Driving
Distracted Driving: Source, Effects & Consequences Report
Anna Tran
September 13, 2014
Distracted Driving: Source, Effects & Consequences Report In the past ten years, distracted driving has emerged as one of the most high-profile, discussed issues in road safety today. In fact, 80% of collisions and 65% of near crashes have some form of driver attention as contributing factors (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2010). In order to fully understand what distracted driving is and how to prevent it, one must acknowledge the causes and effects. The most critical element is knowing how to prevent this recurring issue, knowing these elements decreases one's risk of getting into an accident. By definition, “distraction involves a diversion of attention from driving, because the driver is temporarily focused on an object, person, task, or event not related to driving, which reduces the driver’s awareness, decision-making, and/or performance, leading to an increased risk of corrective actions, near-crashes or crashes” (Hedlund, 2006). This definition incorporates three important aspects of the problem – the source, the effects, and the consequences.
The Source In diagram 1.0, there are three qualifying types of distracted driving: manual, visual and cognitive. Manual distractions are those where you move your hands away from the wheel thus losing control of the vehicle. Reaching for your vibrating phone to check a text message or answer a cell is a common distraction. Visual distractions are those where you focus your eyes away from the road. You look down at your cellphone to see who is calling or what the text message says, this also falls into the cognitive category. A cognitive distraction is when your mind wanders away from your primary task of driving. You start to consider your response to that text message your friend just sent, this is when you lose human control of the vehicle (Allstate Canada, 2009). Cellphone usage is
Anna Tran
September 13, 2014
Distracted Driving: Source, Effects & Consequences Report In the past ten years, distracted driving has emerged as one of the most high-profile, discussed issues in road safety today. In fact, 80% of collisions and 65% of near crashes have some form of driver attention as contributing factors (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2010). In order to fully understand what distracted driving is and how to prevent it, one must acknowledge the causes and effects. The most critical element is knowing how to prevent this recurring issue, knowing these elements decreases one's risk of getting into an accident. By definition, “distraction involves a diversion of attention from driving, because the driver is temporarily focused on an object, person, task, or event not related to driving, which reduces the driver’s awareness, decision-making, and/or performance, leading to an increased risk of corrective actions, near-crashes or crashes” (Hedlund, 2006). This definition incorporates three important aspects of the problem – the source, the effects, and the consequences.
The Source In diagram 1.0, there are three qualifying types of distracted driving: manual, visual and cognitive. Manual distractions are those where you move your hands away from the wheel thus losing control of the vehicle. Reaching for your vibrating phone to check a text message or answer a cell is a common distraction. Visual distractions are those where you focus your eyes away from the road. You look down at your cellphone to see who is calling or what the text message says, this also falls into the cognitive category. A cognitive distraction is when your mind wanders away from your primary task of driving. You start to consider your response to that text message your friend just sent, this is when you lose human control of the vehicle (Allstate Canada, 2009). Cellphone usage is