- Manual (hands off the wheel)
- Visual (eyes off the road)
- Cognitive (wandering mind and stress related)
One of the highlights comes during April’s Distracted Driving Awareness Month advertising campaign with a law enforcement crackdown called "U Drive. U Text. U Pay." Texting is the most alarming distraction. According to NHTSA sending or reading a text even "LOL" takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. They make a strong point... At 55 mph, that's like driving the length of a football field with ones eyes closed.
Stress
In studies of driver behavior and driver stress certain things emerge as typical causes of tension. They include:
- Stuck in traffic/off-road detours/inconsiderate parked cars within highway
- Being caught in unsafe traffic flow/being pressured to drive faster
- Ignoring traffic signs/jumping lights/dangerous right on red
- Coming up upon an aggressive driver/applying the brakes hard
- Unpredictable roadside events/distractive billboards/beautiful scenery
- Lack of signaling intentions/failure to turn on lights
Read Jerry Kennard (a health professional) - Driver Stress: Causes & Cures at HealthCentral for more insight. Additional good reads for preventing stress are at HealthLine. Please do comment on how you, the senior(s) in your care are coping with distracted driving especially as a result of stress. End.