What Can Distract You While Driving?
According to the traffic police, millions of people die annually on the roads as a result of accidents. At the same time, every third accident is the result of going into the oncoming lane and, as a result, a head-on collision of cars. About 40% of road traffic accidents are collisions with pedestrians. Most of these accidents are caused by driver carelessness.
It turns out that being distracted is more dangerous than beig drunk? What are statistically the most common driver distractions and how to deal with your own inattention while driving? We decided to publish this anti-rating, ranking the risk factors from the most common to the rare but no less dangerous.
Dreams
It turns out that using a mobile phone while driving is not the most dangerous activity while driving. In about 62% of accidents in which drivers were distracted from the road, they were just dreaming behind the wheel, letting their minds wander away from reality.
Usually, this state of mind is typical for situations where you feel too comfortable behind the wheel: driving a standard route or moving slowly in a traffic jam. A little distraction – is it dangerous? When in a traffic jam, you can only damage the car, but while speed driving, dreaming is the most dangerous thing you can do while driving.
You can avoid danger if you are not only mechanically watching what is happening on the road but also controlling what is happening in your head.
Using a cell phone
As we said, this is the second-worst evil for the driver. It doesn’t matter if you call, send a message, choose a song to suit your mood, or take a photo. Using your phone while driving is just a bad idea. According to statistics, 12% of accidents occur while using a mobile phone.
Keep this in mind and keep your smartphone somewhere far away while driving. You’d better just put it in airplane mode or turn off the sound and vibration – this will save you from possible problems.
By the way, this also applies to other electronic devices: about 2% of road accidents occur simply because the driver reached for his or her cigarette lighter, GPS or music player. Set up your route or playlist in advance, and do not touch the device until you park.
Road events
We often witness the consequences of road accidents. Or other interesting events taking place outside our car. It is quite common that an entertaining action attracts our attention – how can you miss an event worthy of publication on social networks?
But only about 7% of accidents occur due to the fault of gape drivers. One accident can cause another. It is better to try to ignore what attracted the attention of other road users.
Just keep in mind that other drivers may be just as curious as you – they also tend to be distracted. Therefore, be careful and avoid accidental collisions. And if you notice that the driver following you is predisposed to this, find a way to hint him or her about keeping the distance.
Restless passengers
Even a person who spends a lot of time behind the wheel appears as a completely different person as a passenger.
You should know that about 5% of accidents are caused by passengers in the vehicle. Establish a basic rule for everyone who sits with you in your car: no one should distract the driver. The risk of getting into an accident is not as high as in previous cases, but who needs the problem? Everyone must remember this.
Food and drink
Almost every modern car has cup holders and even folding tables so that you can have a snack on the go. Unfortunately, this causes a high risk of an accident. Approximately 2% of accidents are associated with eating while driving.
If you can’t stop eating in the car, the best way to avoid problems is to eat or drink only when you are parked.
Equipment setup
Tinkering and tweaking the radio, climate control or heated seat is one way to make your trip more comfortable. However, this also puts you at risk of being involved in a car accident. Even if you don’t look at the road for a few seconds to turn on the radio or turn off the air conditioner, you can get into an accident. Approximately 1% of road traffic accidents occur for this reason.
The recipe is the same as when using your devices – try to set everything up before driving or do it while parking for a while.
Animals in the cabin
This isn’t about pets. No one likes flies, mosquitoes and wasps looming on the windshield, but trying to get rid of them in motion can lead to a consequence much more serious than an insect bite. According to statistics, 5% of accidents are due to the presence of annoying insects in the car, however, we believe this number is bigger. After all, not every driver is ready to admit that he or she crashed a car while chasing a mosquito.
The advice in this case is to try to stay calm. If you are completely unbearable, pull over to the side of the road, deal with the troublemaker, and then calmly continue driving.
Smoking
It is clear that a lot of words have been said about the dangers of smoking, but there is another aspect of this bad habit – lighting, throwing ash and extinguishing cigarettes while driving increases the risk of an accident. Roughly 1% of road traffic accidents are associated with smoking.
Of course, the easiest way to avoid this is not to smoke at all, but since you think this is impossible, at least don’t smoke in the car. Of course, the risk of getting into an accident is not high, but it is still a kind of danger.
Summary
Drivers who are distracted for no good reason are one of the biggest problems on our roads. By paying more attention to the factors that distract us from driving, we pay more attention to our own safety and, of course, the safety of pedestrians, passengers and other drivers.
Category: General
Tags: auto, being distracted, driving