Staying safe on the road requires every driver to do their part by giving their full attention to operating their vehicle. Any driver who allows themselves to become distracted runs the risk of being involved in a fatal crash.
Some drivers falsely believe that they have enough experience to drive while they do other things, but that isn’t ever the case. Distracted driving is always something that should be avoided. Each day, an average of nine people die in this country because of distracted drivers, and many more victims suffer injuries.
3 types of distractions
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that there are three distinct types of distractions that drivers face. These include manual, visual, and cognitive, which take the hands off the wheel, eyes off the road or mind off driving, in that respective order.
Some activities involve only one of those types of distractions, but many involve more than one. For example, responding to a text message requires the driver to take their eyes off the road to read the message they need to respond to, their mind off driving to decide how to respond and their hand off the wheel to type the text.
Length of distraction
Some drivers believe that short distractions aren’t a problem, but even one that lasts only a few seconds can lead to serious problems. In just five seconds at 55 miles per hour, a vehicle travels 100 yards. That’s the length of a regulation football field, and that’s plenty of distance for a catastrophic crash to occur.
While you may be a very safe driver, you can’t control the actions of the drivers in vehicles around you. If you’re struck by a distracted driver, you may need emergency medical care, which can be costly. You may opt to pursue a compensation claim to help cover those financial damages. It may be beneficial to work with someone familiar with these matters so they can assist you with determining your options, so you can decide how to move forward.