The Problem of Distracted Driving
If
someone asked you to close your eyes while driving on the highway for around
five seconds, more than likely you would never comply. However millions of
Americans are doing just that every day when they text while driving. If you
are driving fifty-five miles an hour and take your eyes off the road for five
seconds, you will have traveled one hundred yards; all the while being blind to
your surroundings. The following are some pretty scary statistics to think
about, especially when preventing these life-threatening situations is as easy
as focusing while driving.
• 80% of all collisions and 65% of near crashes have some
form of driver inattention as contributing factors. That is over 4,000,000
crashes per year in North America that are caused by driver distraction.
• Cell phone use is attributed to 18% of fatalities in
distraction-related crashes.
What makes up the other 82%? Putting on lipstick, reaching
over to grab a drink, changing the music, reading a roadmap, eating on the go:
The distractions are endless. But they don’t have to be.
• Talking on a cell phone makes a driver 4 times more likely
to have a crash or near crash event. Texting makes them 23 times more likely to
have this happen.
• Texting slows driver reaction time even more than alcohol!
In fact, even making a phone call delays reaction time about as much as having
a .08 BAC (Blood Alcohol Content)
There
are many unpreventable dangers when driving, but driving distracted is not one
of them. It is a driver’s responsibility to prepare for their drive before they
put the car in drive, whether that means making sure the radio is turned to a
satisfactory station or that you will not be tempted to answer any messages
from your cell phone while driving. Safety of yourself as well as fellow
drivers can be a difficult thing to control, but keeping your eyes and thoughts
on the road can help keep you safe.
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