Distracted Driving

A single accident may have one or more of any of several causes: speeding, poor weather, hazardous road conditions or distracted driving. Determining the primary cause of a collision is an important aspect of legal counsel, if another party was responsible for causing your collision, you may be able to hold him or her (or a company) legally accountable hence seeking financial compensation for your injuries.

DISTRACTED DRIVING

Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment, or navigation system – anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.

Types of Distracted Driving

There are 4 types of distracted driving: visual, manual, auditory and cognitive.

  1. Visual Distractions

Visual distractions mean someone has taken their eyes off the road and glanced elsewhere. Rubbernecking, texting, reading billboards, and looking to see what the kids or people at the back seat are doing are all examples of visual distractions.

It is recorded that these kinds of distractions take the driver’s attention from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. If the car is traveling at 55 MPH, someone will cover the length of an entire football field in that time! The distraction delay’s reaction time, and a car accident can easily happen when the driver is focused on something other than the road while traveling that distance.

  1. Auditory Distractions

These are noises and sounds inside the car which can easily distract someone while driving. A good example is if the engine is making a weird noise and the driver is focused on that noise from the engine, their full attention is not on driving. Another example is if a baby is crying or the kids are fighting in the back seat, the noise can divert the driver’s attention.

  1. Manual Distractions

Manual distraction involves removing your hands from the wheel, for example to change the radio station, check the GPS, or reach for a sandwich or drink, even though the drivers’ eyes are on the road, he or she may have poor control over the car. The challenge is the delayed reaction time which can easily cause a road accident.

  1. Cognitive Distractions

A cognitive distraction is something that causes a driver to lose focus or takes their mind off driving. An example is a driver talking on a cell phone, even on a hands-free mode, that is still considered cognitive distraction. A study at MIT showed equally poor performance whether drivers used hand-held or hands-free phones.

Dialing a cell phone and texting combine visual and cognitive distractions and are especially lethal activities. Conversing with passengers, focusing on an engaging news report, or reprimanding children are some other types of cognitive distraction.

Drivers Must Eliminate Driving Distractions to Avoid Injuring Others

Every driver is responsible for reducing driving distractions and staying focused on the road. In case you get into a road accident due to distracted driving, do not panic, experienced law firms can help with such cases. They will help you obtain fair compensation.

 

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