Safe Driving Week should last a full year
As written for The Insurance Hunters. Please visit their blog.
Throughout Canada we generally have two weeks of the year that focus on safe driving; one week in the spring and the other at the end of the year. This is usually brought to the interest of drivers through various organizations and government. The reasoning is to highlight to drivers the importance of safe driving and to remind them of things they may have forgotten or never knew to begin with. I enjoy how the media jumps all over these two weeks, really letting the public know what should happen on our roads. But don’t you think you owe it to yourself to increase those two weeks to… I don’t know… maybe the entire year?
Most people can realize on their own when their driving isn’t as good as it could be. Sometimes their passengers tell them and if different passengers are saying the same thing, chances are that it’s true. When I was a judge on Canada’s Worst Driver, there was a participant who had multiple people nominate her to be on the show. It was obvious to many of her friends she was an unsafe driver and they let her know about it. She still denied she needed to change her driving habits and even though she was on the show, she still said she was a good driver. Some people, huh?
In order to make a new habit you first of all must want to make the change. Changes to your driving habits won’t happen if you have no interest in doing it. I’ve often said to drivers; I can’t teach you how to drive if you don’t want to learn. If you want to change, you need to follow through and practice the new skills each time you drive. If you want the outcome, you have to put in the work.
Now, depending who you ask, it takes anywhere from 21 to 30 days to make something into a new habit. If you have a bad habit, it may take a little longer to make those changes because you have to unlearn your bad habit before you can build it into a good habit. If you think about it, having one week to change your driving attitude, skill or belief just isn’t long enough. You need more time. You should think about long term gains by making these changes. Is it safety? Is it financial? Is it regaining respect from family or friends?
To help you solidify these changes, make a conscience effort before entering your vehicle of how you’re going to drive. If you don’t know exactly how to change your driving habits, ask a professional – not your best friend. No offence to your friend, but they may not know exactly how to break down the changes to help you. An expert can help you with that. Once you have the tips, tell yourself what you should do, not what you should not do. Positive advice reinforces positive change. And after time, voila! A new habit!
** A related article… Is it time to make a fresh start can be read here
Great article. I think it’s interesting that you compare bad driving to a bad habit – it is sort of true that we get into routines that end up becoming dangerous. Safe driving is definitely something people should promote all year.