Even if you have been driving for a while already and you have a pretty good vehicle, you may be aware that your skills are not exactly up to par with some of the other drivers on the road to the point that you are confident at driving at high speeds in the middle of the freeway.
So, why is it that you are bad at driving?
Here’s why you are so bad at driving
You may be a bad driver because you lack the experience and the confidence needed to take on tougher roads and more complicated driving tasks. However, it is also possible that you are naturally a bad driver because driving itself is a combination of different skills and traits that may come naturally to a person.
The thing that needs to be understood about driving is that this isn’t always something that you can master through practice. There are some people who are just natural at what they do, while others are not as good when they are in control of a vehicle. Then again, that doesn’t mean that you can’t improve even if you’re naturally a bad driver.
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How do you know if you’re a bad driver?
Driving is a skill that is learned through practice, proper training, and repetition.
However, what you may already know is that there are some people who are naturally good at driving, just as how some people are naturally good at sports. Meanwhile, there are some who are not as good at driving as some of their peers.
So, if you want to know whether or not you are a bad driver, what are the signs that you need to watch out for?
- You always get pulled over by the authorities to get ticketed. This is probably the best way to know that you are a bad driver, as there are some people who always commit violations subconsciously and get ticketed for such mistakes. However, there are also some people who actually know the laws but just don’t seem to care. While they are bad drivers per se, they may not be bad drivers in terms of their skills.
- If you tend to overspeed and go more than five over, that means that you are a bad driver. It isn’t uncommon for some people to go over the speed limit but maintain their speed at five miles over the limit. Some authorities tend to let that go away but won’t let those who go over five, over the limit. So, if you tend to overspeed and go 10 to 15 miles over the limit, that means that you are a bad driver.
- Those who tend to panic a lot while on the road and are in difficult situations are probably bad drivers as well. It isn’t rare for people to encounter difficult situations on the road, and getting yourself out of such situations will take skill and poise. However, those who lose their cool in such situations and are not as poised as other drivers are probably like that because they know that they lack the skill to get themselves out of such a difficult on-road situation.
- If there are people who have told you that your driving scares them, that means that you are a bad driver. It isn’t rare for people to have bad driving habits to the point that their passengers get scared. We are not even talking about speeding here because there are some bad drivers who scare their passengers because of how they don’t play it safe on the road. So, if multiple people have already told you that your driving scares them, that’s the time you should wake up and say that you need to improve your driving.
- Look at your car and try to see if it has a lot of dints and dents. Those are the earmarks of what a bad driver is, as cars that get minor damages will only get those damages if they are driven by a bad driver who ends up scraping the car on the wall when parking or ends up bumping an obstruction due to carelessness.
Why am I so bad at driving?
If you have noticed, based on the signs that we have pointed out, that you are a bad driver, you might be wondering why you are so bad at driving. Well, for starters, there are several reasons why you may be a bad driver.
For one, driving is a skill that is learned and developed over time through practice and repetition. You cannot be a good driver overnight because you need to actually learn the rules and adjust yourself to the different bodily movements that driving requires.
This includes knowing how much pressure to put on the accelerator, understanding when to shift, and knowing how to brake properly. On top of that, steering and parking are also skills that can be learned over time the more you practice and the more confidence you gain in your driving.
However, there are actually some people who are naturally bad drivers. That is because driving is a skill that is a combination of different skills and traits such as orientation, spatial awareness, judgment, reaction time, and IQ.
The better you are at such skills and traits, the more likely you are going to be a good driver. Meanwhile, those who are on the lower end of those skills or who lack some of those traits are more likely to become bad drivers.
Why do I find driving so stressful?
If you are someone who finds driving stressful, this means that you are probably a bad driver. That is because you get stressed out when you are in tough situations that can increase your cortisol levels or your stress hormones.
Cortisol is the stress hormone that increases whenever you are in fight or flight situations. So, if you notice that you get stressed out quite a lot of times while driving, especially when you are in tough driving situations or when you are on a high-speed road such as the freeway, that means that you are probably a bad driver and are not confident in your skills.
The less confident you are in what you can do, the more likely you will get stressed because your body is placed in a fight or flight situation. However, those who are better at driving tend to be more relaxed because their mind and body know for a fact that there is no reason to get stressed while driving when they have the skills that would allow them to feel confident on the road.
So, if you often get stressed out while driving, the best way for you to reduce such instances is to improve as a driver.
How do I stop being so bad at driving?
If you want to stop being so bad at driving, here are some tips that can help improve your driving skills:
- Refresh the basic rules of driving and the laws that you need to know. You may have passed your driver’s license test, but that doesn’t always mean that you know the rules and laws by heart.
- Look at your sloppy habits. Try to reflect on the situations where you often get ticketed or where you often bump your car on something to understand your weaknesses as a driver. You can also reflect on the situations that you feel stressed out the most to understand where you are lacking as a driver. Being aware is the first step to improvement.
- Go back to the basics after you have understood your weaknesses as a driver. Tidy up on such basics such as knowing how to use the turn signal or knowing when it is best for you to come to a full stop. You can also practice parking in the garage if you want to improve in situations such as parallel parking.
- Always make sure that your eyes are moving. Don’t keep your eyes fixed on the road the entire time because you also need to make sure that your eyes are looking at the side and rear mirrors. This is the best way for you to improve your spatial awareness as a driver.
- Take a refresher course. There is no shame in going back to school because there are plenty of people who are already middle-aged but are still learning how to drive. Taking a refresher course will allow you to tidy up your weaknesses and learn some tips and tricks that can help improve your driving.
