No one wants to be involved in a serious motor vehicle collision. However, most people don’t do much to prevent them from occurring. The activities people engage in while driving can cause distractions that create a significant increase in the risk to all the other drivers.
There has been extensive research done on the most prevalent dangers for drivers, and these are the top three.
Avoid using your smart phone while driving
Although this might seem obvious, it is incredible how many people make calls, send text messages and even watch videos while they are driving.
This is the most dangerous of all three on the list, making a serious motor vehicle collision 4.7 times more likely to occur. This is a tremendous increase in danger, so think twice before you grab that cell phone on the road.
Hands-free devices are not much safer
Many of us tell ourselves that the primary danger of smart phones is that they are occupying our hands and our eyes. The reasoning follows that hands-free or Bluetooth devices are much safer than smart phones that require hands-on control.
However, this reasoning is false. The research indicates that hands-free devices increase the risk of an accident by 4.6 times. That is only a slight difference from the dangers caused by hand-held smart phones. The attention and loss of focus involved with hands-free devices make them extremely dangerous on the road.
Eating while driving is also extremely dangerous
Most of us will run through a drive-thru if we’re in a hurry to get someplace. But it is important to know that dining while driving creates a 3.6 times higher likelihood of being involved in a motor vehicle collision.
Please help do your part to keep our area as safe as possible from motor vehicle collisions and avoid engaging in these activities while driving. If you have been hurt by a distracted driver, Lawson Legal Service, LLC is here to help you.