Distracted Driving

One subject that has been in the news a lot lately is that of distracted driving.  Distracted driving is any kind of act that takes your attention away from the road and, thus, puts everyone in danger.  The most common distraction behind the wheel is texting.

Texting while driving has recently been a major focus for many law enforcement entities, as it should be because texting ranks very high on the list of the most dangerous activities to do while driving.  Texting is dangerous because it requires both vision and attention, both of which are needed to drive safely.  If you are looking at the keyboard on your phone, you are definitely not looking at the road.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has said that a majority of drivers, 94 %, agree that texting or emailing while you are driving is not only unacceptable, but dangerous as well.  Even though 87% state they would support laws against reading, typing or sending text messages while driving, one-third of these same drivers reported texting or emailing while driving. 

Distracted driving contributes up to 8,000 crashes every day.  Using a cell phone quadruples your risk of crashing, while eating, smoking, adjusting music or rubbernecking while driving can be dangerous, too.  Passengers are one of the most frequently reported causes of distraction and young children are said to be four times more distracting than adults.

Although multi-tasking is a fact of life, multi-tasking while driving is unwise.  A study by the University of Utah found that being distracted behind the wheel for even just a few seconds can greatly increase your chances for a crash.  Distracted driving is the cause of thousands of preventable injuries and deaths each year.  You can be a part of the solution to the problem of distracted driving by vowing to change your own behavior and drive distraction free from now on.

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