What Are the Biggest Distractions to Drivers?

Have you ever driven yourself somewhere and didn’t remember how you reached there? According to the United States Department of Transportation, distracted driving caused 3,142 deaths in 2019. This statistic shows that most people drive on autopilot to the office, mall, gas station, party, or business trip. Luckily, we have boiled down the biggest distractions to drivers in 2022.

What are driving distractions?

These are disruptions, interferences, or commotions that are not a part of the driving. They increase the risk of crashes, but they can also occur on and off the road. The 3 types of driving distractions include:

1. Visual: taking your eyes while driving off the road

2. Manual: removing your hands off the steering wheel

3. Cognitive: taking your mind off and not focusing on the drive

Let’s review each type with common examples as follows:

Use of Cellphones

Using your smartphone is among the visual driving distractions. Whether you check social media, take calls, reply to emails, or text, the information can take your mind a million miles away.

Imagine sending a text to a friend and roughly taking 5 seconds. This is the same amount of time a car driving at 55 miles per hour takes to cover a football field. Your eyes are off the road, but one of your hands is busy texting. This could lead to:

· Swerving out of your lane

· Veering off the road

· Hitting another vehicle, person, or obstacle

Eating and drinking while driving

When eating a snack or a drive-through meal, you need to use your hands and eyes. This manual driving distraction limits your attention on the road. Also, you might spill a hot beverage leading to more potential road accidents.

Unsecured items

Have you ever seen some motorists’ front dashboard full of unnecessary toys, books, and other accessories? These items may obscure your eyesight as others tend to cause reflections, especially on a sunny day. For example, books could fly onto the car floor and even interfere with the break.

Personal grooming

This includes applying lipstick, makeup, fixing your hair, and more habits to make yourself look and feel good. You should try and perform some of these tasks like reapplying lipstick while in a parking zone.

Environmental factors

The other distraction to drivers is environmental factors such as construction zones, accidents, weather, or billboards. For example, if there is a car accident on either side of the road, most likely, emergency vehicles will be around. This lowers your driving attention, making it a major visual disruption. And most fender benders happen near road accident scenes.

Emotion

Emotion is the last driving distraction we have on our list. Stress from your home, personal life, or job can cause driving interferences. Not only can it lead to road rage but also aggressive driving. Always check your emotions to avoid losing attentiveness on the road.

Bottom Line

Interruptions while driving can lead to significant problems such as accidents and deaths. To minimize this, you can try texting or calling when parked. Also, our tips will give you a better insight into other factors that cause distractions to drivers in 2022.