Dangers of Driving Distracted

Texting while driving has become infamously hazardous for the millions of Americans who use mobile devices as well as those of us who come in contact with these drivers on a daily basis. However, this is not the only distraction that impairs motorists today and these inhibitions to safe driving are causing nearly 60% of auto collisions today. End Distracted Driving  been campaigning for years to stop these sorts of crashes from happening. Many times we do not realize the danger we are putting ourselves and others in when we choose to eat a snack on the road or call a friend.

In a presentation series by End Distracted Driving, the reaction time of someone on a cell phone was equal to that of a person with a .08 BAC (Blood Alcohol Content), and someone who was texting was equal to that of a person with a BAC of .16. Texting endangers not only those in the car of the person texting behind the wheel, but also everyone who the driver may hit in their time not focusing on the road. On an average highway where one travels at 55mph, in the five seconds it takes to open a text one will have already traveled a football field’s length. You wouldn’t close your eyes while driving for more than it takes to blink, so why would anyone text and do basically the same thing?

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.

 

But it’s important to realize that distracted driving is not only caused by phones and various other objects. In fact, that sort of manual stimuli makes up only one third of the types of distractions to drivers. One type most people don’t think about is cognitive distraction, which has affected all of us at some point in our lives. Driving while angry, depressed, or even just tired can be just as bad as driving while on the phone. Driving while tired leads to the third type of distraction: visual. Visual distractions can be caused by texting, but also through mental distractions brought on by sleep deprivation of intense thought. No matter what the reason for distraction, there is no excuse for imperiling others as well as yourself by driving under these conditions.

For more information on Distracted Driving, go to EndDD.org, or visit their page on any major social networking website.