What is Distracted Driving?
Distracted Driving is any activity that takes the driver’s attention away from the wheel. Although cell phone use is the most common form of distracted driving, there are other forms of distracted driving, such as:
- Putting on make-up
- Eating
- Doing your hair
- Fiddling with the radio or anything else in the car
- Conversing or engaging with passengers
Dangers
I understand there are dangers with anything, but being a distracted driver can have many consequences.
- Serious Injury or death. Your whole life could change in an instant! If you get hurt in an accident, you could become seriously paralyzed and injured. You may even lose control over your basic mental or physical capabilities. Death can also occur as a result of distracted driving.
- Your brain’s capabilities are limited. Yes, your brain is amazing and is crucial to helping you complete everyday tasks. Even with this in mind, the brain has a crippling inability to do two things at once and is often not effective while multitasking. Risky multitasking, such as texting while driving (yes, even if using Siri), is one of the most dangerous ways we choose to divide our attention. Keeping your eyes off the road and not focused on driving could lead to fatal or near fatal crash. A Neuroscientist in an NPR article even said that distracted driving and drunk driving are one in the same!
- Your record. A lot of states have distracted driving laws in effect. These laws are in place to ensure you and other people’s safety-and these laws are only getting stricter! If you are caught violating your state’s laws, you could receive a ticket, receive points on your licence, or could be sent to jail.
IT CAN WAIT!
The text will still be there after you drive! You and your loved ones will appreciate your decision to be safe on the roads.
For more information or to learn more about distracted driving, check out the resources below:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95702512
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html
https://studentedge.org/article/let-science-explain-what-happens-to-your-body-in-a-car-crash
US Driving Laws:
http://www.dmv.org/travel/us-road-rules.php
Stay tuned for our follow up post that will include helpful tips for driving safely.
