Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of deaths in road crashes. According to the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost 3,166 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers, while 9 percent of motor accidents involved at least one distracted driver.
In addition to these, almost 599 non-occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, and others) were also killed in distraction-related accidents. Nearly all these deaths were avoidable if the drivers could have taken some necessary precautions.
While law enforcement, media, and general public pay quite close attention to the menace of drunk driving, it is less common for people realize the dangers posed by distracted drivers to all others on the road. In recent years there have been a number of campaigns put in place to education the public about the dangers of texting behind the wheel. The next time you’re at a stop light, look around at the drivers next to you. You’ll invariably see far too high of a percentage of them looking at their phones.
What usually counts as distracted driving?
Distracted driving usually includes all the behaviors which draw a driver’s attention away from the road. As can be expected, there are a lot of actions that fall under the category of distractions. We can broadly divide these into 3 categories namely visual, manual and cognitive.
Visual distractions draw a driver’s eyes off the road, manual distractions draw a driver’s hands off the wheel, while cognitive distractions draw your mind off the driving. Here are some common examples of distractions:
- Eating or drinking
- Texting
- Talking on a cell phone
- Using your smartphone while driving
- Smoking
- Playing with pets while driving
- Daydreaming
- Reaching for an object while driving
- Watching any outside person, object or event
- Adjusting audio & or climate controls
- Adjusting vehicle components such as GPS, door locks, interior lights, moving seats, etc.
How to avoid distractions while driving?
As is evident from the above list, it’s easy to get distracted while driving. A driver needs to consciously remind him or herself of the dangers of distracted driving and follow some tips to ensure that his attention is on the road. Here are some tips which can help you avoid getting distracted while driving:
- Switch on your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” mode before you start driving.
- Ask all the passengers in the car not to talk with you or distract you when you are driving.
- Set your GPS, climate control, audio controls, etc. before driving.
- Hand over your phone to another passenger so that he may reply to any call or message while you are driving.
- Don’t drive if you are emotionally distracted as sometimes our emotions don’t allow us to focus on the task on hand.
- Don’t use earphones while driving as it’s illegal and is often the leading cause of distracted driving accidents.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned tips can help you avoid any distracted driving accident. If you are a victim of a distracted driving accident, then you have the option to sue the driver responsible as drivers who drive while distracted are guilty of negligence and can be sued for the damages resulting from such a crash.
Contact SP Justice today to get a free consultation as our attorneys have helped numerous victims of distracted driving accidents in the past. SP Justice is one of the leading auto accident law firms in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. We are always available to assist people who are victims of auto accidents.