As the number of road accidents increases, developing defensive driving skills and situational awareness becomes more important than ever.
Two studies featured on Medical News Today only serve to cement this. The first study involved 42 newly-licensed drivers who were 16 years old on the average and who were in their first 18 months of independent driving. The second worked with 43 women and 66 men who have been driving for approximately 20 years.
Both studies monitored the drivers’ behavior using instruments installed in their vehicles, ranging from video cameras, accelerometers, and GPS trackers to yaw sensors, front radars, and lane position monitoring. These enabled the researchers to gain information on speed, sudden braking or swerving, and driver activity.
The results showed that the top distractions that caused either a near-miss or a full-on crash were “dialing on a cell phone, reaching for a cell phone, texting, reaching for an object other than a cell phone, looking at a roadside object such as a vehicle in a previous crash, and eating.”
Unsurprisingly, teen drivers were more prone to distractions, making them eight times more at risk of getting into an accident whenever they dial on their phones, and four times more at risk when texting. In fact, researchers say that drivers spend 10 percent of their time behind the wheel not looking at the road.
“As new forms of technology increasingly are available in cars, it’s important that drivers don’t feel compelled to answer every incoming call or text,” says study co-author Bruce Simons-Morton, EdD. “For young drivers’ safety, parents can model this habit when they are at the wheel, and also let their children know that they should wait until the vehicle is stopped before taking a call.”
(Photo by Robert Couse-Baker via Flickr Creative Commons)
