Today, smartphones are the most common things that could distract us. However, there are a host of activities and factors that could also reduce our focus. Distractions happen when they take our eyes off the road, take our hands and feet off the wheels and pedals; and take our mind off what we are doing. In a bad enough situation, we could face all these three distractions at once. These factors could be responsible to up a quarter of bad things in the road. Many drivers are engaging on distracting behaviors, although they are using smartphones. Here a few things that we should take a look.
- Eating: During a long distance travel, some people have a bit of eating while driving. Just nibbling on some peanuts or potato chips is a distracting enough activity. Occasionally, some peanuts could slip from our mouth causing us to instinctively look down and not on the road. This can be dangerous during a high-speed driving on the highway. In a bad situation, people could actually try to eat a sandwich for breakfast, especially if they are late. If we really do need to eat, we should do it only during traffic jams. We should be able to take or put food easily.
- Grooming: Again, during a busy day, some women actually attempt to apply make up during driving. Men may also use cordless razors to shave inside the car. Both are distracting activities that should be performed at home, not in the car. Any grooming activity should be performed when they are at home and it’s even better to wake up early, so we won’t be late.
- Navigational equipments: Even in its simplest form, navigational equipments can still be complicated for many drivers. By default, these equipments come with speech features, providing us verbal instructions. However, during a glitch, these instructions don’t make sense and we could literally be asked to turn when we are at the edge of the cliff. This could encourage driver to calibrate and readjust their navigational equipment, a dangerous practice to do when driving.
- Children: Normal children are very distracting and it is a fact that many parents need to accept. While dealing with unruly children, it is better to prioritize on driving safely for their own safety.
- Pets: Even the most trained pets can be unpredictable. There are cases of dogs and pets that jump out of open windows causing owners to brake their cars abruptly. Driving is a highly complex activity, although many people think that it feels like a second nature. Our eyes and mind should be firmly on the road ahead, while hands must be on the wheels and feet on the pedals.