Five bad habits increasing your chance of a serious accident.

Being distracted when driving

A car travelling at a speed of 80 km/h covers approximately 22 meters a second, which means you can quickly cover significant distances when you take your eyes off the road for even a few seconds.

During this time any number of hazards can emerge in front of you, massively increasing the probability of a collision or losing control of your vehicle.

While mobile phone use is obviously a bad idea while driving, research indicates that changing a CD is equally as dangerous, attempting to evict an insect from a car is even riskier, and interaction with passengers is the biggest source of driver distraction related accidents. The rule of thumb here is that if you need to do anything in your car that doesn’t involve driving, do it while your car is stationary and not obstructing traffic.

Tailgating

A significant portion of the driving population apparently believes that closing the driving distance between themselves and the car in front of them by a couple of seconds will help them get to their destination faster. The truth is that tailgating not only does absolutely nothing to get anyone to their destination quicker, it actually radically increases the probability that they won’t get there at all.

Driving while drowsy

It’s no secret that driving while intoxicated significantly increases your chances of having a serious accident. But did you know that driving while drowsy is just as dangerous?

Of course it’s unlikely that people who drive fatigued are doing so deliberately, and any number of factors can lead to drowsiness. However, the solution is straightforward. If you’re drowsy and feel like you need a nap – take one. A 20 minute nap can significantly alleviate drowsiness and improve your alertness and performance behind the wheel.

Just don’t nap for longer than 30 minutes, as this will put you into slow wave sleep and you’ll feel groggy when you wake up.

Poor tyre maintenance

Tyre quality has improved in quality along with other car safety systems over the last few decades.

However, drivers still have considerable influence over the condition of their tyres. And the condition of car tyres plays a critical role in how a car reacts, or can contribute to, to a variety of potentially hazardous conditions and situations on the road. So having your tyres in tip-top shape can not only save your life, but prevent you from losing it over something as trivial as a puncture.

The basics of tyre maintenance are simple. Check your tyre pressure at least once a month when refuelling your car, and ensure your tyres are inflated to manufacturer specifications. Replace your tyres when the tread falls below the tread wear bars, and rotate and balance your tyres at least once every 10,000 km. Finally treat your tyres with respect and avoid overheating or excessive wear caused by harsh cornering or maintaining high speeds for long periods.

Speeding

Speeding is widely recognized for its significant contribution to serious car accidents. The reasons are simple. The faster you go, the less reaction time you have, and the harder the impact when things go wrong. However, speeding is also frequently mischaracterized as driving at speeds that would be generally recognized as excessive, such as hitting 180 km/h.

The truth is that speeding isn’t just how far you push your speedometer, but has to be understood in the context of driving conditions. 60 km/h an hour is too fast on a road with a lot of pedestrian traffic, while 50 km/h would be excessive on a winding mountain pass. Observing legal speed limits is the first step towards driving safely, but also ensure you reduce your speed whenever you encounter hazardous road or climatic conditions.