When you think of distracted driving, chances are texting is the first activity that springs to mind. The various “hands-free” laws reference this commonly distracting behavior outright. However, distracted driving involves so much more. It causes countless American deaths every day. Technically, distracted driving is any activity that takes your mind off the road.
What are the three types of distracted driving?
- Visual: Something that takes your eyes off the road
- Manual: Something that takes your hands off the wheel
- Cognitive: Something that takes your mind off driving
What are some common examples?
- Talking on the phone, even with a hands-free service like Bluetooth
- Trying to navigate or operate GPS
- Scrolling social media
- Adjusting the music via the radio or your phone
- Eating or drinking
- Putting on makeup
- Talking to passengers
- Checking in with a child in the back seat
- Looking for an item in the car
- Reaching for something you dropped on the passenger side of the car
- Thinking about a stressful project at work
How is Texas doing?
In 2018, there were more than 540,000 car crashes on Texas roads. Distracted driving caused or contributed to 18% of those accidents. The distracted driving accidents resulted in 394 deaths and 2,340 serious injuries.
What are some strategies to prevent distracted driving?
- Give driving your full attention
- Set your phone to do not disturb when driving or use a mode or app that sends an automated response to texts while you are driving
- Put your phone away when you get behind the wheel
- Talk to your kids about distracted driving
- Arrange for teen children to call before they leave a destination, rather than risk calling them yourself when they could be driving
If you or a loved one has suffered due to a distracted driving-related accident, contact Houston law firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner at (713) 222-7211 for a consultation.