Driving responsibly means taking the guesswork out of driving all together. If a traffic light is yellow, your driver's education reminds you that this is an indication that you should slow down, right? Red lights mean that you should come to a complete stop. If a pedestrian is waiting to cross the road, and it is clear around you, you should yield to let them cross. The introduction of the red light camera is one example of how local governments around each of the states have been trying to slow drivers down into obeying traffic laws. Is it working? The answer is unclear. In some people's opinions, the red light cameras are not only a waste of taxpayers' money, but they are also dangerous as they have the opposite of their intended effect. For instance, in many cases, instead of slowing people down, the red light cameras are actually causing people to speed up in order to beat the light so that they avoid getting a ticket. If it is not timed out well, and the driver is indecisive as they approach the light and then suddenly slam on their brakes to avoid the flashbulb, then the other driver who is behind them (and was so sure that they would run the light) suddenly finds him or herself slamming on their brakes in order to avoid colliding with the person in front of them. Because so many drivers tailgate, however, many of them are unlucky in this pursuit and wind up getting into accidents at red light cameras. Driving responsibly also means turning off the cell phones while driving. Lately, I have been making it a point to either turn my phone to silent, leaving it at home (if I know that I am stepping out for a little while), or I have been resorting to simply keeping my cell phone in my purse or bag, which I then store in the trunk of my car while driving. Out of sight; out of mind works! Cell phones are incredibly distracting because there are too many fun things that you can do with them. From sending text messages to playing games to checking your fifteen different email accounts while tweeting, it is quite a spectacle that is best left alone while you are behind the wheel of your car. The radio is another culprit in the attention grabbing game. Even something as simple as changing a radio station requires most people to reach over and fiddle with the controls, which means that there is one less hand on the steering wheel. And should you have to perform an evasive maneuver while driving your car, you probably wouldn't be able to do it quite as effectively with just one hand. GPS devices, Mp3 players and pretty much any other device that plugs into one of your charger outlets is usually a one way ticket to distractionville, so beware.
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