The dangers of distracted driving all stem from our inability to process information at high speeds.
Highway safety experts blame inattentive/distracted drivers for 80 percent of all car accidents. So with just a few seconds of additional awareness on the road, we have the potential to eliminate 80 percent of all crashes! A few seconds may not seem like a lot and it may not even make sense. How can just a few seconds of awareness eliminate 80 percent of crashes? In our everyday human-speed, a few seconds is not enough time for anything! But at car speeds, our perception of time goes out the window. If you’re going 60 mph on the highway, that’s the equivalent of 1 mile per minute, or about 350 feet every 3 seconds! That’s a lot of distance in such a short amount of time, and too much distance not to have your eyes on the road.
It’s not only our phones.
Texting and driving is dangerous; we all know that. But there are other things that divert our attention from the road that prove to be about just as dangerous. They include:
- adjusting radios or other dashboard devices
- reading signs and looking at “TV-style” billboards
- handling kids in the back seat
- catching a falling beverage cup
- eating/snacking while driving
- simply daydreaming or just listening to the radio
- listening to, looking at, or adjusting GPS navigation systems
We humans aren’t accustomed to traveling at high speeds and our perception of time and distance gets warped—even if you think it doesn’t. Sometimes, even our best efforts fall short; it could be that someone else’s attention was diverted. You need invest in the right auto insurance policy to keep yourself protected from all the risks of distracted driving. Contact insurance experts Perry & Carroll in Elmira, New York for all of your car insurance coverage needs.