It’s no secret that Atlanta’s roads are rife with bad drivers. As much as everyone complains about the city’s traffic, there are just as many complaints about near accidents and run-ins. Every time we dare to leave our house is like getting a crash course in defensive driving thanks to the multitude of dangerous drivers literally around every corner.
There are simply so many kinds of bad drivers on the streets of Atlanta. The aggressive drivers are the ones you notice the most because they’re the ones rudely honking at everyone in the thick of Midtown traffic, cutting you off without warning or sending a rude gesture your way because you had the audacity to obey the speed limit. The distracted drivers are the ones with their phone “glued to their hand,” either texting or sifting through a playlist, maybe even playing a game. The careless drivers roll through stop signs when they think no one’s looking and consider using their blinker as optional. Worst of all are the impaired drivers who are too high or too drunk to care or understand that they shouldn’t get behind the wheel.
Whatever kind of bad driver they are, you’ve seen them — or worse, you are them.
Maybe you think you aren’t that bad. Maybe you think that just because you’re not that person causing accidents left and right that you don’t deserve to be considered a bad driver. But here’s the thing: every time you choose to not use your blinker when you change lanes, type out a quick text while driving or speed up to make that light that is more red than yellow, you are being a bad driver. You are being careless. You are being reckless.
It’s not about avoiding a ticket or even simple common courtesy, it’s about safety. Every time you get into the driver’s seat and wrap your hands around the steering wheel, you are taking control of a 4,000-pound metal machine with the ability to crush bones, sever spinal cords and end lives. Your car is not just a method of transportation, a way of getting from point A to point B — it’s a highly lethal weapon. Driving badly is the equivalent of waving around a gun without the safety on, relying on nothing but luck to keep you alive.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 94 percent of all crashes are caused by driver error. Only six percent of crashes are caused by vehicle performance, environment or unknown critical reasons. This means that of the 1,549 people who died on Georgia roadways in 2017, at least 1,456 deaths could have been prevented.
While it’s impossible to fully control the actions of the drivers around you, you should be doing everything that is within your power to make Atlanta’s roads safer. Stay within the speed limit, ignore your phone, be more cautious in inclement weather and do everything you can to be predictable. Don’t be the person who suddenly cuts across five lines of traffic or slams on their brakes without warning. Don’t change lanes or make a turn without using your blinker first. The best thing you can do as a driver is to keep other drivers informed of your decisions and movements. They’re not mind readers.
The more aware we all are as drivers, the better and safer we will be. More than anything, remember what you’re really holding in your hands the next time you take the wheel — your life and the lives of everyone around you.
