Driver Distractions
Driving is a skill that requires your full attention to safely control your car and respond to events happening on the roads around you. Driving involves constant and complex coordination between your vision, mind and body. Distractions happen daily on American roads and freeways, putting every motorist at risk of an accident that results in a serious personal injury. Events or things that prevent you from operating your car safely are driver distractions. There are three types of driver distractions:
1. Visual
Anything that takes your eyes off the road.
2. Cognitive
Anything that takes your mind off the road.
3. Manual
Anything that takes your hands off the steering wheel.
As experienced car accident lawyers in San Diego, we have handled plenty of automobile accidents that were caused by driver distractions or inattentiveness. These driver distractions ranged from one car driver looking at a pretty girl to other car drivers staring at a car accident scene next to a roadway. Out of all of the cases that our car accident law firm handles, auto accidents caused by driver distractions are the most preventable with education and instruction in car driver safety. Alternatively, perhaps the police should start aggressively ticketing people that drive with distractions and endanger others.
When you think about your actions in a car, other than just driving, you can see that they often involve more than one type of distraction. For instance, if you change your radio station, not only do you take your hand off the steering wheel to press a button, but you also take your eyes off the road to look at what button you want to press.
Driver distractions are the leading cause of most auto accidents. According to a study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), 80% of car accidents and 65% of near-crashes involve some form of driver distraction. The distraction occurred within three seconds before the auto accident.
According to the NHTSA and VTTI study, the principal actions that cause distracted driving and that lead to car accidents are:
- Cell phone use (including texting).
- Reaching for a moving object inside the vehicle.
- Looking at an object or event outside of the vehicle.
- Reading a book.
- Applying makeup.
Drivers who engage more frequently in distracted driving are more likely to be involved in a car crash or near-crash.
Cell phone use has become so popular these days that many times we do not realize how often we are utilizing our cell phones. Cell phone use while driving has increased so significantly within the last few years that, at any time during the day, as many as 10% of drivers are using a hand-held or hands-free phone.
Studies have shown that driving performance is lowered and the level of distraction is higher for drivers who are heavily engaged in cell phone conversations. As car accident attorneys, we do not believe that the use of a hands-free device lowers distraction levels. The percentage of car accidents attributed to dialing a cell phone is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening on a cell phone or bluetooth headset.
The car accident lawyer at our law firm believe that it is best to make and finish your cell phone calls before you start your car and drive. If your phone rings while you are driving, let your voicemail pick up the call. If you must answer your phone, it is safer to pull over to a safe location and park before using your cell phone.
New cell phone laws took effect July 1, 2008 in California. Drivers ages 18 and over may use hands-free devices while driving. Drivers under the age of 18 may not use any type of hand-held or hands-free wireless phone while driving. As car accident lawyers, however, we understand the dangers of using a cell phone while driving (because of the attention it takes from the driver away from the road), so we believe that an absolute cell phone ban while driving is much safer and more practical for everyone on the road.
Another major type of distraction is eating in your car while driving; you are focusing on your food and not on the road. Not only is chewing and swallowing taking place, but you are also opening packages, unwrapping and re-wrapping food, reaching, leaning, spilling, wiping and cleaning yourself or your car. These are quite a number of car distractions for one driver on one trip. You are safer when you stop your car to eat or drink. Allow yourself plenty of time to stop, rest from driving and enjoy your meal.
If everyone followed these few simple rules while driving, tens of thousands of lives would be saved every year. As car accident lawyers, we would really like to ask the public driving community, is it not worth the effort to make a few changes and save the thousands of lives that are killed in fatal car accidents due to driver distractions?
Call us now or click here for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced automobile accident attorney as to how we may help you at 1-800-655-6585. We look forward to providing good advice to help you make smart decisions about your case.
