What Are the 3 Types of Distractions that Causes Distracted Driving Crashes?
Did you know that there are three different types of driving distractions? Visual distractions make you look away from the road. Manual distractions occupy your hands and force you to release the steering wheel. Cognitive distractions are things that steer your mind away from the task of driving safely. It’s easy to understand how these types of distractions can affect your driving, but do you know what activities cause them?
The Distractions That Can Cause Distracted Driving
- Passengers– Not many people realize that their passengers can also be contributors to distracted driving crashes. Depending on the circumstance, passengers can be a cognitive, visual or manual distraction, but are rarely all at once. Talking to someone else in the car can provide a cognitive distraction, looking at something a passenger is trying to show you can be a visual distraction, and if your child’s seatbelt has come loose, trying to buckle it while driving can turn into a manual distraction.
- Adjusting Vehicle Features– Adjusting features on your infotainment system or navigation system can also cause a major distraction. You must manually remove at least hand from the steering wheel to adjust controls on your vehicles console. The task of finding a station or that song you’ve been wanting to listen to can also take your eyes off the road causing a visual distraction. And if your infotainment system has layers of menus to sort through, then the problems it can cause while driving only multiply.
- Smartphones– Everyone has a smartphone now-a-days, but this is one of the few devices that can engage every type of distraction at once. Texting involves you taking your eyes off the road, reading or thinking up a response, and taking your hand off the wheel to hold the phone and type. This is one of the reasons texting and driving is considered even more dangerous than drinking and driving. Even talking a voice call on your cell can be dangerous, because it can cause serious cognitive distractions even if you have a handsfree set.
There are plenty of things that can cause distraction while you’re out on the road, but drivers are responsible for driving our public roads safely. That means asking passengers to keep distractions to a minimum, setting up your vehicle controls before you drive off and silencing/turning off your smartphone while driving are practical responsibilities. Drivers can be held responsible for their negligence, and the automobile accident attorneys at Fiore & Barber are dedicated to protecting anyone who has fallen victim to negligent driving. If you have been the victim of a car accident, call us at (215) 256-0205.