By no means are cellphones the only driving distraction. Parents get distracted by their children. Many drivers get distracted simply by daydreaming. Others are busy looking at the GPS or changing the radio station.
But it is also clear that phones are one of the top reasons for distracted driving accidents. A lot of drivers are texting and driving, or they may be using their phones for things like browsing social media or taking pictures and videos. Below are two reasons why cellphones are so problematic.
Drivers are addicted to their phones
To begin with, a lot of drivers are essentially dealing with a phone use disorder or an addiction. They may be completely addicted to doom scrolling or checking their notifications as soon as they come in. These drivers don’t even realize how impulsive their decisions are. But if they feel their phone buzz in their pocket while they’re driving, meaning they got a text message, they try to dig it out immediately to check that message. This leads to a lot of car accidents because people don’t wait until they arrive at their destination.
Phones cause 3 types of distraction
Another thing to consider is that phones create visual, manual and cognitive distractions – three types of distraction at the same time. Drivers may try to counter these distractions – perhaps by glancing up at the road to reduce their visual distractions. But they’re still manually distracted while holding the phone and cognitively distracted while thinking about their online activity.
Texting and driving may be illegal, but it still happens every day. If you’ve been injured in an accident caused by another driver, you need to know how to seek financial compensation.