Driving for a long time builds your confidence on the road. This could mean both good and bad things. For one, your driving anxiety will eventually ease, which just makes for a more pleasant experience on the road overall. However, this could also lull you into a false sense of security and lead you to develop bad driving habits. As a matter of fact, a lot of seasoned drivers end up being susceptible to the dangers of distracted driving.
Obviously, this is bad as it makes driving on the road, especially freeways and highways, a lot more dangerous than it already is. In 2021 alone, distracted driving has led to the loss of 3,522 lives according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And it seems as though this trend has only been going upwards. Analyzing the data by NHTSA, the National Safety Council noted that 3,142 people died due to distracted driving in 2020, a 1% increase from the preceding year’s 3,119 deaths.
This is exacerbated by the increasing number of drivers using hand-held phones on the road. Risky behaviors such as distracted driving is extremely alarming as not a lot of people are aware they are even cognizant of the fact that they are engaging in them.
In this blog, we will do a deep dive into distracted driving. By the end, we hope that you gain a better understanding of its dangers and persuade you to start thinking about safe driving habits.
Examples of Distracted Driving
Texting and Driving:
Texting and driving is a lethal example of distracted driving, and is unfortunately one of the most common. It’s a combination of the three types of distracted driving: visual, manual, and cognitive.
- Visual: When you text, your eyes are off the road and on your screen.
- Manual: Your hands are also off the steering wheel, and on your phone.
- Cognitive: Your mind is preoccupied with texting rather than what is happening on the road.
All of these things combined make for an extremely distracted driver, which could lead to accidental deaths and injuries. A lot of people underestimate how bad texting and driving is. Don’t be one of those people.
Daydreaming:
Daydreaming is another example of distracted driving. It’s considered a type of cognitive distraction because your mind wanders off to other things and places instead of focusing on the environment around you. This could potentially cause catastrophic accidents. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that people don’t really consider it as such. Unlike other types of distracted driving, it’s hard to determine whether a driver is engaging in cognitive distractions (ie: daydreaming) because it all happens in their head.
It’s nearly impossible to reprimand someone for daydreaming while driving. If you’re in the car with someone, recognize telltale signs of daydreaming so that you can slap the driver back to reality (not literally — actually, maybe but only if needed) and have them focus on the task at hand.
Manipulating car components and controls:
Similar to texting and driving, this example of distracted driving encompasses three types: visual, manual, and cognitive.
- Visual: When you fiddle with your car controls as you drive on the road, your eyes are fixed on them instead of your environment.
- Manual: Touching your car controls while driving implies that your hands aren’t on the steering wheel, which could mean trouble especially when you need to make a quick swerve.
- Cognitive: Your mind isn’t focused on the task at hand as you are concerned with other things.
Because it is similar to texting and driving in that it encompasses three types of distracted driving, doing this while driving makes you an extremely distracted driver. Refrain from doing this by making sure to adjust your car controls as needed before you get on the road.
Rubbernecking
Accidents happen on the road all the time, and rubbernecking —looking at the commotion while driving — could just lead to another accident. This example of distracted driving is a visual distraction as your eyes are fixed on one thing. This is also a type of cognitive distraction because your mind is focused on the accident instead of driving.
The Dangers of Distracted Driving
Catastrophic Injuries
Engaging in distracted driving may cause people’s life-altering catastrophic injuries and even lead to their wrongful deaths. Victims of distracted drivers are vulnerable to a lot of injuries and ailments, but they are especially susceptible to getting injured in the spine and the brain.
- Spinal Cord Injury: The recovery period of Spinal Cord Injury varies depending on how severe it is and which part of the spine is severed. It will require an extensive amount of physical rehabilitation, and the mental health issues that may arise as a result of limited mobility may also compel them to regularly see a therapist to learn healthy coping mechanisms.
- Traumatic Brain Injury: Victims of distracted drivers are extremely likely to get a traumatic brain injury. Depending on the impact, they could incur a mild, moderate, or severe brain injury, all of which demand ample rest and medication to achieve full recovery. Not only will this have any physical impacts on their bodily functions, but the cognitive effects of TBI bleeds into other aspects of their lives as well: their relationship with the people around them, people close to them, people who work with them, etc.
Pedestrian Accidents:
Pedestrians are vulnerable to accidents against distracted drivers. After all, they hardly stand a chance against thousands of pounds of hard metal. A lot of pedestrians end up sustaining severe injuries in the spinal cord and brain during road accidents, which is why as a driver, you should feel compelled to focus on driving and not be distracted while on the road. Not only is it your legal responsibility, it’s the fact that people’s lives are on the line.
These pedestrians may have family and friends who love them and will be extremely affected by their deaths. Dealing with the financial and emotional repercussions of a pedestrian accident — especially as someone who caused it, is a lot to handle. You wouldn’t want to be in that position.
Bike Accidents
Distracted drivers could also cause bike accidents to occur. Like pedestrians, bike riders are extremely susceptible to severe brain and spinal cord injuries. The odds of leaving the scene of the accident unscathed after getting hit by heavy metal is extremely low — for obvious reasons.
When you see a biker on the road, understand that they have the same rights to be on the road as you. Make sure you share it with them and to watch out for their safety because they are a lot more likely to be severely injured than you are in the event of an accident.
Wrongful Deaths
Worst case scenario, habitually driving while distracted could lead to unnecessary deaths. This could consequently affect every aspect of your life — and others’ as well. Not only will you be put behind bars, you will be directly responsible for a loss of the life of someone’s loved one. And it doesn’t even matter whether or not they add value to someone’s life.
The fact that they are human, and the fact that you are responsible for the ceasing of their existence are things that you will have to reconcile for the rest of your life. So before you pick up your phone, play around with your car controls, stare too long at a billboard ad, think of the worst case scenario. Because they happen a lot more often than you think.
Call Omega Law Group
If you and/or a loved one have been affected by the actions of a distracted driver, the elite legal team of Omega Law Group is the best team you will have behind you. They have garnered numerous accolades from industry-vetted organizations like SuperLawyers and attention from well-respected publications. Their decades of combined legal experience has made them well-equipped to fight against greedy insurance companies and acquire justice on behalf of victims of distracted driving.
At Omega Law Group, their legal team understands the emotional toll accidents have on people. With this in mind, they aim to ensure to keep this complicated legal process as stress-free as possible. If you are currently seeking legal counsel and service, Omega Law is the right personal injury firm for you.
One of the myths of hiring a lawyer is that they will charge an insurmountable amount of money no matter the outcome of the case. Omega Law Group dispels this myth by operating on a contingency-fee basis, meaning that you don’t pay for their services upfront! If you have any more questions, you need to schedule a free consultation now with their team!