Distracted Driving Causes and Dangers

A distracted driving accident is one of the most common forms of an automobile accident. Thousands of these accidents occur on roads nationwide every year, leading to injuries and death. Distracted driving leads to injuries of over 400,000 drivers every year. There are many causes of distraction, and it is very dangerous as well. Here are some of the reasons drivers become distracted and how they affect safety on the roads.

Causes of Distracted Driving

There are many causes of distracted driving including: taking your eyes off the road to look at a text, talking to someone else in the car, and eating while driving, among other causes. In general, distracted driving causes can be broken down into three main categories: “visual”, where your eyes are not looking at the road, “cognitive”, where you stop paying attention, and “manual” where you take your hands off the wheel or stop physically operating your automobile. Preventive methods and foresight can prevent accidents just by carefully planning a trip, being well-rested, and avoiding distractions such as eating while operating an automobile.

Why Distracted Driving is So Dangerous

• A Lack of Attention: when driving, even a second of distraction can lead to an accident. Looking away for even a brief moment can cause what was a simple stop to become someone getting rear-ended. Other dangers can include not paying attention while turning, not focusing while entering or exiting a parking lot, or not paying attention when pulling up to a stop sign.
• Reduction in Physical Control: when texting, drinking, or just driving one-handed, you lose the ability to precisely operate an automobile. It takes both hands to make sudden turns and operate controls such as your lights or wipers while still being in control of your car. In some cases, distracted drivers may not have their hands on the wheel at all which is highly dangerous.
• Bad or Illegal Driving Activity: distracted drivers tend to ignore traffic laws and common rules of the road. These actions include speeding, sudden stops, tailing too closely, running red lights, not merging correctly, and others. Any one of these actions can lead to an accident.
• A Reduction in Reaction Time: when distracted you can’t respond to sudden changes such as other car accidents, closed roads, sudden bad weather, and other common driving issues such as missing an exit or making a wrong turn. When distracted, a driver may miss a simple action such as changing a lane, which can ultimately lead to an accident.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been injured in an accident through another’s negligence, you should hire a skilled attorney as soon as possible. After an automobile accident, you deserve to have your day in court and present evidence to the state. With legal representation, you can rest assured you will be prepared, and the facts will be presented alongside supporting evidence to paint a clear picture of what has happened. You deserve compensation for both material losses, mental stress, and medical needs. Automobile accidents can vary greatly in their severity and can range from replacing your automobile to long-term medical care. No matter your losses, you deserve full compensation.