Driving requires a person to pay close attention to what’s going on around their vehicle. Anything that distracts them can have catastrophic consequences. Because of this, it’s critical for anyone operating a vehicle to ensure they aren’t succumbing to any distractions.
There are three primary categories of distractions that can negatively affect a driver’s ability to drive safely. The distractions in these can be either obvious or subtle, and some actions encompass more than one of these. Understanding these can be beneficial for drivers.
Cognitive distractions
Driving takes thought and mental focus. When things take the driver’s mind away from driving, those things are a cognitive distraction. Being focused on home or work issues, trying to hold a serious conversation with a passenger or just being stressed are examples of cognitive distractions.
Visual distractions
Anything that requires a driver to look away from the road is a visual distraction. This can include actions, such as looking at a text message or even reading a billboard or turning your head to look at a fender-bender.
Manual distractions
Distractions that require the driver to reach away from the steering wheel are manual distractions. This can involve reaching for climate control, a phone or anything else in the vehicle. Even reaching back to care for children is a manual distraction.
Unfortunately, avoiding distracted driving crashes requires all drivers to have complete focus while they’re behind the wheel. When a distracted driving crash occurs, the victim may opt to pursue a compensation claim to help them recover from the financial damages they’re dealing with because of the wreck.
