Home, gym, home. Work, Tesco, home. Friend’s, home. Gym. And so on…

Most of us buy a car for its convenience, it gets you from A to B. And usually, it’s all for short, local journeys.

It’s great to know your daily route like the back of your hand, being comfortable during your drive is a nice feeling. It’s good to know what’s around the corner.

But the thing is, you don’t know what’s around the corner. No matter how many times you’ve made the same journey, every single road you take is different every day.

Why is it a problem?

1. You get too comfortable

Whenever we think that a cyclist or another car “just came out of nowhere”, they really didn’t. They were there but you didn’t notice them, because you had switched off.

It’s impossible to be at our best every second of the day but driving requires immense focus and a state of alertness. The route you take might be empty with no other road users in sight on 10 days in a row, but the 11th day something changes – just when you don’t expect it.

2. You get too confident

Driving style changes with time. We develop our own habits and stop processing driving in our minds like it’s something technical. But you shouldn’t forget the basics – it’s good to be a confident driver but there’s a difference between confident and reckless.

Knowing your way around doesn’t mean it’s OK to go over the speed limit but strangely, many of us get too cosy on the pedal or don’t bother to signal when there aren’t that many cars around.

3. You can’t trust people

Just like you might not be feeling your best all the time, you don’t know what state other drivers are in when they jump behind the wheel. We’re unpredictable beings, it’s called “human error” for a reason. 

The only thing you can do is make sure that you’re paying attention and considering others sharing the road with you.

4. Roads change – all the time

If your daily commute is rural, the road you take might look entirely different from one day to another. Weather conditions shape the roads; you might find a fallen tree or debris blocking you after a storm, you could be surprised by deer or fall behind a slow tractor.

In urban areas, road works and traffic jams can make a huge difference to your journey. Floods are a common problem in our cities in the autumn.

5. You’re more easily distracted

Comfort behind the wheel, unfortunately, means you’re more likely to do other things in the car. Driving down the same road every day makes you think less what reaching over to your phone could lead to.

Checking the family Whatsapp group at the traffic lights because you know exactly how long it’ll take is still illegal and dangerous.

Most of us can’t do much about our commute. Getting to your destination quickly feels much more important at 7 am than a change of scenery. 

If you can’t mix up the route you take daily, just be more conscious of the fact that comfort does not equal safe when driving. Don’t let yourself get lazy!

Join drive like a girl

Once you’ve taken control of your driving, take control of your car insurance. 

At drive like girl we reward safe driving. A smooth driving style with a sensible speed can help you take down the price of your premium at renewal – and you get to earn Reward Points, used for free miles or retail vouchers, in the meantime.

Click here to get a quote with us now.