What are you willing to die for? The obvious answers are your kids, your family, maybe even a spouse. How about for an iPhone, a double-double, or some MAC lipstick? That is exactly what you are saying when you are talking on the phone, eating, or applying make-up behind the wheel. Not only putting yourself at risk, but others as well. “Each day in the United States, 9 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.” (cdc.gov) This is a serious problem on the rise nationwide. Some would even go so far as to say that this is a national epidemic. The types of distracted driving I will be talking about are: manual, visual, and cognitive.
Distracted driving isn’t something new that just
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Manual distraction is when you take your hands off the wheel. Such as: eating or drinking, texting, looking through your purse, smoking, adjusting your seatbelt, and adjusting vehicle controls (radio, temperature, mirrors, etc.). Adjusting vehicle controls are a distraction in two out of the three categories. Out of all the different types of manual distracted driving, eating and drinking is the most dangerous. It is the most dangerous form of distracted driving period, not only because it uses all three forms of distracted driving, but because it causes the most accidents. “A new study shows a staggering 80% of all car accidents and 65% of near misses are caused by distracted drivers more focused on their burgers than the road.” The likely chance that there will be a spill, or a drop of the ingredients, and you are most likely going to reach over to try to clean it up or catch it, makes this a high-risk activity. Drinking is found to be worse than eating since spills occur when you hit a bump or pothole. Whether it is coffee that not only stains your clothes, but can burn you due to the hot temperature, or a soda, which has bubbles that will splash onto your face, and up your nose as you unexpectedly hit the