When you get in your car to go somewhere, you hope that other drivers will follow the rules of the road to maintain their safety and prevent serious accidents. However, this does not always occur, and many drivers cause injurious and fatal car accidents when they become distracted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the U.S., nine people die in car accidents related to distracted driving on a daily basis. While using a cell phone and driving is a hazardous form of distracted driving, there are three main types of distracted driving that can harm a person’s ability to drive safely.
Manual distraction
If you engage in manual distracted driving, you take one or both of your hands off of the steering wheel. For example, manual distraction occurs when you reach for something on your car’s passenger seat or change the station on the radio.
Cognitive distraction
When you stop focusing on driving, you become cognitively distracted. If, for example, you heavily focus on a conversation with a passenger while driving, you become cognitively distracted.
Visual distraction
Visual distraction occurs when you stop looking at the road ahead of you while your vehicle is in motion. For example, if you look at your cell phone to read a text while you drive, you become visually distracted.
If you got into an accident with a distracted driver, the injuries you incurred could affect your daily life for days, weeks or even months after the collision. Take steps to protect your interests to fair and proper compensation as you recover from the accident.