Distracted Drivers

Are you a good driver? Are you distracted while on the road? Read this:

97% of Drivers Are Distracted By This

It's not a cell phone. The top driving distraction--and it seems to affect virtually all drivers--is leaning away from the steering wheel to reach for something in the vehicle. Fully 97 percent of us do that at one time or another while we're driving. In addition, 91 percent of us fiddle with the radio controls, and 77 percent have conversations while driving. That's the word from a new study by AAA and the University of North Carolina that tracked the in-car actions of 70 drivers. Only 30 percent of the drivers used their cell phone while the vehicle was moving.

For this study drivers had miniature cameras placed in their cars for a week, reports The Associated Press. Researchers randomly selected three hours to view their behavior while driving. Here's a disturbing finding: Drivers were distracted 16.1 percent of the time their vehicles were moving. "People may not realize how distracted they are," Peter Kissinger, president of AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety, told AP. "Talking to a passenger seems quite safe, but even something that simple takes away from the road."

Blame it on all that multitasking we do at home and in the office just to get everything done. We keep multitasking while we're driving. "We never have taken seriously that we need to be 100 percent attentive to our driving," Jim Champagne, a former Louisiana state trooper who heads that state's highway safety commission told AP. "You can tell people that they shouldn't eat and drink while they're driving, but the bottom line is we're Americans, and we think we can do five or six things at a time."

As Jim Morrison of the Doors says: "Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel..." good song to drive by!

Lad, I read this same article. I always thought it was ironic that people blast other people for talking on a cell phone while driving. While I admit it's not always safe, there are many other "distractions" while driving that take away from the driver's concentration......talking to anyone in general, eating, combing hair, drinking, fussing with children, etc.........42

One of my friends rear-ended another car while he was reaching for a pop tart in the grocery bag on the floor of the passenger sid of the car.

I agree that talking on the cell phone is the least distraction for MOST. I get nervous when one of my friends drives because she's got her head in the clouds. I've heard stories about her following someone while she's alone in her car and she still breaks laws. When I ride with her, she looks at me while I'm talking instead of keeping her eyes on the road; since she doesn't not talk, I tend to watch traffic for her and drive from the passenger street. I don't know how many times she's exclaimed 'Sorry'

BTW, deaf people are not known for having accidents more than non-hearing people. Although they may sign to each other when driving, the passenger is usually in the habit of watching traffic while signing to the driver. Of course, they keep the conversation to a minimum, but they at least help each other.

When I was a young girl, home one day with strep throat, a young college student came to out door, dirty and bleeding (we lived in the country). She and her friends, riding in a V.W. to college had an accident. The driver looked down to change his 8 track tape (boy, does that date me or what), and drove into an orchard and flipped the car, injuring all four of the young people when they were thrown out the doors..........

I've noticed that my husband tends to steer the car in the direction he is looking (and not necessarily the road ahead of him). I try not to point out anything of interest when we're driving........ 42

So true! I see many people talking to their children or a passenger and not concentrating on their driving. So many accidents could be prevented if people would only slow down and keep their eyes on the road!