According to Distraction.gov, the official government distracted driving website, “Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger and bystander safety.” According to the site, distractions include:
- Texting
- Using a cell phone or smartphone
- Eating and drinking
- Talking to passengers
- Grooming
- Reading, including maps
- Using a navigation system
- Watching a video
- Adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player
Here is a great Distracted Driving Infographic that works as a great visual aid about distracted driving and its consequences.
Distracted Driving Crashes, Research, Texting:
Statistics and data clearly reflect the harm that results when drivers are distracted:
- Text messaging creates a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted
- Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent at 55 mph of driving the length of an entire football field
- In 2010, 3092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver
- 18% of injury crashes in 2010 were reported as distraction-affected crashes
- 11% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash
- Drivers who use handheld devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves than drivers who do not use them