Driving is one of the most difficult things that a person does on a regular basis. The amount of concentration that it takes to use your hands, feet, eyes, and mind to control a vehicle is astounding. Adding in distractions such as infotainment systems, and cell phones can cause a disaster. And while phones, handheld and handsfree, get a brunt of the blame for distracted driving, there is way more to it than that. Conversations around distracted driving really picked up with the use of cell phones. We can't disagree that cell phone use has exacerbated the issue, there are other forms of distracted driving.

There are some distractions that will take your eyes off the road. Things like roadside billboards, checking yourself in the mirror, looking at other vehicles pulled over on the highway, or even something as innocent as looking at your fellow passengers. While these all may seem innocuous, each one of them takes your attention away from the task at hand; keeping your vehicle on the road.

There are other distractions that will take your hands off the wheel. Changing CD's, using the infotainment centre, or attending to passengers or pets in the vehicle with you. The ideal is having two hands on the wheel at all times. Anything less means that you have less control over the vehicle.

Occasionally you find yourself with a distraction that takes your attention away from the road, and your hands off the wheel. Digging around for something you've dropped, texting, and reading maps all pull your attention away from where it needs to be.

All of these distractions take your attention away from where it 100% needs to be. The dangers of distracted driving are far too important to be ignored; In some parts of Canada, distracted driving fatalities have surpassed impaired driving fatalities*, and in 2019 alone, mobile phones contributed to 1.6 million crashes**.

Do you have questions about driver training to help you avoid distracted driving? Reach out. We'd love to help.

*Traffic Injury Research Foundation, 2019
**National Safety Council, 2019