When you first get your driving license, it is like a dream come true, but it can quickly turn into a nightmare you can never wake up from. The number of things we allow to distract us while driving steadily increases. Eight of the most common causes of distracted driving are, ‘texting and driving, GPS, adjusting music/controls, applying makeup, talking to passengers, not looking at the road, handling children/pets, zoning out.’ Drivers do not seem to realize that they are not only putting themselves in danger, but they are putting their passengers and the other driver around them in danger as well.
They are having a clear mind devoid of all distraction while on the road is very crucial for all the parties involved. A lot of accidents that are witnessed on our streets are as a result of distracted driving. According to Klauer et al. (600), “Evidence suggests that distracted driving leads to crashes and near-crashes.’ This suggests that the deaths that are reported annually in a given town or city contribute to by distractions on the road. Although a driver may be looking on straight ahead and on the way, the possibility that their mind is further away from the road is high. It has been reported that personal or work problem is the main stressors among drivers. The possibility of crashing while the mind is far away in thought is highly prevalent. The pressures of work may also be a hindrance to attentiveness as well as the ability to focus and set the mind on the road.
According to studies, college students and young people are more susceptible to distractions on the road. According to Terry and Terry(5), “one’s level of attachment to one’s cell phone predicts the frequency of use while driving even after controlling for perceived risk and an overall rate of use…’. This is an indication that majority of the crashes that are witnessed on the roads today can be attributed to lack of driving etiquette — engaging in social routines such as chatting while driving is a dangerous behavior to both the driver and other road users. Participating in chatters is also common among people in the vehicle, and the ability to give complete focus on the road becomes limited. Proper driving etiquette requires that passengers are calm and offer the driver the ability to make the correct judgment.
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Distracted driving not only increases the chances of crashing for one driver but entirely many other people on the road. The reason is that other drivers on the roads cannot make the right judgment. For instance, if another driver wants to overtake and the other one is texting or chattering, they might clash along the road. Survivors of road accidents have on many occasions given an account of how a road accident occurred, and it involves one or more distracted drivers. According to Wilson and Stimpson (1), ‘A fatality was defined as being caused by distraction if a driver-related accident factor was recorded as being emotional, inattentive, or careless, or using a cellular phone.’ This means that most fatal crashes can be linked to distraction as the primary cause. Other causes of disturbance along the road are one driver talking to the other while driving. This increases the chances of an individual being carried away by the moment and thus causing an accident.
In our above discussion, we have observed that distracted driving is the number one cause for fatalities. There are some distractions, but the main ones in our study are using the mobile phone or verbal communication between the driver and passengers. It is also evident that crashes are more common among younger individuals such as those in college. Their levels of distraction seem higher than any other group.
Works Cited
- Klauer, Sheila G., et al. ‘Distracted Driving and Risk of Road Crashes among Novice and Experienced Drivers.’ New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 370, no. 1, 2014.
- Terry, Christopher P., and Danielle L. Terry. ‘Distracted Driving Among College Students: Perceived Risk Versus Reality.’ Current Psychology, vol. 35, no. 1, 2015.
- Wilson, Fernando A., and Jim P. Stimpson. ‘Trends in Fatalities From Distracted Driving in the United States, 1999 to 2008.’ American Journal of Public Health, vol. 100, no. 11, 2010.
