritating points.

One of the most dangerous bad habits. Not only are you at risk from crashing to the car in front if it suddenly breaks, you are also pressuring the driver in front causing them to make dangerous decisions they normally wouldn't do.

In the UK they often have the zig-zag “no stopping” pattern on the road of a junction and can you be penalized if you stop there. In countries like Japan this is not present, therefore people squeeze through the red lights at the last minute and block up the road for when cars start coming though the left or right side.

If it is late at night and there is absolutely no traffic, then it is understandable to go through the lights at the last minute. However the problem is when you get the filtered green arrow to turn right (UK and Japan). While the green “straight” ahead light is showing, people who wish to turn right need to wait for the filtered arrow. Once this light comes on your get a rather short time to turn, approx 5-6 cars before changing to red. People are so desperate and impatient to get through they keep going through long after the light has turned red. This delays traffic on the left and right, since there lights would already be on green.

Some people tend stop in the for what ever reason without their hazards lights on. You could easily over take them but without hazard lights on it is not sure whether they are suddenly going to move off potentially causing an accident, especially if you have oncoming traffic.

Again, similar to the above. It is dangerous because it is uncertain what the drivers intentions are. Over taking could pose a risk. It may look like the driver is slowing down but they can suddenly accelerate at the last minute forcing to onto the other side of the road.

This can cause collisions. The worst problem is the fact that the collisions are chips and scrapes which usually does not slow the car down meaning the offender can easily escape.

Forcing people to stop

Mainly when pulling into T-junctions. The gap between cars should be large enough so that the vehicle behind does not have to brake sharply. Many do this knowing that people will stop for them. Also they understand that the person behind is most liable for a crash. However many people have dashboard cameras setup, you be careful.

Blocking somebody from entering a lane

A very irritating one, and what’s the point? There are merging roads everywhere and the normal thing to do is to let at least one car through at a time, so that everybody cooperates in a crisscross like pattern. Certain drivers will speed up and get close to the car in front purposely blocking you off. Very dangerous and irritating.

This is very misleading for drivers behind since the flicker of brakes lights can confuse people causing unnecessary hesitations and slow traffic. Learn to cruse at a constant speed, whether driving slowly or fast. I hate to drive behind people who constantly tap their brakes.

Bowing (in Japan)

Here in Japan you often see people of the older generation waiting to pull out do the bow then suddenly pull out forcing you to break. They think that due to their age and polite gesture, you will simply let them through. Not always the case. Better to keep driving and not hesitate. Any slight braking or hesitation and they will pull out in front of you.