5 of the Most Common Driving Mistakes

Embarrassing and minor mishaps we've all witnessed (or been guilty of) on the road.

Alexandre Mouravskiy | 

Sep 30, 2025 | 3 min read

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The following mistakes may not lead to hospital bills, but they're still not courteous to the other drivers on the road.

1. Excessive Speeding

2. Improper Lane Changes

Failing to signal, taking a turn into the wrong lane, or forgetting to check your mirrors before getting over are three common driving behaviors that should be less common. All of these fall under the category of improper lane changes, and according to the NHTSA many crashes are tied to human error.

If you're a habitual offender, there are some tactical ways to improve. Setting your mirrors properly can reduce blind-spot accidents. It's also important to have safety features such as lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring turned on.

And finally, remember that if you're making a turn, you should not change lanes at the same time. If you're turning from the right lane, you should end up in the right lane, not the middle lane.

3. Tailgating

A survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 51% of drivers admit to tailgating other drivers to get them to speed up or move over. Drivers need time to react to changing situations, and cars need time to slow down. Following too closely often doesn't provide enough time for either.

The old rule of thumb advised leaving one car length between you and the car ahead for every 10 miles per hour of speed. But most drivers struggle to accurately judge car lengths.

Instead, some experts now recommend the three-second rule. When the car in front of you passes a stationary object, start counting seconds. If you get to that object before three seconds have passed, you're following too closely.

4. Forgetting to Turn Off High Beams

Drivers who forget to dim their bright lights when other cars are on the road risk temporarily blinding oncoming traffic, making it hard for drivers to spot road hazards and putting everyone's lives in danger. Not to mention, it's very annoying.

Most modern cars sold in the last few years come equipped with automatic high-beams — you simply need to keep the feature enabled. For vehicles without automatic high-beams, regularly check the high-beam indicator to ensure it hasn't been left on without your noticing.

5. Overly Polite Driving

Yes this is possible. Common examples include letting cars in or out while blocking traffic behind you; opening up a gap that leaves space for a driver to turn left across multiple lanes without a clear view of oncoming traffic; or disregarding the right of way out of a desire to be helpful.

The most polite thing any driver can do is drive predictably. Following the established rules of the road helps everyone get where they're going faster, while preventing behavior that leads to accidents.

Alexandre Mouravskiy

Alexandre Mouravskiy has worked as a freelance writer for almost 20 years, covering pop culture, politics, and automobiles. He’s written about road tripping across the eastern seaboard, replacing broken wheels in a blizzard as an amateur rally navigator, and once drove from the Gulf to the Hudson Valley in a single day. When he’s not writing, Alexandre can be found wrenching on one of his project cars or teaching people to drive stick, whether they want to learn or not.