An absolute essential to responsible driving is staying alert on the road. This means staying sober, awake and putting aside distractions. We have a tendency to justify anything we do by pointing to how busy and important we are. But no amount of arguing or reasoning will convince a police officer that you are justified in driving drunk, tired or while you are sending text messages. This is blatantly irresponsible behavior that can result in an arrest, or even worse, in harm to someone innocent of blame. Anyone who gets behind a wheel needs to respect that staying alert is not just their legal responsibility, it is their human responsibility.

Sobriety is the most obvious necessity to staying alert. Every driver’s education program and high school driving class shows videos of what happens when people drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It is seldom the driver who pays the price, but rather the innocent party involved in the crash who suffers. Every jurisdiction sets a legal limit for how much alcohol can be found in a person’s blood stream when they are operating a vehicle.

Recently, traffic laws began recognizing tiredness as being as dangerous to driving as intoxication is in many ways. When you drive tired, you are only half as alert as you usually are. This delays your reaction time and makes your decision making foggy. Most drivers have driven tired at some point, but it is a dangerous and costly habit to be in. It is likely to catch up to you at some point.

Driving distracted is another deadly error that drivers make. Drivers can be distracted in a number of ways, ranging from cell phone use to eating to putting on make up and much more. Anything that removes the driver’s hands from the wheel or takes their focus away from the road can prove deadly.