According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nine people in the United States are killed every day in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (https://www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/distracted_driving/index.html).
Distracted driving can be very dangerous as the driver is conducting another task at hand while in the process of driving. There are three main types of distracted driving and there are very common now-a-days due to multi-tasking or the intervention of this century: smart phones.
- Visual distraction: In this situation, the driver actually takes his/her eyes off the road.
- Manual distraction: In this type of distraction the driver takes his/her hand(s) off the steering wheel.
- Cognitive distraction: In this instance, the driver’s mind wonders off at the task: concentrating on driving.
Even the safest vehicles on the road today equipped with the newest technology such as lane departure warning, variations of adaptive cruise control, pre-braking systems, we still cannot prevent an accident caused by a distracted driver. It is also devastating to explain to someone affected that their beloved one died because the driver was distracted. We ultimately have to take control of our actions and concentrate on driving alone when we are on the driver’s seat.
According to CDC statistics, 3100 people were killed and 424,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in the year 2019 alone. After reading this statistic, you may wonder why the number of casualties were so high. Ironically, some of the injuries involved were doing every day activities, such as walking, riding a bike, and so on.
What are some of the examples of distracted driving? Surprisingly, below are documented examples which did take place at some point in time.
- Texting while driving or having an in-depth phone conversation while holding a cellphone on one hand, and the other on the steering wheel.
- Eating and drinking.
- Applying makeup while driving.
- Turning to grab items from the back seat while the vehicle is in motion.
- Turning back to face a passenger in the backseat while the vehicle is in motion.
- Carrying a conversation with a passenger.
- Using electronics, like GPS or sound system.
- Focusing on rear-view mirror.
- Focusing on other vehicles which may be next to or behind your car.
Some other stunning statistics regarding distracted drivers are listed below.
- The higher percentage of drivers ages between 15 to 20 were distracted compared to drivers 21 or older.
- 80% of the crashes and 65% of near crashes involved some form of driver’s inattention within three seconds of the event.
- Total fatalities and injuries for 2019 due to distracted driving accounts for 986,000 accidents, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration source (NHTSA).
- As per NHTSA study, 660,000 drivers have used electronic device while driving. When one uses their cellphone, they can miss 50% of awareness around them.
Consequences of distracted driving can include the following:
Criminal prosecution: A distracted driver may face criminal prosecution should he/she endangers or kills someone in a distracted driving accident. We have recently covered related topics on consequences of a driver who was convicted of a crime in a vehicular accident dated April 28th.
Increase in vehicle insurance premiums: Should car insurance find you at fault due to distracted driving, your vehicular insurance premiums may skyrocket for a number of years.
Loss of driving privileges: Similar to the consequences outlined on April 28th posting, should you have previous records of accidents which you were responsible for, additional penalties due to distracted driving may result in loss of temporary or even permanent driving privileges.
Still think that you may get away with quickly texting someone while driving? Try to explain rationally to a father or mother why their significant other with one or two children perished because you just needed to reply to a text while driving. Let us do one thing at a time, and out away your smartphone while you are driving on the road.
Text:
www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/distracted_driving/index.html
carsurance.net/insights/distracted-driving-statistics/
www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-02/USDOT-National-Roadway-Safety-Strategy.pdf
