Tips, Tricks & Trends

Illegal Driving Habits You Need To Break

Most drivers don’t really take into account how different driving styles are all over the country. No matter where you grow up, chances are you’ve experienced some of these illegal driving habits, or maybe you’re even trying to break one. While some of these practices are illegal for random reasons, most of them are focused on safety. Are you guilty of any of these bad driving habits?

Using your turn signals

It is required by most states that drivers use turn signals while changing lanes. As responsible readers, I am confident that you use your turns signals as they are required. But, there are still a lot of drivers out there that don’t use their turn signals well. We’ve all experienced the frustration of drivers that don’t use their turn signals. All we can do it continue to use ours, and maybe give our friends some gentle reminders when we ride with them.

Close up photo of a front head lamp and illuminated turn signal on a white BMW
Front turn signal | GASPA/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Texting and driving

Texting while driving was a secondary offense in many states, but within the past few years, it has become a reason to be pulled over. There are so many reasons that you shouldn’t text, Snapchat, or even check in on the VinWIKI app while driving — besides the fact that it’s illegal. As younger and younger generations of drivers who are used to having their cell phones in their palms, it can be a hard habit to break.

A bad driver using a phone while behind the wheel of a car
A driver uses a phone while behind the wheel of a car | Spencer Platt/Getty Images

RELATED: Cellphones Aren’t The Only Distraction Driver’s Should Be Wary Of

Highbeams are usually illegal

If you are driving where oncoming traffic can see your car, you should not be using your high beams. While they are fine in rural areas, but they can be distracting and even blinding to other drivers. More than that, there is another habit that drivers have that is even more illegal. It is actually illegal to flash your car’s high beams as a warning. Most people do this to alarm oncoming traffic to the presence of police cars or speed traps. That’s actually illegal, and even though it can be helpful to other drivers, it is a habit we need to break.

Ford F-150 Police Responder police pickup
Ford F-150 Police Responder police pickup | Ford

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Whether you are guilty of having some of these driving habits or not, there is a high chance that you’ve at least come across a driver that has them. They can be frustrating and annoying, but they can also be dangerous. That’s why, besides the fact that these things are illegal, they are habits that we need to break.