Distracted driving continues to be a major factor in many vehicle accidents despite the frequent warnings about it. One of the issues is that many people do not realize when they are distracted. They are just doing what they always do in the car without realizing how it affects their driving.
Distraction works on people in three different ways. Some in-car activities only result in one form of distraction, some in two, and some in all three.
1. Physical distraction
Why are there laws banning drivers from holding their phones? Why did manufacturers develop hands-free sets? The answer to both is to avoid physical distraction. Holding a phone means you cannot have both hands on the wheel (at least not properly). Doing anything with your hands but resting them on the wheel reduces your ability to steer. That’s as true if you are surfing one hand on the breeze out the window as if you are holding a burger.
2. Visual distraction
Banning people from handheld phones does not necessarily stop them from looking at them. It does not matter whether a message displays while the phone is in a holder or displays on a connected screen — it still diverts people’s eyes from the road, causing a visual distraction. So too do many other things, such as a nice view, a satnav map or a child pulling faces in the mirror.
3. Cognitive distraction
What do you think about when you drive? Probably all sorts of things aside from the road and the traffic around you, meaning, like most drivers, you get cognitively distracted. Even thinking about nothing and daydreaming means you are distracted.
As you can see, it is not easy to avoid distractions behind the wheel. Yet you need to try — as it might only take a second’s distraction to miss something important. Staying alert reduces the chance that another driver’s mistake, perhaps due to their distraction, leaves you injured and in need of compensation.