What Are Distractions to Drivers?

Distractions to drivers include manual distraction (taking a hand off the wheel), visual distraction (eyes off the road), and cognitive distraction (mind off driving).

Most people multitask their way through their days at work, home, and/or school. This multitasking is sometimes annoying, but usually safe and efficient. Therefore, many people assume that multitasking behind the wheel is also safe and efficient. This assumption is incorrect and dangerous. Distracted drivers cause thousands of wrecks every day, and most of these wrecks cause serious or fatal injuries.

Motorists consciously decide to lose focus behind the wheel. A good Maitland personal injury lawyer, on the other hand, consciously decides to remain focused on what matters most.

Manual

Drivers’ ed teachers always instructed students to keep their hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock on the steering wheel, to maintain optimal control over their vehicles. Manual distraction means moving your hands out of that position, taking one hand off the wheel, or worst of all, taking two hands off the wheel.

By design, most vehicles are manually distracting. Drivers must actively focus on keeping their hands on the wheel while the vehicle is in motion.

Adjusting the radio volume is a good example. Drivers must take one hand off the wheel, or at least take one hand out of the safety position, to adjust the volume. They should wait until they stop at a red light to make this adjustment, but many drivers don’t wait.

Many “innocent” behaviors, like drinking or eating while driving, are also manually distracting. Unexpected hazards (jaywalking pedestrians, stopped-short cars, large potholes, etc.) crop up so quickly that people need both hands on the wheel in the safety position at all times.

Visual

Manual and visual distraction often overlap. People look at controls before they adjust them and look at food before they eat it (at least in most cases). At these moments, drivers aren’t watching the road. The aforementioned hazards crop up so quickly that it only takes a moment to cause a serious accident.

Visual distraction is a standalone issue as well. Using a hands-free device while driving is a good example.

Sometimes, these gadgets are fully distracting. Drivers become device users. Other times, hands-free devices are partially distracting. Banner messages, shifting GPS maps, and other such things cause flicker vertigo, a condition that’s very common among pilots who use flashing consoles.

Cognitive

Sometimes, cognitive distraction is difficult to prove. Many people daydream or think about something else, like a job or a relationship, behind the wheel. Unless they admit cognitive distraction to an emergency responder or in court, no one knows. Additionally, even if evidence is available, many jurors don’t believe that daydreaming is a lack of care.

Other times, a personal injury lawyer can clearly establish a pattern of cognitive distraction. Device use is the best example.

Most devices, whether hand held or hands free, have device use logs. If the log indicates that the driver was using multiple apps or otherwise fully engaged with the device, most jurors would agree that such cognitive distraction is negligence.

Compensation in a negligence case usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Work With a Focused Orange County Lawyer

Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Maitland, contact Goldman Law, P.A. We routinely handle matters throughout the Sunshine State.

Source:

nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving