Many distracted driving incidents involve the use of phones behind the wheel, such as a driver sending or reading messages, finding music, watching a video or checking various types of information. However, it is crucial for drivers to understand that many other distractions can prevent people from focusing on the road.
In addition to going over risk factors associated with distracted driving, drivers should look at data on these crashes to recognize the impact of this behavior.
Behaviors that can distract drivers
The Federal Communications Commission provides an overview of distracted driving, which takes many different forms. The FCC focuses on the use of cell phones while driving, which causes many collisions that result in serious injuries and death. According to the FCC, many states have laws banning drivers from using phones behind the wheel, and this behavior is especially prevalent among younger drivers.
Aside from phones, drivers can become distracted due to other people riding in the car, eating food, adjusting the radio, drinking, looking in the mirror or looking at something next to the road.
The consequences of driving distracted
Distracted driving has harsh consequences. The FCC says that accident data shows an estimated 400,000 people sustained injuries in distracted driving collisions during 2018, and these accidents claimed over 3,100 lives in 2019.
Victims of these crashes can face many hardships due to their injuries, whether they cannot work or they have a hard time with medical bills. Unfortunately, many drivers continue to lose focus behind the wheel and cause distracted driving accidents.