Are You a Perfectionist Behind the Wheel?
Do you overanalyze every mistake you make on the road, take every honk personally, and feel like the entire world is watching your each and every move when you drive? If so, you might be a perfectionist behind the wheel. While you might think that's a good thing, it isn't always, as it can make you overly critical and chip away at your confidence. Think this sounds like you? Here are 20 signs that your driving tendencies lean toward perfectionism.
1. Overanalyze Every Small Mistake
If you're a perfectionist behind the wheel, you likely overanalyze every single mistake you make on the road, no matter how small or insignificant. No one else remembers the blips you made but you, but you're dissecting them on a notepad to try to find different ways to improve.
2. Think Everyone's Watching You
As a perfectionist, you're aware of every other driver on the road with you. In fact, you're too aware of them. You think they're watching your every move, waiting for the next embarrassing mistake you'll make—but they're really only trying to get to their destination.
3. Overpractice
Perfectionists also tend to overpractice. This means, no matter how experienced you are on the road, you might still think you have areas to improve on, even when your friends and family tell you you're great. But because you don't believe their words, you block off time on certain days to test drive and freshen up your skills.
4. Replay Drives in Your Head
Not only are you dissecting every mistake you make, but you're also replaying entire drives in your head. To you, no drive is perfect; you had to have done something wrong. And when you do, those errors resurface in your mind again and again until you tire yourself out.
5. Stick to Familiar Routes
You may also stick to familiar routes if you're a perfectionist behind the wheel. After all, if you only drive on the roads you know best, you're less likely to make mistakes or come across a situation where you don't know how to react accordingly.
6. Overprepare the Drive
Other drivers might hop in their car without thinking too much about the route ahead, but if you're a perfectionist, you're not like them. Instead, you meticulously plan out everything to reduce the chances you'll make a mistake.
7. Judge Yourself for Things Others Don't Notice
Another sign that you're a perfectionist behind the wheel? You judge yourself for things others don't even pay any attention to. You might be embarrassed because you took three tries to get into a parking spot, but no one else thinks it's a mistake worth focusing on.
8. Overthink Every Road Rule
You've practically memorized every rule on the road by heart, but even then, you can't help but overthink it. What if the rule has changed? What if you remembered it wrong? What if you've actually been following the rule wrong this whole time?
9. Avoid Tight Parking Spaces
As a perfectionist, you may also avoid tight parking spaces. If you feel like you won't be able to make it in on the first go, it's not an option, and you'd rather circle the lot for a better spot. You don't want to end up looking like a fool in front of everybody if you don't park your car perfectly, after all.
10. Avoid Busy Intersections
Tight parking spaces aren't the only things you're avoiding—you also refuse to drive in busy intersections. Think of all the eyes that could be on you if you embarrass yourself while making a turn or a lane change! You can't have that. People could record it on their dashcams, and then you'd never be able to live it down.
11. Apologize Profusely
Perfectionists behind the wheel also tend to apologize profusely whenever they think they're in the wrong. After all, they don't want others to hold a grudge against them or become aggressive on the road, so they'll take the blame for anything and everything.
12. Parallel Parking Gives You Nightmares
Normal parking spots already spike your anxiety because you don't want people to see your every mistake, but parallel parking? That's a whole different kind of nightmare. In fact, it's a nightmare you rarely ever put yourself in, and if you can help it, you'll always opt to walk.
13. Honking Gives You Nightmares
Every time you get honked at, you take it personally. Sometimes, another driver could just be giving you a friendly beep to warn you about something ahead, but you always immediately think you've done something wrong, and your confidence shatters.
14. Take the Speed Limit Seriously
It doesn't matter if the speed limit is 30 mph or 50 mph—you take these numbers very seriously either way. Your needle on the speedometer has to stay within bounds, too, or on the number exactly, because the second you go over, you're paranoid the police will find out.
15. Tickets & Fines Feel Like the End of the World
You make sure to keep your driving record spotless, so parking tickets and speeding fines feel like the end of the world to you. You do everything in your power to avoid these violations, and if you're ever hit with one, you feel like you've failed as a driver.
16. You Check Your Mirrors Constantly
Perfectionists behind the wheel also check their mirrors constantly. This means that no matter whether you're switching lanes, reversing, or making a turn, you're glancing at all your mirrors at least a dozen times before you finally execute the maneuver. You have to be absolutely sure, after all.
17. You Prefer Driving Alone
Because you're a perfectionist, you prefer driving alone. Having an extra set of eyes might make you feel safer—and may reduce the chances you'll make a mistake—but to you, having a passenger in the car means having someone who can judge you. You'll only feel more embarrassed if they see the mistakes you make.
18. Must Stay Perfectly in the Middle of the Lane
You know that constantly scrutinizing your lane positioning isn't helpful, especially since it'll only push you to make micro-adjustments, which may only make things worse, but you can't help it: you want to stay completely centered. No other driver on the road puts this much thought into it, but you do.
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19. Asking for Help Feels Embarrassing
You're a perfectionist, but you also don't want to ask for help on how to correct your mistakes. You're fine with dissecting them on your own and finding ways to improve. Bringing in other people only means there are more eyes to see how bad a driver you are.
20. Hope to Get Perfect Scores When You Drive Others
In the rare times you do drive others around, you're always hoping to get perfect scores. You'll do everything in your power to make sure the trip goes as smoothly as possible, and that there aren't any hiccups along the way. If they tell you your score is anything less than a 10-out-of-10, you're spiraling again.
