Distracted Driving Victims
Here at C. Ron Smith Attorney at Law, some of our most common claims are the result of injuries inflicted by other drivers on our roads, highways and waterways, due to impaired or distracted driving.
Most of us have very busy lives. We all like to think we are good multitaskers – we have to be if we’re to keep everything on track, right? The truth is, the American Psychological Association tells us that multitasking is a myth. Our brains can toggle between tasks, but they simply aren’t built to do more than one task at the same time. In fact, “mental juggling” actually impairs our ability to function at our best.
It’s especially important to be aware of this when we are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
Drivers are a risk to themselves and other drivers, riders, and pedestrians when they begin any non-driving activity that distracts from the primary task of driving, increasing the risk of crashing.
The National Safety Council (NHC) reports that distracted driving is to blame for more than 2,800 deaths and approximately 400,000 injuries on our U.S. highways each year. What makes these numbers so troubling is that most distractions while driving are preventable.
So What’s so distracting?
There is a long list of things that distract people when they’re driving. But to help us understand these distractions, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), uses three main categories:
- Visual Distractions – taking your eyes off the road
- Manual Distractions – taking your hands off the wheel
- Cognitive Distractions – taking your mind off driving
Visual distractions are anything that causes drivers to take their eyes off the road, such as checking out an accident scene, looking at the scenery around them, looking at their phone, or looking for something in the car.
Manual distractions are anything that causes drivers to take their hands off the wheel. In addition to texting or using your navigation or entertainment system, distractions that take hands off the wheel also include changing the radio station, eating, drinking, reaching for something dropped, and grooming (brushing your hair, applying makeup or shaving).
Cognitive distractions are those that cause drivers to take their minds off of the responsibility of driving such as talking to passengers, listening to a conference call or talking on a hands-free device.
Whether or not you intended the consequences of a crash caused by your distractions while driving, succumbing to a distraction is intentional, nonetheless. Only you decide whether to join a conference call while driving. Only you decide whether to apply your makeup while you’re driving. Only you decide whether you should eat that sandwich while driving.
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident because someone else makes the decision to allow a distraction, then your injuries were preventable, and you deserve to be compensated for their poor choices. We want to help you get the compensation you deserve. Give C. Ron Smith, Attorney at Law a call today at (770) 713-1447 for a free case evaluation.
READ MORE:
- Centers for Disease Control – Distracted Driving
- National Safety Council – Road Safety
- National Safety Council – “Multitasking Lie”
- National Highway Traffic Administration – Distracted Driving
Distracted Driving
Here at C. Ron Smith Attorney at Law, some of our most common claims are the result of injuries inflicted by other drivers on our roads, highways and waterways, due to impaired or distracted driving.
Most of us have very busy lives. We all like to think we are good multitaskers – we have to be if we’re to keep everything on track, right? The truth is, the American Psychological Association tells us that multitasking is a myth. Our brains can toggle between tasks, but they simply aren’t built to do more than one task at the same time. In fact, “mental juggling” actually impairs our ability to function at our best.
It’s especially important to be aware of this when we are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
Drivers are a risk to themselves and other drivers, riders, and pedestrians when they begin any non-driving activity that distracts from the primary task of driving, increasing the risk of crashing.
The National Safety Council (NHC) reports that distracted driving is to blame for more than 2,800 deaths and approximately 400,000 injuries on our U.S. highways each year. What makes these numbers so troubling is that most distractions while driving are preventable.
So What’s so distracting?
There is a long list of things that distract people when they’re driving. But to help us understand these distractions, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), uses three main categories:
- Visual Distractions – taking your eyes off the road
- Manual Distractions – taking your hands off the wheel
- Cognitive Distractions – taking your mind off driving
Visual distractions are anything that causes drivers to take their eyes off the road, such as checking out an accident scene, looking at the scenery around them, looking at their phone, or looking for something in the car.
Manual distractions are anything that causes drivers to take their hands off the wheel. In addition to texting or using your navigation or entertainment system, distractions that take hands off the wheel also include changing the radio station, eating, drinking, reaching for something dropped, and grooming (brushing your hair, applying makeup or shaving).
Cognitive distractions are those that cause drivers to take their minds off of the responsibility of driving such as talking to passengers, listening to a conference call or talking on a hands-free device.
Whether or not you intended the consequences of a crash caused by your distractions while driving, succumbing to a distraction is intentional, nonetheless. Only you decide whether to join a conference call while driving. Only you decide whether to apply your makeup while you’re driving. Only you decide whether you should eat that sandwich while driving.
If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident because someone else makes the decision to allow a distraction, then your injuries were preventable, and you deserve to be compensated for their poor choices. We want to help you get the compensation you deserve. Give C. Ron Smith Attorney at Law a call today at (770) 713-1447 for a free case evaluation.
READ MORE:
- Centers for Disease Control – Distracted Driving
- National Safety Council – Road Safety
- National Safety Council – “Multitasking Lie”
- National Highway Traffic Administration – Distracted Driving