The Dangers of Driving While Distracted

In this day and age, it’s not uncommon for people to be using their phone while they’re in the driver’s seat of their car. Texting, scrolling through social media, or even eating all cause drivers to take their eyes off the road for a few seconds at a time which could mean life or death if there are other cars around them on the road.

• Have you ever arrived at your destination without really paying attention to how you got there because it is so routine?
• Have you ever picked up your phone while you are driving, if only to check the time?
• Have you ever looked down at the radio while changing stations?
• Have you ever read billboards fully while driving?
• Have you ever been so involved in a conversation on the phone that you forgot to make your turn?
• Have you ever turned around to look in the back seat at your child talking or sleeping?
• Have you ever reached for something in the back seat while driving?
• Have you ever looked in the mirror to groom yourself for a second while driving?

These are small things that we do as drivers that could end in disaster. Here are some statistics from Distraction.gov  to prove why distracted driving is so dangerous:

• Research indicates that the burden of talking on a cell phone – even if it’s hands-free – saps the brain of 39% of the energy it would ordinarily devote to safe driving.
• Our youngest and most inexperienced drivers are most at risk, with 16% of all distracted driving crashes involving drivers under 20. But they are not alone. At any given moment during daylight hours, over 800,000 vehicles are being driven by someone using a hand-held cell phone or driving distracted.
• Using a cell phone while driving – whether it’s hand-held or hands-free delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.

Check out these powerful and touching stories about distracted driving, and think twice before you pick up that cell phone while you are in the driver’s seat.