Distracted Driving Is Not Only About Texting

April is Distracted Driving Awareness month. We know that texting and driving is terribly dangerous. According to the National Safety Council, cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year. Cellphones aren’t the only challenge.

A lot of focus is given to driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs. Consider these additional distractions that can cause accidents:

            Eating or drinking
            Reading
            Applying makeup
            Changing the radio station
            Fatigue

The CDC shares that there are three types of distractions:

            Visual: taking your eyes off the road
            Manual: taking your hands off the steering wheel
            Cognitive: taking your mind off of driving

Driving a car is a responsibility, not only to the people in the car, but to everyone around them. Nothing is so important that it should be done while driving a car. Be present, be mindful, be responsible. Lowering the accident and fatality numbers should be everyone’s goal.