Distracted drivers should change for safety’s sake

Excellent drivers stay fully aware of their surroundings at all times. They watch carefully to make sure that they are not presenting a danger to themselves or others. Unfortunately, they share the roads with drivers that don’t do any of those things. Drivers who don’t pay attention while on the roads are called distracted drivers, and they present a major danger to anyone else. Good drivers should be wary of distracted drivers, and distracted drivers should mend their ways and start paying attention. Why?

Each year, a higher number of accidents are caused by distracted drivers. Many of those result in fatalities. For example, in 2009 alone, almost 5,500 people died due to accidents caused by distracted drivers.

The definition of distracted driving is simple. It is any time that a driver allows him- or herself to get distracted and ends up not paying sufficient attention to his or her own actions or the actions around him or her. This results in an inherent danger, since paying close attention to your actions and those of others is the only way to drive safely.

Sources of distraction include texting, using a cellphone for calls or to check email, using smart phones to check maps and social networks, eating, watching videos and playing with the radio. Most of these have become more prevalent with technology developments of the 21st century.

Overall, the list suggests that all those things are better taken care of before or after being on the roads, so your preoccupation with them doesn’t endanger you or others. After all, if you have a soda in one hand and an iPhone in the other, there are no hands left for driving. Due to the safety issues, distracted drivers need to resolve to do without the distractions, and everyone else needs to be wary of them.