What is Distracted Driving?
Learn How to Drive Safely and Avoid Accidents.
It’s April 2023, and that means it is also distracted driving awareness month.
What is distracted driving? Distracted driving involves any activity that takes your attention away from the road for even a moment. Examples of distracted driving include texting or talking on a mobile phone, using an app, eating or drinking, reading, applying makeup, and many other activities. It causes thousands of avoidable accidents and injuries every year!
Fortunately, there are ways you can become a safer driver. We’ll cover several safety tips and tricks in the following article, such as:
- How to be aware of your surroundings
- Taking a defensive driving course
- Understanding the rules of the road
Another benefit of taking a defensive driving course (where applicable) is you’ll be able to reduce your monthly car insurance fees and improve your driving record.
What Does it Mean to Be a Distracted Driver?
First, we need to understand distracted driving and how it affects us as drivers. Distracted driving takes your attention away from the road in front of you by doing activities like texting, talking on the phone, or eating food while driving. It can also include activities like fiddling with the radio or adjusting your GPS system while stopped at a traffic light.
Distracted driving refers to any activity that distracts you from the task of driving. The distraction can occur while driving or even before the trip begins.
How Can You Improve Your Driving Skills?
The best way to improve your driving skills is by taking a defensive driving course. These courses are designed to teach you how to drive more safely by learning tips and tricks for avoiding accidents and traffic tickets. You’ll gain a new perspective on how to drive safely, and walk away with a number of helpful lessons on how to operate a vehicle without incident. Some courses can also lead to getting cheaper car insurance rates.
How Can I Avoid Becoming a Distracted Driver?
There are several simple ways to avoid becoming a distracted driver:
- Turn off all electronic devices before getting behind the wheel.
- Preset your navigation and handle all communications before driving.
- Focus on only driving – don’t try to do more than one thing at once. An example would be like texting or eating as it would slow down your reaction time if there’s an emergency on the road ahead of you.
Distraction has been linked to increased accident rates and near-accidents as it makes drivers less aware of other vehicles on the road and more likely to miss important information about their surroundings. Like brake lights flashing!
Luckily, there are ways to lower your risks of distracted driving:
- Take a defensive driving course. These courses help build your skills as a driver so that you can react quickly in situations that might cause accidents instead of being caught off guard. It’ll show you the clear risks associated with distracted driving. They also provide you with tips on how to drive more efficiently and safely overall.
- Check your vehicle and ensure it has a clean mechanical bill of health, and all the safety features it needs. If you’re looking for a local automotive service technician, find one on the DMVGO Local Automotive Directory.
When you handle these tasks, you’ll also be on your way to reducing your monthly car insurance premiums. Simply take advantage of the discounts offered by insurance providers who reward safe drivers with lower insurance premiums throughout the year. This will of course depend on their driving records.
Distracted driving is a serious problem in our country. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), cell phone use alone causes 1.6 million crashes every year, and 3,142 people were killed by distracted driving in 2020. That’s why it’s so important to understand what distracted driving means, and how you can improve your driving skills.
Reducing Your Monthly Car Insurance Premiums
If you want to reduce your monthly car insurance premiums, there are several things you can do such as getting good grades in school, improving your credit score, and having adequate car insurance before an accident occurs. All will have an impact on reducing your car insurance.
Distracted Driving is Dangerous
Distracted driving is a serious problem, especially among young people. Whether you’re using your phone, searching for directions, or fumbling with the radio, any distraction can lead to an accident and/or injury.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to become a better driver and reduce the risk of distracted driving accidents. Take a defensive driving course, and learn how you can order your driving record, and lower your car insurance.