Driving While Distracted
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There are many hidden dangers in driving. However, one of the worst things that causes more and more people to become involved in auto accidents is being distracted while they are driving. For some, driving while distracted really isn’t an issue because they are excellent at ignoring certain things that would drive other people crazy. However, driving while distracted is increasingly becoming a problem, in part because of the fact that there are so many electronic gadgets and gizmos out there now that cause people to focus more on them versus their actual driving.
To cite one example, my boyfriend has a global positioning system (GPS) device that is portable and which he often uses while he is driving because of his horrible sense of direction. While it is a neat device, it is a device that is incredibly distracting. For instance, once, while driving, he decided to put in the address to a place that we wanted to go to but didn’t know how to get to. While he was inputting the information, he almost missed a light and got into an accident. I have found that one of the key problems with GPS devices is that people need to input the information into their device BEFORE they actually start driving. If, while driving, you realize that you put in the wrong address or you want to change something on the device, pull your car over to the side of the road and play with it then. Don’t do this while driving because it is inherently dangerous!
Another form of distraction is talking or texting while on your cell phone. It is hard to believe that I can still remember a time where we actually had rotary phones in my house and in my friends’ houses. Then we quickly progressed to touch tone phones and then to cordless phones and then out of the payphone era into an era of car phones and cell phones. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a pay phone! I digress. In any case, talking while texting is quickly becoming one of the other top reasons why people become involved in motor vehicle accidents. Contrary to popular belief, talking on a cell phone is far more distracting and quite different than talking to an actual person who is sitting in your car. Because you need at least one hand to talk on your cell phone, your ability to maneuver your vehicle is limited. Additionally, because reception isn’t guaranteed, people will often be more focused on trying to hear what the other person has said versus actually focusing on their own driving.
Today, there are numerous states that have implemented a no-talking on the cell phone/no texting while driving. In the state of New York, people aren’t allowed to use their cell phones for texting at all while driving, and if they do use their cell phones for talking, they have to make sure that it is a hands-free situation.