When Too Much Confidence Is a Bad Thing
While it's good to be confident in your driving skills, it's another thing to be overly arrogant behind the wheel to the point where you're making risky decisions and reckless maneuvers. Even if you're a great driver, it's best to keep your ego in check—or else you might end up putting yourself (and everyone else) in danger. From texting while driving to ignoring road signs and traffic lights, here are 20 signs you're too overconfident on the road.
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1. You Drink & Drive
By far the most dangerous sign of overconfidence behind the wheel is drinking and driving. Despite knowing the statistics, drunk drivers often believe they're the exception and think they have enough control to safely make it home, which is rarely ever the case.
2. You Text While Driving
Another sign of overconfidence? Texting while driving. Again, drivers who multitask behind the wheel often think they have enough skill and control to prevent them from getting into accidents on the road, when most of the time, their reflexes aren't quick enough with their attention pulled away.
3. You Weave Through Traffic
Impatient drivers are often overconfident as well. These are the types to weave in and out of traffic, without paying mind to the other cars or road users around them. In their minds, this way of driving feels normal, and they'll happily hop from lane to lane and cut off drivers when they feel like it.
4. You Tailgate
Another sign of overconfidence on the road is tailgating. Drivers who do this are often impatient and may do this to pressure others to speed up. But following too closely can easily lead to rear-end collisions, and tailgaters often overestimate how fast they can react before it’s too late.
5. You Drive Over the Speed Limit
You might think it's fine to drive above the speed limit, given that others do it, too. But if you're always stepping on the gas like you're on a racetrack, you're grossly overestimating how long it takes for your vehicle to fully stop—and how long it takes for you to even react before you switch pedals.
6. You Watch Videos or Scroll Through Social Media
Texting while driving is bad enough on its own, but if you're watching videos or scrolling through social media while you're weaving through traffic, you're only putting yourself and other road users at more risk. You should never multitask behind the wheel; the second your attention is split between different tasks, your focus wanes, and you're more likely to cause an accident.
7. You Don't Use Signals
Overconfident drivers often don't signal their intentions, either. This is usually because they think they forget to (say, if their attention is already split between the road and their phone), or because they don't feel the need to. But doing this will only cause other road users to make dangerous maneuvers around you or react aggressively.
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8. You Speed Through Your Turns & Lane Changes
Another reason confident drivers choose not to signal their intentions is because they often speed through their turns or lane changes. They don't look for a safety margin—they just go. This can make it not only incredibly dangerous for them, but for everyone else around them as well.
9. You Rarely Shoulder Check
If you rarely check your blind spots, you're too arrogant behind the wheel. Checking these spots is essential to ensure there are no obstacles—cyclists, pedestrians, cars—hiding from view before you commit to your next maneuver. If you skip this vital check, you're putting everyone in danger.
10. You Ignore Weather Conditions
No matter if it's rain, fog, sleet, or snow, you're getting behind the wheel regardless. While it's good to be confident in your skills, it's not always safe to drive in any weather condition. Being too arrogant about your abilities may end up backfiring if you don't think through your decisions carefully.
11. You Drive When You're Emotional
Overconfident drivers don't just get behind the wheel no matter what the weather is like inside—they'll get on the road regardless of their own mental state. Even after getting into a heated argument or an emotional chat, they often assume they're fine to drive when they're not.
12. You Don't Look at Your Mirrors When Backing Up
With backup cameras installed in almost every modern car, these added safety features have made many drivers too overconfident behind the wheel. For example, they may rely solely on their sensors and backup cameras to reverse into a bay, instead of actually turning their body to look behind them and check for obstacles.
13. You Speed Through Yellows
To you, a yellow light doesn't mean slow down and stop unless you're unable to safely. Instead, you take it to mean "speed up." You might not think this causes a big problem, but when a vehicle on the opposite side of the intersection is looking to turn, and you zoom past at the last second, it can result in a collision that could've easily been avoided.
14. You Ignore Road Signs
It's not just that you don't have all the road signs memorized, but that you straight-up ignore the ones that you don't think matter to you. Even the ones you come across daily, like stop signs, are seen as mere suggestions to you rather than ones you need to obey by law. As a result? Instead of coming to a full stop at the line, you roll right through it.
15. You Assume Pedestrians Will Look Out for You
Pedestrians, unless jaywalking, always have the right of way. But overconfident drivers often assume that it's the pedestrians who will watch out for their vehicle, and not the other way around. However, the people around you can't predict your moves, so you always want to stay vigilant and regularly scan your surroundings.
16. You Brag About Your Skills
Another clear sign you're too overconfident? You brag to your friends and family about your driving skills. You may even show them shortcuts and "tricks" behind the wheel, despite these maneuvers being dangerous and possibly illegal.
17. You Yell at Other Drivers
An overconfident driver thinks they're the best on the road while everyone else is an amateur. As a result, they may constantly engage in road rage, whether by honking excessively at other road users or rolling the window down to make their frustrations known.
18. You Don't Practice Extra Caution at Night
Just as you should be careful when driving in bad weather, you should also be cautious when driving after dark. Those who are overconfident on the road, however, rarely slow down or adjust their habits at night. They assume their vision and reflexes are just as sharp as they are in daylight, and don't take into account that reduced visibility and fatigue can make nighttime driving far riskier.
19. You Don't Always Wear Your Seatbelt
Whether you're making a quick trip around the block or driving to the next city, you should always buckle up. Overconfident drivers, however, may think it's fine to skip it once in a while, believing nothing bad will happen. But not wearing a seatbelt can have severe, even fatal, consequences, no matter how short or long the distance is between you and your destination.
20. You Think Accidents Only Happen to Others
Overconfident drivers often believe accidents only happen to other people, which is why they may get behind the wheel in unsafe weather or drive without buckling up. But having this mindset can lead to risky decisions and careless habits. Even if you think you're a skilled driver, it only takes one mistake to put yourself in potential danger. Remember: safety should always come first, and no one is invincible on the road.
