Distracted driving may be more dangerous than you think. Precious seconds could mean the difference between life and death.
Highway experts blame distracted driving for an estimated 80 percent of all car accidents. That means with just a few more seconds with your eyes on the road, instead of anywhere else, we could eliminate 80 percent of all traffic accidents. How can just a few seconds make a difference? It has to do with the way our brains perceive distance and time.
Consider walking over a football field. If you’re walking behind someone at a brisk pace with a 10-yard head start, and they were to stop suddenly, you’d have enough time to stop yourself from bumping into them even if you had been looking down at your phone for 3 seconds. Now let’s imagine you’re on the highway and are traveling at 60 miles per hour (mph) and have given the car in front of you a 100-yard cushion. Does that sound like enough space? At 60 mph, you travel the entire length of a football field in just under 3.5 seconds! So by the time you type in “Lol” in your phone, you’ll have 0.5 seconds to bring your car travelling 60 mph to a complete stop, which is not enough time—even if you do have great reflexes.
It’s not just our phones, however. Texting and driving has been displayed in commercials and road signs, but what about the other risks? The other risks include things like:
- listening to, looking at or adjusting GPS navigation systems
- reading signs and looking at “TV-style” billboards
- eating/snacking while driving
- simply daydreaming or just listening to the radio
- handling kids in the back seat
- adjusting radios or other dashboard devices
- catching a falling beverage cup
Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road next time you drive. At Purves and Associates Insurance Services, you receive the auto insurance coverage to meet your needs! Contact our team in Davis, Sacramento, and the surrounding California are to get started.