Top 5 Reasons to Stop Driving Distracted

In spite of everyone being aware of how dangerous it is to drive while distracted, most people still engage in this activity almost every day. The National Distracted Driving Awareness Month is marked with the enormous campaign with major focus on the same significant slogans and statistics. It seems we no longer bother ourselves with the big billboards and posters carried around displaying the dire warning against careless driving. Drivers are aware of the great dangers associated with distracted driving but still, find themselves texting or on Facebook when driving.

In the current age, technology has exponentially increased. People tend to rely on their devices more than anything. From Facebook pages to car phones and now smart phones, people spend quite significant time on their electronic devices. Presently, most people prefer text messages to phone conversations. In some context, that can be a good approach, except in cases where you are driving. We sampled some of the top five things you should do to avoid getting distracted while driving, that we thought you might look into.

1. Resist texting while driving

The leading cause of road accidents is texting while driving. Two-thirds of the drivers admit how dangerous it is to text while driving, but unfortunately, the issue still remains an epidemic in the United States Department of transportation.

The urge of responding to a text message immediately is the main reason for the occurrence of accidents, with many of them being fatal. Individuals of age between 16 and 30 are the most affected by this problem. In the end, nobody gets to benefit from such accidents except the funeral homes being paid for burial expenses, and probably the law enforcement that stresses why it is essential to avoid texting while driving. The law enforcement benefit as the accidents displays exactly what they have been warning the drivers about.

Before giving the driving license to any driver, the importance of not texting while driving should be comprehensively addressed first, before allowing them to operate the vehicles. When checking a text, not only our eyes are off the road, but our mind as well. People really need to understand how easily it is to end their lives or the lives of others through accident. For instance, 15 seconds, we take our eyes off the road to check our phone is enough time for a vehicle driven at 55mph to cover the distance of a football field. Instead of actively engaging both your mind and eyes in making a driving decision, you get distracted by the phone, which subsequently can lead to fatal accidents. Based on Texas A&M Transportation Institute study, voice-to-text tools being used by some drivers put them at a greater risk than the normal text-driving.

2. Do not allow yourself to be distracted

By definition, distracted driving essentially means to be engaged in another activity while driving. Some of these activities may seem to be normal while driving, but in a real sense, they are distractions. For example, you might be tempted to adjust radio stations, converse with passengers, drink coffee or customize temperature.

Driving destruction is literally anything that takes your mind, hands or eyes from the road. Safe driving requires you to be fully focused on the task at hand physically, visually, and mentally.

3. Avoid the temptation of multitasking while driving

We agree that sometimes, we might have a lot of activities to accomplish, but with limited time to do that. Several people get distracted while driving because they want to make the most of the time they spend driving. Therefore, you will find them returning the missed voice calls, eating or doing make up. It is technically impossible for your brain to control more than one piece information at a time, forcing it to switch back and forth between the activities. Research shows that a driver who attempts to multitask is more likely to cause an accident due to the reduced reaction time of the brain.

4. Make the most out of your time

As reported by the American Psychology Association, when switching from one task to another, your brain function is reduced by 40%. With multitasking, you can never get yourself to fully focus on one activity as the valuable brain power is expended. Subsequently, you will be risking your life as well as wasting your valuable time. The study also shows that multitasking reduces brain storage capacity.

5. Strive to make the right decisions

Distractions cause a lot of accidents because driving is one of the activities that demands full attention. On average, drivers make 200 decisions per every mile traveled. Based on this, you might not be able to make an essential life-affecting decision when you are distracted by a phone conversation.

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