As reported earlier, distracted driving is hardly chic, hip, cute or smart. It’s a danger to all drivers.
So what do we mean by distracted driving? Distracted driving includes:
• Taking your eyes off the road.
• Taking your hands off the steering wheel.
• Getting so involved in the conversation, you take your mind off driving.
• Texting.
• Eating while driving.
• Driving while drunk.
• Driving while high.
• Driving while stupid.
In a recent nationwide report, the National Safety Council found that cellphone use caused 26% of the nation’s accidents. The Council also reported 245,358 car crashes involving drivers using cellphones last year, and that number is expected to continue upward.
Contrary to popular belief, the Journal of Safety Research has reported that driving performance while using a hands-free phone was rarely found to be better than using hand held devices. So, don’t deceive yourself into thinking hands’free means danger free.
Cellphone use while driving use can be helpful in an emergency. But most people using cellphones while driving aren’t involved in an emergency. They’re trying to bring the comforts of talking on the phone at home to driving, In the process, they’re putting all of us at risk.
The only thing that will stop them is more tickets, fines, increased insurance premiums, license suspensions, and jail time when appropriate. If you feel the need to chat it up with a friend while driving, remember, that phone conversation can wait, and no text is worth a life.