What Exactly is Distracted Driving?

We live in fast paced society. It seems like every aspect of working life involves multitasking. A common side effect of this is that we often focus on many things in addition to the task at hand. For example, how many times have you sent that email from your iPhone or finished off that Big Mac while driving?

According the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, common activities such as this qualify as “distracted driving.” According the Administration, distracted driving is defined as “any non-driving activity a person engages in while operating a motor vehicle.” This includes engagement in any visual, manual, or cognitive activity that is not related to driving.[2] In addition, younger segments of society are the ones who often drive while distracted.[3]

While on the road, it is important to remain safe and focus on the task at hand. I cringe every time I see a teenage driver texting while driving. This is a very inexperienced segment of society when it comes to driving, and they are doing one of the most distracting things you can do while driving! We should all work harder though to better focus on our driving. Often, it is not only our own lives at stake, but also the lives of many other people, whether they are passengers, or fellow drivers.