Distracted Driving
Did you know that the average distraction takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds? At a speed of 55 mph, you will cover more than the length of a football field in this time frame. Dr. David Stayer from the University of Utah states, ”we’ve looked to see if we can find people who can talk on the phone and drive safely. There are about 2% of people who might be as gifted as a skilled fighter pilot. But, we have yet to find anyone who can safety text and drive.”
Q: What are driver distractions?
A: Driver distractions are anything that diverts the driver’s attention from the primary tasks of navigating the vehicle and responding to critical events. Distractions fall into three categories: visual, cognitive, and manual. Visual distractions take your eyes off the road, cognitive distractions take your mind off the road and driving, and manual distractions take your hands off the wheel. Your brain is dealing with over 100 decisions per mile of driving, driver distractions impact your ability to deal with those decisions.
Q: How many police-reported crashes are caused by distracted driving?
A; Distracted driving increases the potential for vehicle crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association estimates that at least 25% of police-reported crashes involve some form of driver distraction.
Q: How does distraction influence driving?
A: Distractions impair the reaction time it takes to slow vehicles at traffic signs, at stop signs, and in critical situations. They decrease judgement time and affect your ability to maintain adequate following distance. Additionally, they impair eye-scanning and reduce mirror use. Distracted drivers are more likely to take curves at higher speeds, perform unsafe lane changes, and react too slowly to emergency situations. Lastly, distractions negatively impact speed management; distracted drivers will end up driving too fast, too slow, or with fluctuating speed, making them unpredictable and dangerous to other vehicles on the road.
I hope this was useful and you share this with your staff so everyone can be safer on the road. And remember No Cell Phone Use While Driving! |
