Many things can distract drivers – from phones to children in the car and from advertising boards to beautiful scenery outside the car.
Regardless of their origin distractions can all be incredibly dangerous if the driver succumbs and allows their focus to drift toward these things and away from the road.
People are not very good at estimating their levels of distraction either. A quick glance at something may turn out to be seconds. A quick phone call may last minutes. What’s more, some things can distract drivers in not just one, but two or even three ways:
Visual distractions
What are you looking at as you drive? If your eyes are not on the road ahead or scanning your mirrors then you could miss something vital and crash. Everything from your cellular phone to your GPS can pose a visual distraction.
Physical distractions
What are you doing with your hands while you drive? Are they both on the wheel or is one reaching for something or holding something such as a cup of coffee, an ice cream or a hairbrush? Some people even allow distractions to affect other parts of their body, for example, slipping out of a shoe while moving, which could reduce the ability to break if they need to mid-change.
Cognitive distractions
What are you thinking about? Are you wondering what it would feel like to lie on the beach if you took the vacation the billboard you just saw was advertising? Or wondering what is wrong after the school just rang to ask you to come in for a meeting with your child’s teacher?
The world is full of distractions but it’s your responsibility as a driver to ignore them when behind the wheel. If another driver succumbs to distraction and causes a crash that injures you then you’ll need to understand more about your legal option.