April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month in the United States. Distracted driving is something a lot of people may engage in without even knowing it. It’s not always as blatant as sending a text while driving. Sometimes, it may be something you’ve done for years without a second thought. But it’s prominent enough that it causes hundreds of thousands of accidents each year. In 2020 alone, 3,142 people were killed and an estimated 324,652 were injured in these accidents.
In the spirit of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, here are some of the most common distracted driving behaviors for you to avoid in April and beyond:
Electronic Devices
This is the most obvious case of distracted driving, but it’s worth repeating: texting and driving is incredibly dangerous. Cell phone usage caused 13% of distracted driving accidents in 2020, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But it’s important to be aware of other types of distractions caused by electronic devices. For example, it’s also dangerous to attempt to program your GPS device while driving or to look at your phone to change the song that’s playing.
Eating
While many people reading this have certainly eaten while driving before, it’s not as safe as you may think. Eating while behind the wheel seriously increases your chances of getting in an accident, according to multiple studies. Mostly, it inhibits your ability to quickly respond to something happening on the road.
Passengers
While you don’t have to drive in complete silence when there’s someone in the car with you, your focus should remain on the road. Passenger-related distractions are among the leading causes of distracted driving accidents, per the NHTSA. It’s especially important to be wary of this if you’re driving with children or pets.
While you can be a focused driver, you can’t stop other drivers from being distracted. If you’re in a distracted-driving related accident, 4N6XPRT Systems can set you up with an accident construction report. Our forensic accident reconstruction and investigation software is highly accurate, providing you with the information you need for court, insurance, or other purposes. To learn more about our software and services, give us a call at 619-464-3478 today!