What are the most dangerous forms of distracted driving?

North Carolina drivers will come across many distractions in their daily drives, both inside and outside of your car. However, some of these distractions can undoubtedly be more dangerous than others and are thus a bigger cause for concern.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a detailed run-down of exactly what constitutes distracted driving behaviors. Any sort of action that affects your visual, manual, or cognitive capabilities is considered a distraction. In short, actions that take your eyes and mind from the road, and anything that takes your hands off of the wheel, fall under this umbrella.

However, not all distracted driving is equally dangerous. Though all distracted driving behaviors should be avoided or limited as much as possible, the most risky behaviors will usually involve extended or intense distraction, or distraction that falls under multiple categories in the umbrella. For example, picking something up from the passenger’s floor or turning around to hold a discussion with someone in your back seat will take your eyes and mind off the road for a longer period of time than glancing down long enough to change your radio station.

Currently, the most dangerous risks often involve texting or the use of other handheld devices while driving. This is precisely because these activities will take your eyes, mind and hands off the road all at once. Without any attention on the road, it only takes 3 seconds for you to cross the distance of a football field. In that amount of time, you can easily crash.

If you have been involved in an incident because of distracted driving behaviors, an attorney may be able to help you look into how to proceed in the aftermath.