April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, offering an excellent opportunity to reassess your habits and recommit to keeping yourself and everyone else on the road safe. Five simple steps you can take to stop distracted driving today include:
- Keep Your Phone Out of Sight and Reach. Cellphones are a significant source of distraction. Keep yours out of sight and reach to reduce the impulse to look at or use it while driving.
- Do Your Personal Grooming in a Bathroom. Brushing teeth, applying makeup, shaving, and other personal grooming habits belong in a bathroom, not the driver’s seat of your car.
- Eat at a Table. Or at least somewhere still. Eating, drinking, and everything that comes with them are big sources of distraction.
- Plan Your Trip and Entertainment Beforehand. Pre-program GPS, music, podcasts, and other electronics to prevent the desire to adjust while driving. Stick with your choices. Your phone is too far away to reach anyway, right?
- Keep Pets Restrained. That dog moving seats and trying to nudge into your lap? That’s a distraction. Keeping pets restrained helps prevent distraction. It also helps keep your pets safe in the case of an accident.
There are three types of distraction: manual, visual, and cognitive. Many of the above steps address all three and can help you keep your eyes on the road, your hands on the wheel, and your mind on the task of driving.
How can I Prove a Distracted Driver injured Me?
An accident investigation with the help of a personal injury attorney is often the best way to determine what factored into an accident. Distraction is common, and with so many ways for it to occur, it’s easy to see how most accidents involve at least some element of distraction.
Have you been injured or lost a loved one in an accident that you suspect was caused by a distracted driver? If so, use our attorney locator to find a qualified lawyer in your area who can help you understand your rights, your options, and the best way to move forward with your claim.
