The overwhelming majority of traffic collisions can be traced back to human error. We are susceptible to making mistakes that can harm others and ourselves in a split-second. Often, in that moment between perfect safety and serious damage, humans repeatedly choose poorly, move too slowly, or fail to act at all.
What’s worse is that split-second timeframe is the proverbial corner into which we paint ourselves. If humans always paid all our attention to the road while driving, crashes and fatalities would plummet. In 2022 alone, “3,308 American lives were lost due to distracted driving.” When you don’t watch the road, you won’t have enough time to refocus, decide on a plan of action, and take evasive maneuvers before an accident occurs.
“On average, 3,132 people die in fatal crashes involving distracted drivers each year.”
Where?
Bader Scott Injury Lawyers recently released a study in which they found the U.S. state with the most distracted-driving-related fatalities is New Mexico. It has a high rate of crash deaths, and almost 40% of those are caused by distracted drivers, the highest percentage across any U.S. state.
In New Mexico, crashes due to distracted driving caused 185 fatalities in 2022 alone. With only slightly fewer fatalities, Kansas, Louisiana and Kentucky are the states with the next most distracted drivers.
“90 percent of people are aware of the dangers of distracted driving, yet 80 percent admit to ignoring them.”
Why?
There are four main types of distractions that can take your attention away from driving: visual, manual, auditory, and cognitive.
Visual distractions take your eyes off the road, such as when you check a GPS, look at an accident, or read a billboard
Manual distractions are those that require you remove your hands from the wheel such as when eating or operating the infotainment centre
Auditory distractions are noises that stop you from listening for important traffic cues and things happening around your vehicle. These include singing along to your music, playing a podcast, or listening to the radio. Headphones or earbuds should never be used while driving because they muffle the sounds you should be listening to
Cognitive distractions take your mind away from the task of driving, which may happen when talking on the phone, chatting with passengers, or daydreaming
Texting or using social media combines all four distraction types because it takes your eyes and mind off the road, one or both hands from the wheel, and causes you to listen to text alerts, videos, music, or voice memos instead of the sound of traffic and things around your vehicle. This is why powering down your phone while driving or turning on “do not disturb” mode and setting it out of sight can save lives.
Who?
Distracted driving is a problem for everyone, but rates of crashes caused by distractions climb at certain times and are higher among certain demographics. More people are driving while distracted on holidays like Christmas and the Fourth of July. And young people are more likely to crash because of a distraction than people over 40.
“drivers aged 18 to 34…according to NHTSA data, are more likely to die in distraction-affected crashes than any other age group.”
The Bader Scott study found that, “a significant 42% of distracted drivers were aged between 20 and 39 years, highlighting this age group as the most prevalent among distracted drivers.” But everyone gets distracted, even if it’s just to read a license plate or identify debris on the road. It can be difficult for the human mind to focus on a single task for long periods of time, which is why pulling off the road into a rest stop to take a break and stretch is important during long drives to help drivers refresh and refocus.
Comments