All opinions are mine and mine alone.
Whether you own your dream car or a family-friendly vehicle, it’s important that you feel safe, comfortable, and happy behind the wheel. While this confidence usually comes with experience, you may be surprised to hear that 66% of Americans experience driving anxiety on a regular basis. However, driving can also be a lot of fun (traffic jams and road rage excluded) – and here are some top tips that you can use to ensure you stay happy behind the wheel.
Keep your cool.
Keeping cool, calm, and focused is perhaps the easiest way in which you can stay happy behind the wheel while also preventing car accidents. However, it’s also easier said than done, especially if other drivers on the road are not driving safely or you are running late for an important work meeting. Either way, it’s important that you are able to respond to all situations calmly. Take a deep breath, focus on the road, and then find an effective way to relieve stress and let it all out when you are not behind the wheel.
Upgrade your car.
Upgrading your car is another great way to ensure that you stay happy behind the wheel, due to the fact that it can make your driving experience much easier. For example, you could try out some car modifications that will totally blow your mind such as by installing new performance exhaust parts in your vehicle. Performance exhaust tools are an asset to any car due to the simple fact that they can help increase your car’s horsepower – which is perfect for those of us who love to get to places quickly. Additionally, they can also help make your car more energy-efficient, which reduces their overall running costs and means that you are also becoming more eco-friendly.
Don’t skip over maintenance.
Poor car maintenance and care is a ticket towards unhappiness. This is due to the simple fact that when we do not take proper care of our vehicle, it is more susceptible to breakdowns and will require repairs more often. As a result, you may find that your monthly vehicle expenses increase significantly – especially as car repairs are seldom cheap. On a similar thread, it is important that you keep your car in near mint condition if you want to sell it in the future. Thankfully, car maintenance does not need to be difficult. You simply need to keep an eye on your car and how it runs – for example, you should inspect your tires regularly. If you do notice any faults within your car, you should do some research ahead of time to see if you can tackle them yourself as opposed to taking your car directly to a repair shop. For example, you should be able to replace your tires yourself.
Research journeys ahead of time.
Whether your Satnav died or you overestimated your knowledge of a certain area, we all know what it’s like to get lost while driving. While this is usually nothing more than a minor inconvenience, getting lost can lead to trouble if you are in a rush, such as if you need to attend an important work meeting or event. In some cases, being late could actually result in you losing money. As a result, you can save yourself a great deal of time, energy, stress (and fuel) by ensuring that you research all journeys ahead of time. For example, you could simply take a few minutes before you leave to look over your journey on Google or Apple Maps. Usually, this software will also let you know of any traffic or road works along your route so that you are able to figure out an alternative path if necessary – which again can be a great time-saver. When you have an idea of where you are going, you’ll be able to ensure you always arrive on time – which does mean you no longer have an excuse about being late.
Make sure you are getting the best deal for your car insurance.
More often than not, car insurance is one of the biggest expenses you will face when getting behind the wheel. In fact, on average we spend over $1,630 on car insurance each year. While the right insurance policy is important, it is equally important that you ensure you are not overpaying for your insurance, as there are many companies out there that will use unethical practices to hike your fees. Usually, your best bit is to do plenty of research ahead of time to figure out which company will provide you with the best deal. Alternatively, you could use price-comparison websites to do the hard work for you.
Keep yourself entertained, but not distracted.
While you should always ensure that you are fully focused when driving, another way in which you can ensure you get more enjoyment out of your daily commute is by finding ways to keep yourself entertained behind the wheel. For example, you could do some research to find your favorite radio station, or listen to a compelling podcast. If you are driving with others, you could curate a driving playlist ahead of time that everyone can contribute too – this way you’ll hear at least one song you like along the way. However, as mentioned previously, it’s important that your entertainment choices do not impact your concentration. Finally, if you are driving with your kids in the back of the car (and have already been asked Are we there yet 10,000 times) you could install a backseat entertainment system – such as TV screens in your car. Not only will this give you some much needed peace and quiet, but it will also keep them entertained for hours on end.
In short, there are many different steps you can take to ensure that you remain happy behind the wheel – many of which simply focus on improving your overall driving experience. For example, upgrading and maintaining your car means that the likelihood of you dealing with stressful roadside breakdowns decreases dramatically – meaning you’ll be much happier when driving!
Speak Your Mind