Taking the wheel of a vehicle is a great responsibility. Safe driving should always be a priority, and one factor contributing to car crashes is driving while distracted.
While the obvious answer to avoiding a distracted driving accident is to keep your eyes on the road ahead, it is not always the most feasible. Consider some of these in-car elements that may cause you to take your eye off the road long enough to cause a serious crash due to distraction.
What is on your screen?
The phone is the top contributor to distracting drivers. Checking emails, text messages and social media may cause your gaze to shift for seconds at a time. You may want to consider putting your phone out of reach to keep the temptation from getting the better of you.
What about infotainment centers?
One of the upselling features of most vehicles is the infotainment center. This has taken the place of simple AM/FM radios and disc changes in vehicles. The infotainment center may display information such as GPS directions and even read text messages. To maintain eye contact with the road and not the screen, you should dim it and have GPS directions read aloud.
What are you eating?
Eating and drinking while driving may create one of the most dangerous distractions. Liquids, especially hot ones, may burn your lap and cause you to veer off into other vehicles. If you want a bite to eat, you should consider pulling off and partaking while stopped.
The only way to end distracted driving crashes is to avoid them. Stop engaging in behavior that may cause distractions and encourage others to follow your lead, especially teens.