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Drowsy? Distracted? Drinking?by Kittie Beletic
Just being reminded can help. Certainly, being informed adds responsible awareness. The key is for each driver to stay focused on his own driving performance! I recently took a defensive driving test. I did it because I got a speeding ticket in the suburbs, clocked going 46 mph in a 35 mph zone. I haven’t had a speeding ticket in a long time but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to take the defensive driving course, just as a refresher. I took it online. It took longer than the promised 6 hours and I failed the first test (it had nothing to do with defensive driving. I immediately took the test a second time, different questions, more pertinent and I aced it). There are two reasons I’m sharing this story: 1) I was amazed how easily I was distracted while I was driving and 2) I was amazed how much more aware of it I was after taking the driving test. The statistics are there. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes. Nearly 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within 3 seconds before the event. Primary causes of driver inattention are distracting activities, such as cell phone use and drowsiness. The study was massive, involving 100 vehicles equipped with video and sensor devises for more than a year. The 241 drivers were involved in 82 crashes, 761 near-crashes and 8,295 critical incidents (NHTSA). The key findings include: - Drivers who engage frequently in distracting activities are more likely to be involved in an inattention-related crash or near-crash. Drivers are often unable to predict when it is safe to look away from the road to multi-task because the situation can change abruptly, leaving the driver no time to react. - Reaching for a moving object increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by 9 times; looking at an external object by 3.7 times; reading by 3 times; applying makeup by 3 times; dialing a hand-held device by almost 3 times and talking or listening on a hand-held device by 1.3 times. - Drowsiness is a significant problem that increases a driver’s risk of a crash or near-crash by at least a factor of 4. It is also true that drowsy driving is significantly under-reported by police crash investigations. - The most common distraction for drivers is the use of cell phones, but the number of crashes or near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening. One of the most easily distracted group of drivers is teenagers. Allstate Insurance has recently challenged teens in Columbus, Ohio with a Distracted Driving Course. To help save teen lives, a select group of Columbus-area teens will drive through the course, trying to avoid obstacles and focus on the road, while learning first-hand the dangers of distracted driving, including talking on the phone or eating while driving. Interviews with professional driving instructors and local teens also will be available. Car crashes are the #1 killer of American teens. The primary cause of fatal teen crashes is driver error (77%).
I think the handwriting is on the wall. I’ve never been a stickler for rules and regulations. I’m not pointing fingers or preaching. There isn’t a human being on earth who hasn’t been distracted many times while driving a moving vehicle. Have someone else dial the phone. Use your handsfree/headset. When you get tired, pull over and rest. Get dressed before you get in the car. What’s the slogan? “Don’t compute and drive: the life you save may be your own!” Kittie Beletic loves to drive. She gets distracted by real estate and garage sale signs. She vows to do better! Have a good idea for a story? Contact Kittie at kbeletic@gmail.com. |
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If you are doing any
combination of the above, you are putting yourself at great risk. It is illegal
to drink and drive, but how many people drive that last leg of the vacation
while nodding off? Who among us hasn’t dialed that cell phone to do business or
resolve a problem while we are supposed to be focused on the road?
Some states have taken matters
into their own hands. Hand-held cellphone bans for all drivers already exist in
WA, CA, UT AND NY. For young drivers in AR AND LA with local options in NM, IL,
OH, MI, PA and MA. 
Texting bans for all drivers
exist in WA, CA, UT, MN, AR, LA, TN, VA, MD, DE, NM, CT and Washington,DC.
Partial texting ban exist in OR, NE, KS, TX, MS, IN, NC, WV and ME.