Know the Danger of Distracted Driving
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Although most people associate distracted driving with cell phone use, it’s important for all drivers to recognize the dangers of not just cell phones but other distractions behind the wheel as well.
Talking and writing or reading a text message on a cell phone are two of the biggest causes of distracted driving accidents. But these aren’t the only factors that dangerously draw a driver’s attention away from the road.
Potential causes of distracted driving accidents go beyond the phone, including:
- Eating
- Applying makeup
- Brushing hair, shaving, and other grooming
- Conversation with passengers
- Browsing the Internet on a mobile device
- Changing radio stations or tracks on a CD or digital music player
- Reaching for objects within the car
- Tending to children or pets
- Looking at passing objects (“rubbernecking”)
- Reading a map or adjusting a GPS device
Distracted driving can have deadly consequences. Drivers who don’t pay attention are at a greater risk of veering into another lane, not watching their blind spots, failing to brake in time for hazards, and other careless acts.
Thousands are killed and hundreds upon thousands of victims are injured each year in car accidents where distracted driving was a factor. For your safety and the safety of your passengers and others on the road, the law firm of Colling Gilbert Wright urges everyone to stay focused behind the wheel and avoid dangerous distractions.