Attention! Image courtesy of: http://www.says.comMost people in the US regularly spend time in passenger automobiles. For many people, getting a driver's license, and the accompanying freedom, is a rite of passage. Despite, or perhaps because of the pervasiveness of automobiles and driving in American culture, driving retains a great deal of risk, with thousands of deaths each year attributed to automobile accidents. Distracted driving is a causal factor in many of these deaths, particularly as handheld cellular devices become more popular and more complex.Distractions to driving take many forms and can be generally categorized as cognitive, visual, or manual in nature. Some of the most common distractions, like cell phones, often include all three types of distraction: handling the phone, thinking about the text, looking away from the road. It's not surprising that hands-free and voice operated devices that limit visual and manual distractions are required in many states. The fact that over three-quarters of young drivers admit to having sent a text while driving, seems to indicate that we don't take distractions very seriously.Check out these 10 distractions and share the list with other drivers.10. Watching roadside diversions Traffic coming to a stop. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.Have you ever been completely frustrated when you found out that traffic has slowed to a standstill because everyone is looking at an accident across the median, on the other side of the road? Slowing down appropriately for road hazards related to a collision is good driving. Being distracted by roadside diversions, to the point of creating a collision hazard, is not. Whether on the freeway or on surface streets, exciting and interesting things happening beside the road must be ignored.9. Handling devices built into the carThe miniaturization of technology has allowed many electronic gadgets to be installed in cars. Starting with the AM/FM radio and the CB and now including streaming music players, GPS navigation devices, movie players, and complex, touch-screen environmental controls, built in distractions have always existed in cars. Particularly in unfamiliar cars, like rentals, these things can cause a significant distraction to drivers.8. Handling your phone Both hands on the wheel! Image courtesy of Lord Jim on FlickrThe now ubiquitous cell phone is a major distraction to drivers and leads to thousands of collisions each year. Without regard to a driver's desire to maintain focus on the road, talking on the phone, to a far greater extent than talking to a passenger, will draw focus away from driving. Furthermore, smartphones that tempt the user with the ability to text and take pictures, cause both manual and visual distractions beyond the simpler cognitive distraction of talking on the phone.7. Surfing the internetA close bedfellow of texting is surfing the internet, including checking email and Facebook. These activities are similar to reading a book, in their ability to draw attention away from the road in a significant way. Few drivers would consider reading a novel while driving. Just because the email is short, doesn't make it safe to read while driving.6. Reaching for dropped thingsThis is a space for feet only! Image courtesy of http://www.driversedguru.com/Dropping something into your footwell while driving creates a unique hazard situation. Do you leave it there to potentially obstruct your pedals? Do you reach for it, without taking your eyes off the road, creating an unusual pull on the steering wheel? Do you look away and dive into the footwell to get it? None of these is a good answer. Consider pulling over, putting the car in park and retrieving whatever it was you dropped. Certainly it wasn't your cell phone, was it?5. Applying makeup and grooming Put your makeup on at home. Run that electric razor before you depart. At least a manual and cognitive hazards, probably also a visual hazards, grooming tasks rank right up there with cell phone use as major distractions to safe driving.4. Eating and drinkingDon't ever do this! Image courtesy of http://www.trend-junky.com/.Grabbing a cup of coffee at the drive through can be a great time saver and a way to refuel while driving. However, once your attention is focused on that drink and not on the road, it becomes a hazard. The distraction is multiplied if it causes you to change your driving responses to keep from dumping your coffee in your lap. Hot and cold food and drink alike, eating and drinking should be a roadside activity instead of an on-the-go undertaking.3. Keeping kids and pets in order, communicating with passengersAs any parent will tell you, driving with kids can be a major distraction. Pets also demand special attention. Make sure your pets are properly restrained, and that your kids and passengers know to remain calm and to leave the driver alone. Furthermore, be ready to stop if the attention required to care for passengers impinges on the attention required for safe driving. Yes, for parents of infants, that can mean a lot of stops.2. Smoking related activitiesKeep your eyes on the road! Image courtesy of http://www.earthtimes.org/.Subconsciously lighting up in the car can create unexpected manual and cognitive distractions as well as increasing the likelihood that you will drop a gadget and thus be subject to #6 above.1. Daydreaming and drowsinessNearly two-thirds of road fatalities are caused by fatigue. Many people suffer from chronic fatigue from busy lives and and not enough sleep. Driving while drowsy is terribly dangerous as it not only creates its own hazard but also magnifies the effects of many other distractions and reduces the driver's ability to overcome cognitive distractions. Pulling over for a 5 minute catnap or to do 15 jumping jacks in the fresh air will result in a far better outcome than continuing into a fell asleep at the wheel accident or allowing groggy thinking to dangerously delay reaction time.Do you know culprits guilty of these crimes? Share this list with them to make them aware of the dangers they are putting themselves (and others) in. You might even save them some hospital time.
