The 5 Most Commonly Broken Driving Rules

There are so many distractions today while driving. As the driver we are bombarded with thoughts of our day to come, what’s going on at home, our lists of things-to-do, whether there is enough money in the checking account, and especially getting from point A to point B. The list goes on.

In these reveries we neglect some of the most common driving rules, which result in traffic violations causing serious and/or financial consequences.

How many times have we yelled at another driver, calling out derogatory names such as, “Idiot!”? How many times have we been the idiot?

Ouch… Yep, been there, done that.

In our hectic world, we must be aware of our driving and the other guy who just sped by you giving you the finger for something you didn't even know you were doing.

Let's count down the 5 most commonly broken driving rules that we should work to improve.

Darn it! Caught behind the school bus again. Last time, it seemed there were 30 stops before reaching the destination. Well, maybe not 30, but enough to make a driver antsy and irritable.

Why not just ignore that big red stop sign sticking out of the left side of the bus?

It is amazing that not stopping for a school bus is a common traffic violation. Drivers who breake this rule are idiots for not stopping for a school bus. As drivers, we should not just stop, but stop a considerable distance away, whether following or coming from the opposite direction.

WHY? Because a kid who darts out from in front of that bus to cross the street could be hit and injured, or worse, killed. Passing the bus while kids are getting off is one of the most dangerous traffic violations. We can’t simply ignore the stop sign on the bus when coming from the other direction, either. We may think we can see all the kids getting off the bus, what about the kid who runs to the back of the bus to cross? Blowing by the bus’s stop sign can cause the same repercussions as passing it.

Hitting a kid with your vehicle is not something any of us want on our conscience. There is no place we need to be that is worth a child’s life.

Oh man, almost to Grandma’s house, and the her hand-knitted tablecloth she asked to be returned it sitting on the kitchen table. The highway doesn’t look too crowded with traffic, and none of the cars look like cop cars.

There’s that one area for “Authorized Vehicles Only” or there is that patch of the median that isn’t too rough. All of a sudden, the wheel turns and the car is crossing the median. Grandma would be fit to be tied if her hand-knitted tablecloth weren’t returned.

Oh crap, are those sirens? Yep, an unmarked car just topped the hill. Busted.

Why not cross the median? It isn’t that big a deal. Hmmm… maybe a bit more thought needs to go into this violation.

It is when a car hits you or you hit another car or worse if it is a tracker trailer barreling through and smashes you and any other vehicle near you to smithereens. “Danger, Danger!” Stay the course and promise Grandma you will make a special trip for her table cloth. Bonus points with Grandma because she loves to see you visit.

Better to make it to her house than to risk being hurt or killed or hurting or killing someone else by crossing the median to go back for the tablecloth.

We have all been driving along when the person in front of us has put on their brakes or slowed down all of a sudden and turned without using their turn signal. We have to slam on our brakes to avoid rear-ending them. To top it off, if we do ram into the back of the vehicle, we are charged with being at fault. What an idiot… It is so frustrating when such a minor driving rule as using a turn signal is broken.

Other times we are the idiot. We are thinking about something else or singing to our favorite song and there is our turn. We nearly miss it, so we brake hard and swiftly turn to make it. We don’t think about the driver behind us. Bam! Our trunk is crushed in and we have whiplash from the impact.

Neither scenario is good, but both are possible. We need to be considerate drivers and use our turn signals at least 100 feet before turning.

Distractions are everywhere when we are driving. We are talking on our cell phones, we see a squirrel that is so cute running up a tree, or we wave at a friend who has just passed us from the other direction. Any number of things can take our attention and before we know it, we are in the middle of the intersection and the light is red.

We ram our foot down on the gas, praying we are not hit or seen by a police officer. Our hearts are about to jump out of our chest. Whew, made it, or did we?

Running a red light can cause an awful accident because the drivers coming from the side are not expecting a car to be in their path. They have accelerated to lawfully drive through the intersection with their green light, so much damage can occur. Hopefully, it is minor, but paying attention is the key that could have avoided any problems.

Then there is that heart sinking feeling that is not so harmful when we see the police officer’s lights pulling us over. Now you have a court date and money out of your pocket that could have been spent on something needed or wanted.

Late for work, late for school, anxious to get home, or more inattention. Speeding is the number one broken traffic violation. There are over 100,000 speeding tickets issued each day in the U.S. The average cost for a speeding ticket is $150.

We live in a busy, hectic world. Speeding is the norm. It is can be costly and dangerous. If we are speeding, we may place ourselves in a situation where we have no time to react before causing an accident.

Most of us are guilty of one or all of these commonly broken driving rules. None of us want to receive a ticket or be in an accident. Maybe we can get away with these traffic violations, but we have to weigh the cost.

Following the rules of the road, paying attention to what we are doing and using our common sense can help us avoid a lot of damage and can save us a lot of money. We don’t want to be “the idiot” on the road.