Driving Distractions To Avoid

Driving a car is a big responsibility and one that many of us take far too lightly. The reality is that barreling down the highway at 65 MPH in a 4,000 pound vehicle is serious business. Even with all of the added driving aids and so called "auto pilot" features on some cars, keeping your focus on driving is still key.

With so many distractions all around us it's sometimes easy to lose focus so follow along as we cover some of biggest driving distractions you'll want to avoid. Be sure to pass this list along to younger drivers since they're often in a higher risk group when it comes to distractions and accidents. Follow these tips and you'll be part of the solution instead of being the problem.

Talking On The Phone

We all know that holding a phone up to our ear is both illegal and downright stupid, yet some of us seem to keep doing it. Others feel that a hands free is a perfectly safe way to chat while driving but it turns out these are equally distracting. You're driving in a car, you can do without your phone for a bit. If you can't resist temptation turn it off, toss it on the back seat, or store it in the glove box.

Texting

Probably the only thing dumber than talking with a phone to your ear is trying to read or send txt messages while driving. There are so many accidents involving txt'ing while driving yet so many people continue to do this. On top of the obvious distraction of not having your eyes on the road, every time you look at your phone your eyes take a bit of time to adjust their focus to your phone which is close to your face. Now when you look back at the road they take more time to focus back to the road and traffic which is farther away. Again, turn the phone off or get it out of arm's reach if needed.

GPS Settings

Don't mess with the GPS settings on your phone or even the one built into your car while driving. Set your destination address before you shift out of park or simply pull over, put your car in park, adjust your settings, and continue on.

Eating

I'm always blown away at how many people eat while driving. Is this really what your life has become? You're so busy and run so ragged that you don't have enough time in your life to eat properly? The irony here is that the most common food people eat while driving is fast food. You could park your car and enjoy your fast food in a minute or two and then continue your drive. Of course, read Are Processed Foods Bad For Your Health? and maybe you'll see that eating right is important for other reasons than driving safety.

Lap Dogs

Ugh. This one is silly. First off, unless you're taking your dog the vet or park (etc) then Snuggles probably doesn't need to be driving with you in the first place. If you do have an animal to transport, the safest place is in a carrier. What you shouldn't do is drive with him on your lap. This is very distracting for you, the driver, and also unsafe for the animal. If you're in an accident the animal is likely to suffer injuries or be killed. An airbag going off that close to an animal will not end well.

Grooming

Nobody should be shaving while driving. Nobody should be brushing their hair while driving. Nobody should be applying makeup and cosmetics while driving. This should all be common sense, but it isn't. All of these activities require a lot of attention which takes away from your main focus, the road. On top of the main distractions there, a lot of time is lost as your eyes change their focus from close up mirror to far away phone which makes grooming while driving even more dangerous.

Bad Passengers

Loud, drunk, other otherwise obnoxious passengers are incredibly dangerous because of how distracting they can be. Even children who are fighting or screaming make it very difficult to concentrate on the road. Rather than trying to deal with these issues while driving, get off the road and then concentrate on getting everyone to calm down.

Looky Loo

There's something about an accident that makes us all oddly curious. We have to slow down and rubberneck in hopes of getting a glimpse of some gore. When you do this, you not only make traffic delays worse, but you also take your attention off the road. This why so many accidents occur after an existing accident. Everyone is looking everywhere else but the road ahead and then...BAM...you rear end somebody.