3 common causes of distracted driving

Imagine you are driving on the highway. You are sharing the road with many other cars and traveling at a high speed. All of a sudden, another driver makes a poor decision to merge into your lane without first looking to see where you are. Fortunately, you were paying attention and were able to slow down and avoid the reckless driver.

Now imagine a similar situation where the reckless driver attempts to merge into your lane while you are sending a text message on your cell phone. Your reaction speed was not fast enough because your attention was not on the road and the combination of mistakes causes an accident on the highway.

This is just one example of how dangerous distracted driving can be. Thousands of people have suffered injuries or lost their lives in recent years due to this issue. It is a difficult problem to prevent but understanding which distractions may impact your driving habits can help keep you and the road safe.

Cell phones and technology

The development of technology over the past several decades has improved society in a variety of different ways. It unfortunately has also created many distractions for drivers to avoid. Cell phones alone provide drivers with a way to talk, send text messages, review social media and use applications.

All of these activities can be major distractions for drivers. The split second that you take to look down at your phone can be the difference between avoiding an accident and ending up in the hospital.

Passengers and internal distractions

You are probably well aware of the various hazards outside your vehicle. Potholes, animals and other vehicles can damage your car or lead to injury. That said, have you ever considered the dangers that are inside your car with you? Internal distractions like passengers, adjusting your radio or food can take your attention off the road. Whether you have to turn around to calm a child in the backseat or are reaching for another bite of your sandwich, these internal distractions can cause serious accidents.

Zoning out or lost in thought

Driving can be a very boring activity. If you are someone who takes the same roads regularly, the activity can become very monotonous. You may not even realize it, but this makes it very easy to zone out or become lost in thought. Instead of focusing on the road in front of you, your attention may inadvertently drift to an interesting conversation you had with a friend earlier in the day.

Most people are guilty of zoning out while driving, which makes it a difficult issue to address. Try to take an active interest in keeping your attention on the road in order to avoiding getting into a car accident.