Everyone who drives should know the dangers of distracted driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, reports that there were 885,000 distraction-effected crashes in the U.S. in 2015, resulting in 391,000 injuries and 3,477 deaths. While cell phone use is the primary cause of distracted driving there are many other causes that contribute. To stay safe on the road, drivers need to be disciplined and follow three basic rules:
- Stay focused on the act of driving where you need to go.
- Pay attention to what you’re doing and keep your eyes on the road.
- Always expect the unexpected.
If you can think of it, it has probably been done by somebody while driving a car. People have been seen or caught by police drying hair, brushing teeth, working on laptops, clipping coupons, tying shoelaces and even changing a baby’s diaper. More common distractions include cell phone use, talking to passengers, adjusting the radio and climate controls, eating, map reading, and general grooming on the way to work. Other distractions include enjoying the scenery, reading advertising, “rubbernecking” at a wreck, driving while tired or thinking about things other than the road in front of you. Other passengers – especially children – can be a dangerous source of distraction. Even if you aren’t talking to your passengers, they can be talking, laughing, shouting, and so on.
Cell phone use is the most common cause of distracted driving, and most states now ban texting and Internet use while driving. If you look down at your phone for five seconds to read a text message while driving on the interstate at 60 mph, you’ll travel more than the length of a football field with your eyes off the road. However, talking on cell phones, even while using a hands-free device, is a serious distraction. This is because your focus is on the conversation and not the current road conditions, so you are distracted whether you are holding the phone or not. Furthermore, most people use GPS apps on their phones now rather than standalone GPS systems. This distraction is the same as if sending a text message.
In-Vehicle Distractions
Gone are the days when the only non-driving controls in a car were roll-down windows and a basic radio with an on-off button and a dial. These days, we have in-car entertainment systems, video players, heated seats, GPS and climate-control systems more advanced than those in many people’s houses. These are often controlled by touch-screen interfaces, which require drivers to look away from the road. Most interfaces display a disclaimer that warns drivers not to use them while driving, but that doesn’t mean drivers don’t do it.
Children and animals in the car can cause serious distraction. Restraining, whether it’s with a seatbelt for children or a pet carrier for animals, is a legal requirement and paramount for safe driving. Even so, children can still fight and argue with each other, kick the back of the driver’s chair, and generally make focused driving a challenge. Pets should be put in carriers or a similar device that not only constrains them, but keeps them as calm as possible.
Safe Driving Practices
It’s probably impossible never to have a distraction while driving. Human nature means we all make mistakes, and everyone has had a near-miss driving experience. But by trying to pay attention, we can greatly reduce our risk of being distracted. A big part of safe driving is preparation. Make the following adjustments before you drive:
- Climate control
- Mirrors
- Seat
- GPS routes
- Child/animal comfort and constraints
Make any phone calls, texts, emails or other forms of communication before you head out. If possible, you should turn your phone off or set it to “do not disturb” while you’re driving. Many smart phones now have a “driving” mode which helps drivers avoid distractions. If you do need to make a call, stay disciplined and pull over to the side of the road.
For further information and details on how to reduce the risk of distracted driving, check out the National Safety Council. Every year they sponsor a Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
Check out SafetySkills Distracted Driving Prevention training course for more useful hints and tips.
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Have you ever noticed that when you're on the phone and watching a film, you simply can't give both your full attention? That's becuase the brain cannot focus on more than one cognitively demanding task at a time, but rather 'toggle tasks'. Now imagine the danger this causes behind the wheel...
A driver is distracted when they pay attention to something else while driving. People simply cannot multi-task, especially while driving, which is considered a 'congnitively demanding' task. Doing something else while you are driving, puts extra demands on the driver, which may reduce his or her driving capabilities. For example, it may cause the driver to become less observant or to make worse decisions about how to control the vehicle safely. This lower standard of driving means that a driver is more likely to fail to anticipate hazards, and means accidents can occur due to the distraction.The result is that drivers using a phone to talk, text, or browse the internet are less able to stay in the appropriate lane, detect any changes around them and respond in time. Drivers talking on the phone are also more likely to exceed the speed limit and not maintain a consistent speed. When texting, people often drive at lower speeds, but their delayed reaction time and inability to maintain appropriate lane positions and assess traffic conditions still makes texting while driving extremely dangerous.
Explore the different types of distraction above.
Taking your eyes off the road, even for a split second can have disastrous consquences. A visual distraction can be anything from the passing billboard, to the passenger next to you. One of the most common visual distractions is looking down at your mobile phone. With more and more people owning mobile phones, and the rapid introduction of new “in-vehicle” communication systems, this problem is likely to escalate globally in the coming years.
It is now evident that if you are using a mobile phone while driving you are approximately four times more likely to be involved in a crash than a driver who is not using a phone.
Physical distractions means moving around in the car to do anything other than driving. Taking your hands off the wheel to do other things such as eating and drinking, fiddling with the radio all the way to touching a passanger etc. all lead to physical distractions, which significantly increase your risk of a crash. The best way to stay free from physical distractions is by focusing on the road and using your hands to drive only!
Also known as 'cognitive distraction', this occurs when a driver is thinking about something else other than driving. For example, talking, arguing, speaking on the phone (even using handsfree), shouting at the drivers infront of you, daydreaming etc. are all mental distractions. These mental distractions cause 'inattention blindness' whereby you are blinded to what is happening around you because your mind is elsewhere. While driving, this can be incredibly dangerous as the dynamic nature of the road, in that it is always changing means that you are paying less attention to potential hazards.
Distracted driving is a leading cause of road traffic crashes the world over. One of the most common causes is the use of mobile phones while driving, whether that's talking on a phone, texting, checking your social media profiles or simply browsing, the risks of crashing rise dramatically.
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