The anecdotal wisdom that gearheads pass down isn’t always wise or even accurate. Silly driving myths abound, like the old yarn about letting your car idle until reaching operational temperature, or the legend of the barefoot outlaw. SPOILER ALERT: You can legally drive barefoot, though why would you? Sure, it’s a footwell, but I don’t think it’s meant to be taken literally.
We asked readers to tell us about the dumbest driving myths they’ve heard, and these were their answers:
Ok, so like whenever I see a car driving at night with their headlights off, I flash my high beams at them to hopefully get their attention and convince them to turn their lights on. Some idiots do not do this because they are afraid that the car driving with its headlights off is actually going through some kind of gang initiation, and will attack the first car that flashes their lights at them.
Submitted by: Kaiser Khan
The one guy who was thrown clear of a wreck and walked away unscathed as his car burst into flames has a lot of nephews.
And
I literally met a woman the other day who was thrown clear of an accident and had her foot destroyed, she was completely unscathed other than her foot which I mean yeah... She considers herself lucky to have got away with just that and advocates seatbelt use now...
ALWAYS WEAR A SEATBELT
Submitted by: smalleyxb122, Dread_Pirate_Roberto, SmallTownPizzaConsultant, among others
Biggest myth I encounter is that the left lane is for passing only.
And
In 30 out of 5o states there is a specific law on the books that states drivers must keep right unless unless passing. In the other 20 states it states that “slower traffic must keep right”, most of which state “regardless of speed.”
Furthermore, the uniform vehicle code states “Upon all roadways any vehicle proceeding at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall be driven in the right-hand lane then available for traffic.”
Submitted by: elgordo47, ItsYourBoyHobbes
Loud Pipes save lives.
No they dont, they just annoy everyone within 1/4 mile radius. Driver education saves lives.
Submitted by: Flat6ftw
AWD is “safer”. Yes, your car will generally have a better time accelerating from a stop. No, your car won’t necessarily stop or turn any better than a FWD or RWD car. AWD means nothing if you exceed what the laws of physics will allow.
Submitted by: Stephen
Girls are impressed by handbrake turns.
Submitted by: moistened bint
That “all season” tires are fine in the winter. No, no they are not.
Submitted by: Elon’s Backdoor Musk
This one never goes away: Premium fuel is better for your car because it’s “premium”.
Of course, all of us enlightened Jalops already know we should just use the octane grade that the manufacturer recommends for our vehicle, don’t we?
There have been a gazillion threads about this, yet, people still get their odd ideas about octane from their uncle JimBob and consider it gospel, sigh...
Submitted by: factoryhack
BMW’s come straight from the factory with turn signals.
(Even I don’t know what the small light on my front fender is for.)
Submitted by: Doctorwhotb
Big automatically means safe
“I don’t wear a seatbelt because I know 3 people who died in crashes with their seatbelts on and 2 people who got thrown from their car before it exploded and were totally fine” (some variation of this)
ABS lengthens your stopping distance and “real drivers” don’t need it
(I heard this from a motorcycle salesman in ’09 and promptly walked right out of the showroom.)
Submitted by: SmallTownPizzaConsultant
Stop signs are optional if they have white borders.
Submitted by: theart
“They don’t make ‘em like they used ta! My old car was made of steel and would destroy a new car in a crash!”
Yeah, sorry gramps, I’d rather have crumple zones and passive safety features over the chance of getting an entire engine block and steering wheel rammed through my ribcage, thanks.
Submitted by: CoffeeJedi