Drivers who use handheld devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The focus seems to be on young drivers, but adult drivers are not exempt from driving distracted. Allowing distractions while operating a motor vehicle increases the risk of crashing. In addition to using a cell phone or PDA, there are various activities that involve three primary types of distractions.

Primary Driving Distractions

Taking your eyes off the road for just a few seconds is a visual distraction that can result in tragedy. This common action occurs when sightseeing, changing the radio station or reading.

Removing your hands from the steering wheel is a manual distraction that often occurs while eating or drinking, applying makeup, answering an incoming call from your cell phone, or checking out an attractive gal or guy.

Withdrawing your mind from what you are doing is a distraction of cognition. Interruptions of mental process can affect awareness, reasoning and judgment. This may happen when carrying a conversation with passengers, an emotional upset such as an argument, or daydreaming.

Other distractions include watching videos, using a navigation system, using a laptop and operating CD or mp3 systems. These distractions can happen to drivers of all ages. Laws are in place to prevent the use of handheld cell phones, allowing law enforcement to issue a traffic ticket even if there is no other offense taking place.

Ending distracted driving is the goal of various local, state and federal organizations. In addition, employers, community groups, schools and parents are among the efforts to educate the public on the risks of this deadly behavior.

They are promoting safety by:

• Forbidding teenagers from using cell phones while driving
• Working with advocacy groups to promote banning the use of handheld cell phones while driving
• Requesting loved ones and friends not to use their handheld devices when driving
• Making a conscious effort to not practice behaviors of distracted drivers

According to Pew Research (2011), 47 percent of adults that use text messaging say they have read or sent text messages when behind the wheel. Safety facts, studies, surveys, profiles, comparisons and statistics support the findings. Effective public education will be the key to keeping everyone on the road safe.

Multitasking. It’s likely that this word had much less meaning 50 years ago, or even 15 years ago. However, it’s not 50 years ago, or even 15….it is now; and now the word multitasking means a lot. It means you can sign paperwork at your desk in your office while E-mailing your wife to ask about dinner, you can help your children with their homework while writing a check to pay the house payment. Unfortunately, far too many people take multitasking to an unsafe level by driving and using their cell phone at the same time.

This unsafe multitasking is quickly becoming an epidemic in today’s society, where our “to do” list is too long to accomplish without doing multiple tasks at once. However, text messaging while driving should never be on our “to do” list. While talking on a cell phone while driving poses significant risks because the driver is still distracted, Bluetooth technology has alleviated some of the danger involved. Text messaging, on the other hand, distracts drivers both mentally and impairs them physically. There are some staggering statistics that have been gathered in recent years that really show how dangerous texting while driving is.

A study performed at the University of Utah found that using a cell phone while driving (calling or text messaging) distracts drivers more than a person with an blood alcohol level of .08. Nationwide Insurance Company conducted a study regarding cell phone usage while driving and found that drivers using cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in a serious accident than drivers not using a cellular device. Additionally, 25 percent of accidents reported in today’s society are caused by distracted drivers.

Many states have adopted laws to help govern cell phone use while driving, but enforcing these laws can be extraordinarily difficult. In Tennessee, for instance, there is a new law stating that drivers cannot text while driving; however, they may use text messaging services while their car is stopped. For many drivers, especially teens and young adults, the lines for what is legal and what is not may be too blurry. For example, drivers may not think that texting while rolling up to a stop light can be dangerous so they may begin texting before fully stopped. Furthermore, law enforcement officers may have trouble determining which drivers are breaking the law because texting while driving can be discrete.

It is important for us to all do our part to cut back on cell phone calls while driving, and to never be tempted to text message someone while operating a vehicle. Multitasking is something to be left at the office because there are some tasks that people just can’t do at the same time: like living and dying.