Distracted Driving
What Is Distracted Driving?
Any activities which can result from getting the full attention of an individual from driving is considered as distracted driving. Driving while checking the phone to read or send messages, ingesting foods and drinks, having a conversation with people inside the car, or maneuvering the radio or the navigation system in the car can be directly categorized as distracted driving. By doing such while driving, the driver is putting him/herself to an unsafe driving – leading mostly to a vehicular accident.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of all the distracting activity the most alarming is sending or reading messages. This is because it combines all three types of distraction. The eyes are said to be off the road for about 5 seconds when someone is texting. It can be estimated as if having a drive with a mileage of a whole football field with your eyes closed at 55 mph.
Be mindful that whenever someone is driving without his/ her attention, the potential risk of being involved in vehicular crash or accident is very high.
Statistics
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 9 people killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver each day in the United States.
Statistically based from NHTSA and CDC (2005), there are 3,477 people who were killed, and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes due to distracted drivers.
Also, there are approximately 660,000 drivers who were caught using cell phones while driving during day time. This can estimate the potential deaths and injuries on U.S. roads. And from this data, it is found out that teens contribute the greater percentage of being reported as distracted drivers at the time of fatal crashes.
To get to know more about these data on distracted driving and other risky driving behaviors, please see https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/documents/driver_electronic_device_use_in_2015_0.pdf
What are the types of distraction?
The types of distraction can be divided mainly into three categories:
1. Visual: It involves any activities which cause the eyes of the driver off the road such as reading text messages.
2. Manual: It involves any activities which require the driver to take their hands off the wheel such texting and navigating their monitor system.
3. Cognitive: This involves taking the driver’s mind off of driving such as having a talk with someone in their vehicle.
Protect Yourself on the Road
Besides knowing the rules and regulations regarding distracting driving to avoid car accidents, it is important that you should be financially ready for any future problems you may encounter on the road.
Having known about the unfortunate cases of a car accident resulting in massive property damages and requiring “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for repairs of damages, it is of great importance to have proper insurance counsel and protection. This will allow you to have the adequate financial aid to cover all the damages due to this unexpected vehicular crashes.
This is better realize to realize that insurance is meant for the extreme financial burdens that result from rare, catastrophic events like the vehicular accidents due to distracted driving.
References:
1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (n.a.). Distracted Driving. Retrieved from https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving last September 14, 2017.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Distracted Driving. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html last September 14, 2017.