What is Distracted Driving?

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In the world today, there are distractions everywhere. From scrolling through social media apps on a cell phone, to simply getting lost in thought; there is almost no limit to the distractions we face in day to day life.

For the most part, these distractions are simply annoyances and time-wasters. Sadly, however, when distractions claim our attention while we operate a vehicle, the results can be devastating.

In this article, we will review the topic of distracted driving. Furthermore, we will discuss how securing the services of a good car accident lawyer after a distracted driving accident can make the process much easier.

Common Causes of Distracted Driving

There are, of course, a multitude of ways one can be distracted while driving. The following list provides some of the more common causes of distracted driving accidents.

  • Cell Phones. Perhaps the most common distraction in our lives lies in our cell phones. These wonderful devices allow us to communicate with others from wherever we are. But this convenience comes with a price: we are constantly looking down at the screen, and rarely looking up. Text messages and emails are now the preferred methods of communication, and we are expected to respond immediately, no matter what we are doing at the time.
  • Children in the Car. Young kids can’t be blamed for making noise or dropping a toy while being driven somewhere. That being said, children in the car can be a major distraction for drivers, if the proper precautions aren’t taken. Noises from handheld videogames or the sounds of distress from one of your children can pull your attention from the road. Even if you just lose focus for a few seconds, you can crash into another vehicle, another person, or a stationary object.
  • As simple as it may sound, stress can be a huge factor related to distracted driving. Whether you’ve just been yelled at by your boss, or you have a huge deadline coming up, or you just finished arguing with your spouse; there are tons of causes of stress in our lives. By having to focus on the cause of this stress instead of driving, your attention is decreased and you can lose control of the car.

In the next section, we’ll review some ways to overcome and avoid falling into the trap of driving while distracted.

How to Maintain Focus While Driving

While it may not work in every single situation, there is one method to mitigate distracted driving that will almost always be effective: pull your car over to the side of the road.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or just cannot, under any circumstances, wait to read a text that came through, then you should pull your car to the side of the road and address what you need to.

Other tricks, such as putting your phone in the glove box, can also work wonders.

Car Accident Lawyers After Distracted Driving Accidents

If you’ve been involved in a distracted driving accident, call a good car accident lawyer now! They will make the process as smooth as possible and will help you every step of the way.