Tell Us About What You Do in Your Car and We'll Guess How Many Tickets You've Gotten

Steven Miller

Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

While we can't account for the chances that the police actually catch you doing these behaviors on the road, we'll trust in the law of averages to work to our advantage here. Basically, while some may get away with things more and others may seem to get caught whenever they stray away from the righteous path, we're guessing you fall somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.

In this quiz, we're going to take a look at your behavior behind the wheel. Are you the kind of person who reads the traffic signs as you pass them? Do you check your blind spot before you merge into the next lane? How about music? Are you blaring your tunes so loud that it would be unlikely that you would hear a siren as it approached you? The more careless and reckless you are in the driver's seat, the more we're leaning towards a substantial number of tickets on your record.

The number of tickets you have also will have something to do with how much time you spend on the road. For example, a person who drives for many hours every day is a lot more likely to get a ticket of some kind compared to someone who is only on the road for a very short time.

That's basically our strategy here. What do you say? Are you ready to take this quiz out for a spin? Just keep it under the speed limit, will ya?

Be honest, do you text and drive?

I do it all the time.

I know I'm not supposed to, but I can't help myself sometimes.
I'll look at the screen, but I won't type.

I don't use my cell phone at all in the car.

Do you have a radar detector in your car?

I've never had a radar detector.

I used to, but not anymore.
I do. It comes in handy.

I have a couple, just in case one doesn't work.

How common is it for you to talk on the phone while you're driving?

I talk a lot on the phone when I'm driving, but I use the hands-free setting.

It's pretty rare for me to talk on the phone while I'm driving.
I'm always on the phone in the car.

As I said, I put the phone away in the car.

How many hours a day are you in your car?

I probably average about four hours a day in my car.

I'd guess I'm in the car for about an hour a day.
I'm driving less than an hour a day.

I'm driving about two hours total each day.

If the speed limit is 65 mph, how fast are you likely to be driving?

65 mph

75 mph
60 mph

More than 75 mph

Have you ever experienced road rage?

Never. I don't understand how people get that worked up.

Yes, on a daily basis.
It takes a lot for me to get that way, but it does happen once in a while.

It happens at least once a week.

How much are you messing with the music selection while you're driving?

I hardly ever get to the end of a song. I'm always flipping through the stations.

I'm definitely a bit of a DJ in my ride.
I have a playlist that I listen to. I just press play and enjoy.

I hardly ever listen to the radio in my car.

Do you actually come to a complete stop at a stop sign?

Yes, always.

I roll through it occasionally, but there's nobody around when that happens.
I usually only come to a complete stop if I have to wait for someone else.

I'm always rolling through those things.

Have you ever passed someone on a solid line?

I've done that a few times, but the person in front of me was going ridiculously slow.

I've really been tempted to a number of times.
I do get impatient behind slow drivers. I have to admit that I pass on the solid line a lot.

I never have and I never would.

How many long road trips did you go on in the last year?

I was basically on an ongoing road trip throughout the whole year.

I took one fairly long trip this past year.
I stayed close to home this year.

I went on a couple of lengthy drives in the last year.

How common is it for you to eat while driving?

I try to avoid it, but it has happened on a crazy day.

I've been known to eat some fries while rolling down the road.
I don't think I've ever done that.

I do that all the time. It's called multi-tasking, folks.

Do you check your blind spot before you change lanes?

I generally do.

What's a blind spot?
I always do. I'm afraid to know how many people don't.

Nah, I'm going so fast that I don't have to worry about people behind me.

How would you rate your skills at parallel parking?

I'm so bad at it that I just don't park that way.

It takes me a few tries before I get it right.
My skills are pretty strong, but I might have to make some slight corrections once in a while.

I'm a pro at parallel parking.

How loud do you blast your music in the car?

I keep the volume very low in my car.

I prefer to keep the volume at a pretty moderate level.
I do crank it up pretty loud for my favorite songs.

It's deafening in there.

Is it common for your passengers to grab the bar above their door?

I'll get that at least one time during a ride.

They've gone for it before, but it wasn't my fault.
All the time, but we call that bar by a different name.

It's pretty much not happening. I'm a very safe driver.

How far away do you live from your work?

It's over 50 miles.

I work about 20 miles away.
My work is less than 20 miles from home.

I'm close to 35 miles from home.

Do you ever fantasize about being a professional race car driver when you're driving down the highway?

I think about it, but I wouldn't call it a fantasy.

I've done that to entertain myself mentally on a long trip before.
Nah, I'm not into racing.

Yeah, I get so into it that I can get pretty carried away. Rubbin's racin'.

Do you ever do grooming tasks like brushing your hair, putting on makeup, etc. while driving?

I don't think I've ever done that.

Yep, that's me every morning.
I've done that a couple times in my life, but I try not to make a habit out of it.

Only if I'm really late for work.

Do you tend to be early, on-time or late for appointments?

I'm always extremely late for everything.

I tend to be running a bit behind.
I'm pretty much always on-time.

I show up early for everything.

Do you actually read traffic signs on the side of the road?

Yes, I pay attention to all of them.

I might ignore them if I've driven on a road a bunch of times.
I'll be honest, I tend to ignore them unless it's very unfamiliar territory.

What signs?

Are you on a first name basis with any police officers?

I don't know their names, but I'm pretty sure they know mine.

It's not that bad. Geez.
Yup, sadly enough, we all know each other real well.

I happily have no idea who my local police officers are.

What is your usual reaction to a yellow light?

If it's close at all, I'm hammering the gas and getting through.

It really depends on where I am in the intersection.
If there's any doubt, I usually slowly start hitting the brakes.

Usually it's just safer to speed up and get through it.

Do any of your friends refuse to ride with you as a driver?

No, but there are a few who do seem a little nervous as passengers.

I have one friend who has to be the one driving.
My friends would much rather that I drove.

Yeah, a bunch of them are too scared. Chickens.

How regularly do you hit the rumble strips on the side of the road?

Never.

I'm all over the place. I make those things sing all the time.
It only happens when I'm super-tired.

I'll likely do some rumbling at some point on the drive.

Have you ever watched a clip, show, or movie on your phone while driving?

Yeah, that's when I catch up on my favorite show.

I might check out a brief clip or two in traffic.
I did that once, but I almost crashed, so I don't do that anymore.

Are you serious? No, never.

How much room do you give the car in front of you?

I always give three seconds of space.

I usually give the person in front of me plenty of room.
I give a couple car lengths. That's enough, right?

I'll admit it, I'm a tailgater, but everyone else is way too slow.

Is it pretty common to have other drivers honk at you?

I'm accustomed to getting honked at a few times a week.

I don't want to say it never happens, but it's very rare.
Yep, and I get the middle finger a lot, too.

I might get honked at for being too cautious, but that's about it.

Do you use your turn signal to change lanes?

Nope.

Most of the time.
Always.

I sometimes remember to do that.

Have you ever driven on the shoulder to get out of a traffic jam?

I did it once okay, let it go.

I've done it before, but I was late for a very important event.
No, and those people drive me crazy.

Yes, I think that's called being resourceful.

Do you tend to coast to a stop or slam on your brakes at the last second?

I coast to a stop whenever possible.

There's almost always a sound of tires squealing when I stop.
I try to brake gradually when I can, but there are times where slamming on the brakes is unavoidable.

I do enjoy watching everyone in the car lurching forward when I stop on a dime.

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