What are the 2 biggest causes of distracted driving?
People constantly get distracted. While this may not be that worrisome for people at home or work, it can be dangerous for drivers.
There are three kinds of distractions:
- Visual: anything that draws the eyes
- Manual: anything that uses your hands
- Cognitive: anything that distracts the mind
While that explains how a distraction relates to what you’re doing, it doesn’t explain what causes such distractions. Two of the biggest causes of distracted driving include:
Texting and driving
Phones provide many modern advantages, such as instant communication, GPS and networking, that are often taken for granted. Nearly every driver has a phone. Phones, however, are practically made to be distracting.The instant a phone rings, the owner’s attention is drawn to it. This can be particularly dangerous while driving.
If a phone rings in the car, for example, the owner may want to see who’s calling or texting. If it’s a call, then the driver may be more interested in talking to the person on the phone than focusing on the road. If it’s a text, the driver may look away from the road and use their hands to send back a reply. When a driver is giving more attention to their phone than the road, they risk causing a car accident.
Eating and drinking
Many people drive through fast food restaurants. They essentially allow people to quickly grab a meal on the go. This may happen because they’re going to work and need breakfast, they’re just peckish or they need a quick meal while traveling. Drive-thrus are one of the many luxuries that these services provide – most people don’t even consider the ramifications of going through one.
It may seem strange that eating and drinking can lead to distracted driving since so many fast-food restaurants encourage it. However, there are many ways eating and drinking cause distractions. For example, a driver may dig around a bag to pull out a box of fries or burger, which takes their attention away from the road and a hand off the wheel. If a driver suddenly spilled a drink or meal while driving, they may be more worried about the mess they’ve made instead of about the drivers in front of them.In either of these scenarios, the driver is distracted because they were more focused on their food rather than their driving, leading to an accident.
If you end up in an accident with a distracted driver, you could be seriously injured. It may be useful to learn about the law when seeking compensation for medical bills and repairs.
