Distracted Driving

By Jay Cho, DC, LAc, FIAMA

Active Care Chiropractic & Acupuncture

. http://www.activecareclinic.com/

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Distracted Driving

Do you ever see drivers who eat or fix their make-up while behind the wheel? What about drivers using their cell phone? It happens every day and it seems to be happening more often. Rehab specialty doctors treat auto accident injury patients daily. Many of these cases indicate that another driver’s distracted driving behavior caused the accident – including eating, fixing make-up, or using a cell phone.

Ms. Lee was injured three weeks ago by a distracted driver who was texting. Ms. So was injured two weeks ago by a distracted driver who was picking their cell phone up from the car floor. Mr. Baker was injured last week by a distracted driver who was eating a sandwich.

Ten years ago there were various reasons that caused auto accidents but now it seems that distracted driving has become the most common reason among many rehab cases.

The threat from distracted driving grows stronger year after year. In the U.S. in 2018, over 2,800 people were killed and an estimated 400,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver. About one in five of the people who died in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2018 were not in vehicles; they were walking, riding their bikes, or otherwise outside a vehicle.

Also, the distracted driver age group is getting much younger and younger. Twenty-five percent of the distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes were young adults aged 20–29. Among drivers in crashes where someone died, drivers aged 15-19 were more likely to be distracted than drivers age 20 and older. Among these drivers, 8% of drivers aged 15-19 were distracted at the time of the crash. Nine percent of all teens who died in motor vehicle crashes were killed in crashes that involved distracted driving.

Even though we all know of serious risks of distracted driving, probably most of us are still doing at least one distracted driving habits. We can see these easily everywhere and it can be our family member, friends, or ourselves with overconfidence in our own driving skill.

We may need to criticize ourselves and to try our best to reduce distracted driving. As a driver, we need to not be over confident about our driving skills. Do not multitask while driving – including changing radio stations, eating, making phone calls, or reading. Nobody wants to be the victim of an auto accident whether it’s the fault of your own distracted driving or someone else’s.