No matter what you’re doing, does it seem like distractions abound? Even when driving a car, people often find themselves preoccupied with things other than the road in front of them.
While distractions come in almost endless varieties, researchers say that there are basically three main kinds:
Visual distractions
Visual distractions involve anything that causes you to take your eyes off the road. For example, glancing at a flashing billboard can cause you to divert your eyes from the road (which is why some areas ban them) at a critical moment and lead to a bad accident.
Manual distractions
If you’ve ever fished around your car’s console for a Kleenex or fumbled for your phone when it’s slid under your seat, you’ve fallen prey to a manual distraction. They include such commonplace things drinking coffee while driving or eating a breakfast sandwich on the way to work.
Cognitive distractions
Cognitive distractions include anything that simply diverts your mind from the task of driving. It can involve getting caught up in the conversation your passengers are having or losing yourself in your own thoughts.
There’s another thing however you need to consider: combination distractions. Some activities can actually combine two (or all three) kinds of possible distractions. Cellular phones and navigation devices, for example, tend to distract people in all three ways. Those kinds of activities are particularly dangerous.
When you’re behind the wheel of a car, there’s no such thing as “multitasking.” If you’re injured due to a distracted driver’s actions, you may have the right to compensation for your injuries and losses.
