It has happened to all of us. You are driving and you see someone on the road completely distracted and not paying full attention while behind the wheel. They could be looking at their phone, having lunch in their car, or dealing with crying kids in the back seat. Distracted driving is a growing problem and it is important to keep ourselves safe.
Among the different ways drivers can be distracted behind the wheel, engaging with electronic mobile devices is at the top of the list. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) there are at least 660,000 drivers using electronic devices, such as cell phones, while behind the wheel every day. Distracted driving claimed 3,477 lives and injured 391,000 people in 2015 alone, according to the most recent statistics.
What Is Considered To Be Distracted Driving?
Any activity that takes a drivers full attention off of the road while they are operating a motor vehicle can be defined as distracted driving. These could involve:
- Visual distraction: Taking your eyes off of the road.
- Manual distraction: Taking one or both of our hands off of the steering wheel.
- Mental distraction: Taking your attention off driving.
What Can You Do To Keep Yourself Safe?
We all need to make an effort to keep ourselves from being distracted while driving. We all share the road, therefore we all share this responsibility. Here are a few tips to keep yourself from being distracted while driving:
- If possible, put your phone on silent while driving to minimize the possibility of being distracted by it.
- If you have an important phone call or need to send a text message while you’re on the road, pull over and take care of it while stopped instead of doing it while driving.
- If you do need to take a call while driving, do it hands free by either using your car’s bluetooth system, or by using headphones that have a microphone.
- Preset your music playlist so you don’t have to pay attention to it while driving.
- Be familiar with your car so you don’t have to spend time figuring out how to use certain features while on the road.
- If you’re driving with children in the car and there is a situation you need to deal with, pull over and stop your vehicle instead of dealing with it while driving.
We hope that these tips will help you stay safe on the road and avoid any distractions while driving. But, unfortunately, accidents do happen. If and when they do happen, we are here for you.
Contact A Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been involved in a distracted driver car accident and need help with your claim, do not hesitate to contact The Law Offices of Michael A. Rabban at 818-272-8882.
