Preventing Driver Distraction

Findings from an 18-month naturalistic study on commercial vehicle drivers shows distraction was a factor in 78% of crashes and 65% of all near crashes. According to the study released in early June 2009 by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, drivers were 2.9 times more likely to be involved in a safety-critical event when taking their eyes off the forward roadway for longer than two seconds. Texting, cleaning a side mirror, reaching for objects and interacting with the dispatch had the highest risk.

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute offers the following tips to help drivers stay attentive to the road ahead.

Do not fixate on nondriving related objects
When driving, keep your mind engaged with driving-related information and try to avoid focusing on external objects such as billboards or buildings or internal objects such as a cell phone or paperwork. Remember that all distractions can be dangerous. Paying attention to driving-related information will help you determine when and where there are vehicles around you and will also enable you to react more quickly to any unforeseen event.

Avoid smoking while driving
Smoking while driving can be very distracting, as it requires you to remove one or both hands from the steering wheel to light a cigarette and to hold it for an extended period of time. Several studies have found that smoking while driving increases the risk of being involved in a crash.

Turn off cell phones while driving
Avoid using your cell phone while driving. If you must use your cell phone, try to find a safe place to stop or pull off the road, and keep your conversations short. The risk of a crash when using a cell phone is four times higher than the risk of a crash when a cell phone is not being used.

Minimize eating and drinking while driving
Make sure to eat before getting behind the wheel or leave time to pull over and eat safely. Eating while driving may not only be messy, but dangerous, as it creates a physical and visual distraction for drivers. It usually requires drivers to remove one or both hands from the steering wheel while juggling food or beverage with the other.