Getting behind the wheel of the car involves taking on a lot of responsibility. You’re putting yourself in control of about a ton of metal which can move at speeds of more than 100 mph; even if you never intend to take it above cruising speeds, it’s a lethal weapon in the wrong hands. That’s why we have rules of the road, and why anyone who wants to remain a driver sticks to those rules religiously.
There are some things, however, that aren’t covered by the rules of the road. They can’t, and probably shouldn’t, be covered, because these issues are to do with what goes on inside your car. While your vehicle isn’t exactly international waters – police can and will pull you over if you’re behaving in a certain way behind the wheel – there are some rules that you need to implement yourself. And some of the most important are as follows.
No food in the car – no exceptions
We all love a road trip, and a big part of the experience is to pack a picnic and munch away while you’re en route to a destination. But food inside a car shouldn’t be normalized, for a number of reasons. Never mind that it will mess up your interior in a way that never really gets fixed, it can have real impacts on the safety of your drive. If some food gets dropped or a drink is spilled, it risks attracting pests, who can do some damage to the workings of your ride. And if you’re eating while driving, it’s a huge distraction – not to mention that dropped food can get stuck under the pedals, which is extremely bad news.
If there is to be music, the driver should choose it
It’s not just because the driver is the one doing the work, although it’s only polite that they should get to be in control of the tunes. More than that, a passenger fiddling with the radio, picking music or even putting on a podcast can be hugely distracting. Unexpected noise at the wrong time can leave you searching for a car accident lawyer, or worse. If you doubt the impact that an unwelcome sound can have, try to read this article while listening to a song you absolutely hate. It will take repeated attempts to get to the end, as you keep being waylaid by the musical intrusion.
Don’t let road rage rule you
You know it, we know it, some of the people out there on the road are barely equipped to control a television – let alone a car. For sure, it can be tempting to let them know it too. There’s nothing wrong with hooting your horn to draw attention to someone’s poor road etiquette, but shouting and screaming behind the wheel is a no-no. For one thing, it gets your blood pressure going and makes it hard to calm down. For another, if you have passengers in the car, you leave them nowhere to go and they’re trapped there while you yell yourself hoarse. Don’t inflict that on them. Count to ten, mutter under your breath, whatever it takes – just avoid losing it.
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