How to Decrease the Chances of Your Teen Driving Distracted

A study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that distraction contributes to more than half of crashes involving teen drivers.

During this study, researchers reviewed videos of approximately 1,7000 teen-driving crashes and found that distraction was a major factor in 58% of crashes.

Starting to drive is an exciting experience for our children, however, for us as parents, it is a great cause for concern. It is extremely important that you sit down and talk with them about the dangers they face both from other drivers and from their own actions if they drive distracted.

Some of the points that you should mention to them are extremely important for any driver, but even more so in the case of them due to their lack of experience, their ease of being distracted, and their tendency during this stage to minimize or not see the seriousness of the problems. dangers.

What is distracted driving? 

Driving safely requires putting our full attention on the road, and on the activities we have to carry out to do so. Anything not related to driving is a distraction, and increases our chances of being involved in an accident. Some types of distraction include:

– Cognitive distraction. This refers to when the mind stops paying attention to what we are doing. When we try to do two things at the same time, our brain’s attention is irretrievably divided, and we can’t use 100% on any of the activities. This includes talking on the phone, texting, driving tired or drowsy, driving in an emotionally disturbed state, or using a navigation system, among others.

– Visual distraction. In visual distractions, what we do is take our eyes off the road. This can happen when changing the radio station, or the music we are listening to, turning to look at the passengers, checking our cell phone, or getting distracted by seeing something on the road.

– Manual distraction. In manual distraction, what we tend to do is take our hands off the wheel, whether it’s to text, eat, put on makeup, adjust the car’s temperature controls, or try to find something while driving.

Make sure your kids understand why distracted driving is so dangerous, and create a safe environment by setting an example yourself.

At the Nourmand Law Firm, we specialize in personal injury accidents. In case something goes wrong, we can help you!

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