Distractive Driving - Distractions on the Roadway

February 1, 2011

Distractions on the Roadway

Attention diversion from driving by any means is a distraction. These distractions affect our driving abilities and inhibits our current state of mind. The concept of multi-tasking while driving could result in potential dangerous habits, if not fatal driving hazard. Driving distractions by any means, including by sight or sound, can lead to dangerous, fatal driving habits.

Sure, mostly everyone has listened to the radio or talked to passengers while driving. But it's kind of hard to listen to the radio, and pay complete attention to the roadway. When your attention is diverted by any means of sound, this is called auditory distraction. When distracted by sound, the driver's mind can be impaired. When the mind is impaired, the driver could possibly have a delayed reaction to a potential road hazard.

Driving down the roadway, surely most people are distracted by the roadway ahead, behind, or around them. By looking around, and not paying attention to where you should, the road in front of you, that is inhibiting your vision. Visual distraction may include, for example, reaching for something, looking in the mirror, or just by observing the scenery around them. When driving while trying to "multi-task" by visual diversion, fixating your eyes on all else besides the road, the driver could possibly not detect a road hazard that could have been avoided if all eyes were on the road.

With distractions by sound or sight comes another kind of driving hazard. With the convenience of cell phones, it is easy to be distracted on the roadway because your phone is ringing. Of course, you would automatically want to answer it, which would take your eyes off of the road, even just for a moment, and it could potentially